Los delegados del Gobierno en España (1997-2018). Perfiles y actuación de una figura de confianza política

This article focuses on the study of government delegates from the elimination of civil governors to 2018. Despite the dearth of studies on the topic, the role of these delegates is relevant to understanding the relationships between centre and periphery in democratic, decentralised Spain. To explore it, we have examined the information provided by the Spanish government gazette (Boletin Oficial del Estado) and the available bibliography. This paper has three key goals. Firstly, it studies the establishment and development of delegates between 1980 and 1997. Secondly, it tackles the study of their social and professional profiles from 1997 to 2018, as well as their political careers. Finally, we pay attention to the relationship between delegates and regional governments. Our most significant conclusion is that delegates have not been key players in possible conflicts between centre and periphery, despite their role in coordinating the relationship between the central government and Spain’s autonomous regions.