For the first time, a woman will be in charge of the Secretariat of Queen Letizia. María Dolores Ocaña Madrid, a State lawyer, will be appointed to carry out this role replacing General José Zuleta, 63, who has been in charge of the office since 2014, according to sources at La Zarzuela. The handover will take effect on April 30. In addition, two other additional changes will be made in the Royal Household. The Head of the Coordination and Planning Office, currently held by Emilio Tomé de la Vega, 70, will be taken over by Major General Juan Carlos González Díez. In the coming days, Isaías Peral Puebla, 71, who has been in charge of Administration, Infrastructure, and Services, will also be replaced.
María Dolores Ocaña Madrid, the new head of the Queen’s Secretariat, was previously the chief State lawyer at the Ministry of Education and Professional Training in 2020, under Minister Pilar Alegría. Between 2018 and 2020, she was the undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, under the leadership of Luis Planas. As a State lawyer, she worked in Zamora, in the Administrative Court of the National High Court, and in the Government Delegation in Madrid. These appointments, to be effective once published in the Official State Gazette, are the prerogative of King Felipe VI. This is a designation provided for in article 65.2 of the Constitution, which states: “The King freely appoints and dismisses the civilian and military members of his Household.”
At the beginning of this year, the King replaced the Chief of the Royal Household and his most direct collaborator, Jaime Alfonsín Alfonso, 67, and appointed Camilo Villarino Marzo, a 59-year-old diplomat, in his place. Villarino was previously the Chief of Staff for the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. This change had been expected for some time, as Alfonsín had expressed his desire to leave the position after three decades at La Zarzuela. The most important changes are those that occur closest to you. Stay up to date by subscribing.
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