In the appointment of the person holding the Presidency of the Council, the Government and the Congress of Deputies. The Government proposes a candidate or candidate, who must be a person of recognized prestige and professional competence. The proposed person must appear in the corresponding Commission of the Congress of Deputies and obtain the endorsement of the Chamber by an absolute majority. Finalmente, el nombramiento se realiza por Real Decreto aprobado en Consejo de Ministros.

The Presidency, whose Mandate is five years, non-renewable, exercises his functions with full independence and total objectivityit is not subject to an imperative mandate and receives no instruction from any authority. Exercises his/her functions on a full-time basis and fully subject to incompatibilities regime of the senior positions of the General State Administration.

Law 19/2013 on transparency, access to public information and good governance gives the Presidency of the Council broad responsibilities in the governance of the institution and in decision-making. Its functions are regulated in the article 38 of this norm and in Article 13 of the Council Statute.

It has the legal and institutional representation of the Council and directs and coordinates the activities of all its governing bodies. It deals with complaints of amparo concerning access to public information, adopts criteria for uniform interpretation of the obligations of the Transparency Act and guidelines, recommendations or guides for its correct application, and responds to queries made by the bodies responsible for processing and resolving requests for access to information, among other functions.

In addition, it concludes contracts and agreements, authorizes expenses and payments, formulates and approves the annual accounts of the entity and exercises the functions of personnel leadership. He also frequently participates in various forums, symposia, meetings and conferences, both national and international. And he appears, at least once a year, in Congress to report and render accounts on the activity of the institution and present the annual report of the Council.

Fco. Javier Amorós Dorda (Acting President. November 2017-October 2020)

He has a degree in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid and has been an official of the Superior Body of Civil Administrators of the State since 1982. He has held various positions in the General Administration of the State, including those of Assistant Director General of Passive Classes in the Ministry of Finance and Assistant Director General of Organization and Procedures in the Ministry of Finance and Public Administrations. In December 2014 he was appointed deputy director general of Transparency and Good Governance of the Council of Transparency and Good Governance. After the death of Esther Arizmendi, he held the interim presidency of the institution until the appointment of José Luis Rodríguez Álvarez in October 2020.

Esther Arizmendi Gutiérrez (December 2014-November 2017)

She holds a degree in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid and a superior technician in General Administration, Local Administration and Civil Administration of the State. She has spent more than three decades in administration, where, among other responsibilities, she was General Manager of Administrative Modernization, Procedures and Promotion of Electronic Administration. He was rapporteur of the Commission for the Reform of Public Administrations (CORA) as chair of the Administrative Simplification Sub-Commission before the creation of the Council of Transparency and Good Governance, for which he was appointed Chair in December 2014. He launched the institution, and was at the head of the Council until his death, in November 2017.