In 2018, the newspaper El País reported that Spain's current king, Felipe VI, is "the first monarch to have sworn on the 1978 Spanish Constitution." His father, Juan Carlos, had been appointed as king by strongman Francisco Franco, who had established a vicious dictatorship in the 1930s after winning the Spanish Civil War. After Carlos ascended to power in 1975, writes Britannica, he quickly shifted from Francoism to a more democratic system, approving the 1978 constitution, which affords greater regional autonomy to provinces.
The constitution also defines the separation of powers between Spain's executive, legislative, and judicial branches. As head of state, the king represents Spain in international matters but has a largely apolitical and in some respects symbolic role. He is commander in chief and can declare war but doesn't actually control the military. He appoints the prime minister with the consent of parliament. He can ratify treaties approved by the government. Kings are even accountable to public opinion. King Juan Carlos actually abdicated the throne after scandals tanked his reputation. As El País put it, "The king does not run for office, but that does not mean that he does not submit to citizen scrutiny."
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