Ministry of the Interior (Spain)

The Ministry of the Interior (MIR) is a department of the Government of Spain responsible for public security, the protection of the constitutional rights, the command of the law enforcement agencies, national security, immigration affairs, prisons, civil defense and road traffic safety. Through the Undersecretariat of the Interior and its superior body, the Directorate-General for Internal Policy, the Ministry is responsible for all actions related to ensuring political pluralism and the proper functioning of electoral processes.

The MIR is headed by the Minister for Home Affairs, who is appointed by the Monarch at request of the Prime Minister. The Minister is assisted by three main officials, the Secretary of State for Security, the Secretary-General for Penitentiary Institutions and the Under-Secretary of the Interior. Among the director generals, the most important are the Director-General of the Police and the Director-General of the Civil Guard.

This department has historically received numerous denominations such as Ministerio de la Gobernación (literally Ministry of the Governance), Ministerio de Orden Público (Ministry of Public Order) and Ministerio del Interior y Justicia (Ministry of the Interior and Justice) when both ministries joint in one.

As of 2020, Spain (central, regional and local governments) spends around € 24.6 billion per year on security and public order, which puts it at 2.1 % of GDP. Provided by Wikipedia