On 1 June 2018, the PSOE called avote of no confidence against Prime MinisterMariano Rajoy, successfully passing the motion after winning the support ofUnidas Podemos, as well as various regionalist and nationalist parties. Sánchez was appointedprime minister byKing Felipe VI the following day. He went on to lead the PSOE to gain 38 seats in theApril 2019 general election, the PSOE's first national victory since2008, although they fell short of a majority. After talks to form a government failed, Sánchez again won the most votes at theNovember 2019 general election, forming a minoritycoalition government withUnidas Podemos, the first national coalition government since the country's return to democracy. After the PSOE suffered significant losses inregional elections in May 2023, Sánchez called asnap general election, which saw the PSOE hold all of its seats; despite finishing second behind thePeople's Party, Sánchez was able to again form acoalition government, and was appointed to a third term as Prime Minister on 17 November 2023.[4]
In 2003, Sánchez stood forMadrid City Council as a PSOE candidate, under the local leadership ofTrinidad Jiménez. He was 23rd on the proportional representation list, but missed out as the PSOE won only 21 seats. Sánchez joined the council a year later by co-option when two of the PSOE councillors resigned. He quickly rose to become a close confidante of Trinidad Jiménez, who sought the leadership of the council.[22] In 2005, he was seconded to help lead thePSdG (PSOE's sister party inGalicia) campaign in theGalician regional election, which saw the PSdG win enough seats to allow their leader,Emilio Pérez Touriño, to becomePresident of Galicia.[12] As well as his career as a Madrid City Councillor, Sánchez also worked as a university lecturer at theUniversidad Camilo José Cela (UCJC) in 2008, lecturing on Economic Structure and History of Economic Thought.[19]
Sánchez during the PSOE's 2011 general election campaign
Via co-option, Sánchez was elected to theSpanish Congress of Deputies forMadrid to replace the retiringPedro Solbes, who has served as Finance Minister under PSOE Prime MinisterJosé Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. However, his first period in the Congress would be short, as at the2011 general election, the PSOE suffered a large defeat and only elected 10 deputies for Madrid; with Sánchez 11th on the proportional list, he lost his seat in the Congress. He subsequently enrolled at the UCJC to study a Doctorate in Economics, earning his PHD 18 months later by writing a dissertation entitledInnovaciones de la diplomacia económica española: Análisis del sector público (2000–2012) (English translation: Innovations of Spanish Economic Diplomacy: Analysis of the Public Sector (2000–2012)), supervised by María Isabel Cepeda González.[19] In 2018, Sánchez was accused by theABC newspaper of plagiarism in his doctorate.[23] Refuting the allegations, Sánchez published his full thesis online.[24][25] However, these allegations have been disputed by Markus Goldbach, CEO of Plagscan, a plagiarism checker software previously presented as evidence.[26]
In January 2013, Sánchez returned to Congress representing Madrid, replacingCristina Narbona, who resigned to accept appointment at theNuclear Safety Council.
Presenting a platform based on political regeneration, Sánchez called for constitutional reforms establishingfederalism as the form of administrative organisation of Spain to ensure thatCatalonia would remain within the country; a new progressive fiscal policy; extending the welfare state to all citizens; increasing the membership of labour unions to strengthen economic recovery; and regaining the confidence of former Socialist voters disenchanted by the measures taken byZapatero during his term as prime minister amid an economic crisis. He also opposed thegrand coalition model supported by the former PSOE Prime MinisterFelipe González, who lobbied in favour of adopting a more German system to prevent political instability, by instructing hisEuropean party caucus not to support the consensus candidateJean-Claude Juncker of theEuropean People's Party for the role ofPresident of the European Commission.[28]
Upon taking office as PSOE's Secretary-General, Sánchez quickly faced a political crisis following the formation of a new left-wing party,Podemos. Polling approximated that 25% of PSOE supporters would switch their support to Podemos.[29][30] Sánchez responded by pushing his proposed federal model to replace the devolution model, and calling for the further secularisation of Spain's education system, including the removal of religious-affiliated public and private schools.[31][32] He later namedCésar Luena as his deputy leader. On Sunday, 21 June 2015, Sánchez was officially announced as the PSOE candidate for prime minister in theupcoming general election. At the election on 20 December, the PSOE won 90 seats, ahead of Podemos who won 69 seats, but coming second to thePeople's Party (PP), who won with 123 seats. As the PP could not form a government, Sánchez was formally requested by the King in January 2016 to attempt to form a coalition, but he could not win the support of a majority of representatives. This led to asnap general election in June 2016, where the PSOE lost several seats and remained second to the PP.
Resignation and comeback
Following the 2016 general election, Sánchez argued the PSOE should refuse to allow the PP to form a government, which would break the national political deadlock.Susana Díaz, thePresident of Andalusia, began to lead criticism of Sánchez's leadership, arguing that his hardline position on government formation was harming the party. After poor results for the PSOE in the SeptemberBasque andGalician regional elections, numerous PSOE figures followed Díaz in calling for Sánchez's resignation. The situation quickly developed into aparty crisis, dubbed by some in the media as the "war of the roses", after Sánchez called a special PSOE congress for the autumn to settle the issue. This prompted half of the PSOE executive committee to resign, and on Saturday, 1 October 2016, Sánchez lost a vote in the PSOE federal committee to support his proposals for an autumn congress; he immediately resigned as Secretary-General and was replaced by an interim "caretaker committee" while a fresh leadership election could be organised.[33]
Sánchez, after winning re-election as Secretary-General, singingThe Internationale
Rajoy congratulates Sánchez on his successful no-confidence motion.
Soon after his resignation, the PSOE caretaker committee decided to abstain in the investiture vote, which would enable the PP'sMariano Rajoy to be re-elected as prime minister. Saying that he could not obey this directive as it would mean "betraying his word" not to allow Rajoy to be re-elected, Sánchez resigned his seat in the Congress of Deputies, and declared he would stand in the upcoming leadership election.[34][35] 15 PSOE MPs broke party discipline in response, by refusing to abstain in the investiture vote and voting against Rajoy,[n. 2] yet as Rajoy only needed an abstention from 11 PSOE MPs out of 84, he easily won the vote to be invested as prime minister.[36]
After resigning as Secretary-General and from the Congress, Sánchez began a national tour, driving his own car around to visit party members throughout different parts of Spain.[37][38] After an energetic campaign, during which he criticised the caretaker committee for allowing the investiture of Rajoy, on Sunday, 21 May 2017, Sánchez was re-elected Secretary-General by the party membership, taking 50.2% of the vote, and defeating his rival Susana Díaz, who took 39.94%, as well asPatxi López, who won 9.85%; his position was affirmed at a PSOE executive meeting on 17 June, and the following day he was confirmed as Leader of the Opposition, despite no longer holding a seat in the Congress.[39]
Throughout 2017 and 2018, theGürtel trial caused controversy for the Rajoy Government; finally, after critical verdicts were announced in May 2018, Sánchez announced that the PSOE would filea motion of no confidence against Rajoy.[42] Under the Spanish Constitution, such motions areconstructive, meaning those bringing the motion must simultaneously propose a replacement candidate for prime minister. If the motion carries, the replacement candidate is automatically deemed to have the confidence of the Congress and ascends as prime minister. Accordingly, the PSOE nominated Sánchez as the alternative prime minister. Sánchez led negotiations with other political parties, and ultimately secured the support of enough minor parties in the Congress to guarantee passage of the motion. On Friday, 1 June 2018, 180 Deputies supported the motion of no confidence, clearing the required threshold of 176, forcing Rajoy's resignation. Rajoy recommended Sánchez as his successor.
Sánchez was formally installed as Prime Minister of Spain byKing Felipe VI on 2 June 2018.[43] Outlining his priorities, Sánchez said he would form a short-term government that would increase unemployment benefit and propose a law guaranteeing equal pay between the sexes, before dissolving the Congress of Deputies and holding a general election.[44][45] However, he also said he would uphold the 2018 budget that had already been passed by the Rajoy Government, a condition that theBasque Nationalist Party required to vote for the motion of no confidence.[46] Sánchez also announced he would only propose other measures if they had considerable parliamentary support, re-affirming his government's compliance with the EU deficit requirements.[47]
As Sánchez swore his oath of office to theSpanish Constitution, no Bible orcrucifix were used for the first time in modern Spanish history, due to Sánchez'satheism.[48]
On 18 June 2018, the Sánchez Government announced its intention to remove the remains of former dictatorFrancisco Franco from theValley of the Fallen.[49] On 24 August the Cabinet approved a decree modifying two aspects of the 2007Historical Memory Law to allow for the exhumation of Franco's remains from the Valley of the Fallen. After a year of legal battles with Franco's descendants, the exhumation took place on 24 October 2019, and Franco was reburied atMingorrubio Cemetery inEl Pardo with his wifeCarmen Polo.[50]
After the 2019 sentence ofCatalonian independence leaders, Sánchez confirmed his government's support of the sentence, and denied the possibility of any pardon, proclaiming that the sentence should be served by the convicts in its entirety.[51] Sánchez would, however, eventually grant a partial pardon to most convicts in 2021,[52] stressing that despite the pardon there would never be a referendum for the independence of Catalonia,[53] with thenSpokespersonMaría Jesús Montero that "We will not renounce, as a government, to do what we think is best for our country, its coexistence, stability and progress" and theCatalan conflict needs "that the word, dialogue, coexistence and the capacity for reunion take on a leading role that should never have been lost".[54]
Sánchez took a very active role in the international sphere, particularly in the European Union, saying that "Spain has to claim its role" and declaring himself "a militant pro-European".[57] On 16 January 2019, in a speech before theEuropean Parliament, he said that the EU should be protected and turned into a global actor, and that a more social Europe is needed, with a strong monetary union.[58] He stated in a speech in March 2019 that the enemies of Europe are "inside of the European Union".[59][60] Duringhis second government, he continued strengthening the pro-European profile of his ministers, including by appointingJosé Luis Escrivá, the Chair of theIndependent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility and former chair of theEU Independent Fiscal Institutions Network, as his Minister for Social Security.[61] In June 2020, the Sánchez Government proposed Deputy Prime Minister and Economy MinisterNadia Calviño to be the next Chair of theEurogroup.[62]
In September 2018, Defence MinisterMargarita Robles cancelled sales oflaser-guided bombs toSaudi Arabia over concerns relating to theSaudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen. Overruling Robles, Sánchez ordered the sale to proceed, allegedly due to a promise made toSusana Díaz to help protect jobs in the shipyards of theBay of Cádiz, highly dependent on the €1.813 billion contract with Saudi Arabia to deliver fivecorvettes.[63][64][65] In response to the killing of Saudi dissident journalistJamal Khashoggi in October 2018, Sánchez defended the decision to continue arms sales to Saudi Arabia and insisted on his government's "responsibility" to protect jobs in thearms industry.[66][67]
Under Sánchez's premiership, the Congress approved a total central government budget of 196 billion euros – the biggest budget in the country's history – in 2021, after he had won the support of the Catalan pro-independenceRepublican Left of Catalonia.[68]
Following thefall of Kabul and the subsequentde facto creation of theIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Prime Minister offered Spain as a hub for Afghans who collaborated with the European Union, who would later be settled in various countries.[69] The Spanish Government created a temporary refugee camp in the air base ofTorrejón de Ardoz, which was later visited by officials from the European Union, includingPresident of the European CommissionUrsula von der Leyen andPresident of the European CouncilCharles Michel. Von der Leyen praised the Sánchez Government's initiative, stating that the actions of Spain represented "a good example of the European soul at its best".[70] US PresidentJoe Biden spoke with Sánchez to allow the use of the military bases ofRota andMorón to temporarily accommodate Afghan refugees, while praising "Spain's leadership in seeking international support for Afghan women and girls".[71][72]
In August 2022, during his state visit toSerbia as part of his overall visits toBalkan countries, Sánchez reaffirmed Spain's non-recognition of the independence ofKosovo.[75]
Sánchez announcing the state of alarm on 13 March 2020
In the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemic, on 13 March 2020, Sánchez announced a declaration of a nationalstate of alarm, for only the second time in Spain's democratic history, and the first time for such a period.[76] The Cabinet agreed anationwide lockdown, banning all trips that were not force majeure, and announced it may intervene in companies to guarantee supplies.[77][78] In July 2021, theConstitutional Court of Spain, acting upon the 2020 appeal byVox, sentenced by a narrow majority (6 votes in supportvs. 5 votes against) that the state of alarm was unconstitutional in the part of suppressing thefreedom of movement established by the Article 19 of theConstitution of Spain.[79]
In 2023, after the PSOE suffered heavy losses in a series ofregional andlocal elections across Spain with thePP andVox winning a large number of seats, Sánchez surprised many by announcing a snapgeneral election for 23 July. In a speech confirming the election, Sánchez stated that it was important to listen to the will of the people, but stressed the need to persevere with post-COVID economic recovery measures implemented by his government, and that he would seek to prevent the formation a PP-Vox Government.[80]
At the election, the PP gained 48 seats, finishing first, but the PSOE gained one seat, and Vox lost over one third of its seats; this meant that PP leaderAlberto Núñez Feijóo was not able to form a government.[81][82] After the Congress of Deputies formally rejected Feijóo's bid to be invested in September 2023,King Felipe VI appointed Sánchez to form a government.[83] After obtaining the support of the left-wingSumar alliance, as well as a series of pro-independence and regionalist political parties, the Congress of Deputies re-elected Sánchez as Prime Minister on 16 November 2023; he was formally appointed to a third term the following day.[84]
Following weeks of political tensions, which saw Sánchez accepting anamnesty law for Catalan pro independence politicians convicted or investigated for events related to the2017–2018 Spanish constitutional crisis and the2019–2020 Catalan protests, he was able to secure enough support to be re-elected as prime minister by an absolute majority on 16 November 2023.[85] Sánchez's re-election and amnesty law proposalsparked protests.[86][87]
Sánchez criticised Israel's actions in theGaza Strip during theGaza war. He promised to "work in Europe and in Spain to recognise the Palestinian state".[88] Along withLeo Varadkar of Ireland, he has been widely recognised as one of the most pro-Palestine voices and critics with the Israeli actions within the European Union.[89][90] Spain officially recognised theState of Palestine on 28 May 2024, with the borders established in 1967, in coordination with Ireland and Norway.[91] On 6 June 2024 Spain joinedSouth Africa's genocide case against Israel.[92] Speaking at theWashington summit in July 2024, Sánchez urgedNATO members to avoid "double standards" regarding the wars inUkraine and Gaza,[93] saying, "If we demand respect for international law in Ukraine, we must demand it in Gaza as well."[94]
On 24 April 2024, due to a court investigation of his wife,Begoña Gómez, for allegedinfluence peddling charges presented byManos Limpias, a far-right proxy trade union,[95][96][97][98] Sánchez announced through a letter in theX social network that he was considering his resignation from the position of prime minister, citing a right-wing media offensive to wear him down.[99][100][101] Several media noted how Manos Limpias' charges against Sánchez's wife were based on press headlines and fake news,[102][103] a fact that the trade union acknowledged as possible.[104] On 26 April 2024 and in a joint investigation,elDiario.es,El País andLa Vanguardia newspapers revealed a plot by the PP, dating back toMariano Rajoy's government in 2014, to spy and produce information on Sánchez's and Gómez's relatives to "politically kill him" by using Manos Limpias to present criminal charges.[105][106][107] On 27 April, thousands gathered outside the PSOE's headquarters in Calle Ferraz, Madrid, in an effort to persuade Sánchez not to resign.[108] The case has drawn comparisons toAntónio Costa's resignation inPortugal over theOperation Influencer investigation, which attracted criticism for several mistakes.[109][110][111][112] On 29 April, Sánchez announced that he would not be resigning despite a "harassment and bullying operation" and that he would be fighting "even harder" as prime minister.[113]
Sánchez with Israeli PresidentIsaac Herzog and Belgian Prime MinisterAlexander De Croo in Jerusalem, Israel, 23 November 2023
As a result of Manos Limpias' complaint, Gómez has been under investigation for alleged crimes of influence peddling and corruption in business, with the judge, Juan Carlos Peinado, deciding during the2024 European Parliament election campaign—and without waiting to take testimony from witnesses—to call her to testify on 5 July 2024, though this was later postponed to 19 July.[114][115][116] She invoked herright not to testify.[117] Sánchez replied by accusing opposition leadersAlberto Núñez Feijóo andSantiago Abascal of trying to influence the outcome of the European Parliament elections on 9 June by using his wife's situation against him, while claiming that the unwritten rule of not issuing judicial resolutions that could affect the normal development of an electoral campaign and the vote had not been followed this time.[118][119] Through a new ruling, judge Peinado replied to Sánchez by arguing that there was no law in Spain preventing him from continuing his investigation during the electoral period; this was promptly criticised by the Spanish government, which responded that "rulings are not to attack anyone".[120][121]
On 15 July 2024, businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés testified and stated that Begoña Gómez had met with him up to eight times at thePalace of Moncloa, the prime minister's official residence and workplace. Pedro Sánchez was said to be also present at two of these meetings, but no other details were offered other than his presence in one of them being a brief "greeting" and another one being in the context of a round of meetings with innovation businessmen.[122][123] On 22 July, the judge summoned Pedro Sánchez to testify as a witness,[124][125] but he exercised his right not to testify as the husband of the person under investigation.[126]Vox denounced Pedro Sánchez and theMinister of Justice for using theState Attorney's Office against the judge investigating his wife;[127] as of November 2024, the Supreme Court accumulated the complaints of Vox, Hazte Oir and Iustitia Europa against Sánchez and her wife before deciding whether to investigate them or not.[128]
Sánchez has been supportive of legalimmigration to Spain as a way to foster economic growth and sustaining the country's welfare state.[129][130] On 9 October 2024, Sánchez urged the European Parliament to speed up the implementation of theNew Pact on Migration and Asylum to alleviate the migration crisis in theCanary Islands,[131] which had seen the illegal arrival of a record number of 46,843 migrants, mostly fromSenegal,Mali andMorocco (up from 39,910 in 2023).[132] Sánchez tried to push through a law that would introduce mandatory distribution of migrants among Spanish regions in order to alleviate pressure in the Canary Islands.[133] The Sánchez government planned to legalise around 900,000 undocumented migrants by 2027.[134]
In May 2025, Sánchez called Israel a "genocidal state" and said that Spain "does not do business" with such a country.[136] In September 2025, he drew controversy by remarking: "Spain does not have nuclear bombs. We cannot stop the Israeli offensive alone, but we will not stop trying."[137][138]
NATO dispute
Sánchez has an ongoing dispute with theUS andNATO, about its contribution to the alliance, meeting the 5% GDP, like all other members. In October 2025, it was suggested that Spain be thrown out of NATO, over that issue. for his defense Sánchez says, 5% is too high and would hurt key services like healthcare and education. He states that about 2.1% is realistic for Spain and that it is still committed to NATO. The latest developments of this dispute have ignited social media and media discussions, led by the phrase: "throw Sánchez, not Spain".[139][140][141]
In 2014, Sánchez ran to be PSOE Secretary-General under what has been described as a "centrist" and "social liberal" platform, before moving further left in his successful 2017 bid to return to the leadership, during which he stood for a "re-foundation ofsocial democracy", to transition to a "post-capitalist society", ending "neoliberal capitalism".[142][143][144][145] One key idea posed in his 2019Manual de Resistencia book is "the indissoluble link between 'social democracy' and 'Europe'".[146] Sánchez is also a strong opponent of prostitution and has advocated for its abolition.[147]
Following the2025 Iberian Peninsula blackout, Sanchez and his government have expressed their staunch opposition to nuclear energy, citing that much of the world's uranium comes from Russia and their focus on other sources of renewable energies.[152]
Aside from Spanish, Sánchez speaks fluent English and French.[155][22][156] He is the first Spanish prime minister to be fluent in English while in office.[d] Until thetransition to democracy following the death ofFrancisco Franco in the mid-1970s, foreign languages were not widely taught in Spanish schools, and former prime ministers, as representatives of their generation, have been known for struggling with them as a result.[157][158]
Ocaña Orbis, Carlos y Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Pedro (2013):La nueva diplomacia económica española. Madrid: Delta.ISBN9788415581512.[165]
Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Pedro (2019):Manual de resistencia. Madrid: Península.ISBN9788499427959.[166]
Controversial authorship
In 2018 a newspaper revealed that his bookLa nueva diplomacia económica española includes the plagiarism of six other people's texts.[23] The suspicion was extended to his doctoral thesis, whose authorship was questioned.[167]
RegardingManual de resistencia, Sánchez is given as the author, but the falsity of this claim is evidenced from the words of Sánchez himself, who states in the prologue that "This book is the result of long hours of conversation withIrene Lozano, writer, thinker, politician and friend. She gave a literary form to the recordings, giving me a decisive help".[168] The mentioned writer, for her part, affirmed that "I made the book, but the author is the prime minister".[169]
^"¿De dónde vienen los votos de Podemos?" [Where do the votes of Podemos come from?].europa press (in Spanish). 5 November 2014.Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved29 December 2015.
^Díez, Anabel (6 July 2015)."Pedro Sánchez, en proceso" [Pedro Sánchez, in process].El Pais (in Spanish).Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved29 December 2015.
^Zancajo, Silvia (3 June 2018)."Pedro Sánchez, el político de las siete vidas" [Pedro Sánchez, the politician of the seven lives].El Economista (in Spanish).Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved14 September 2018.
^Domínguez, Íñigo; Pérez, Fernando J. (14 September 2018)."Un trabajo intrigante".El País (in Spanish).Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved6 May 2019.
^Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Pedro (2019).Manual de resistencia. Madrid: Península. p. 13.ISBN9788499427959.
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