Law of Succession to the Headship of the State

Law of Succession to the Headship of the State Ley de Sucesión en la Jefatura del Estado
Cortes Españolas
Territorial extent	Spain (Francoist regime and transition)
Enacted by	Cortes Españolas
Enacted	7 June 1947
Commenced	27 July 1947
Repealed	29 December 1978
Legislative history
Introduced by	Franco III Government
Introduced	28 March 1947
Repealed by
Constitution of Spain
Related legislation
Fundamental Laws of the Realm
Summary
Appointed Francisco Franco as the Head of State of Spain for life, and gave him the right to name his own successor
Text of statute as originally enacted
Status: Repealed

The Law of Succession to the Headship of the State (Spanish: Ley de Sucesión en la Jefatura del Estado) was the fifth of the eight Fundamental Laws of the Realm organizing the powers of the Francoist regime in Spain. It established provisions for the restoration of the Spanish monarchy (after being abolished by the Second Spanish Republic in 1931), appointed Francisco Franco as the Head of State of Spain for life. It provided that his successor would be proposed by Franco himself with the title of King or Regent of the Kingdom, but that would have to be approved by the Cortes Españolas.

The draft of the Law was sent by the Franco III Government to the Cortes on 28 March 1947. It had a short elaboration process and was approved by the Cortes in its session of 7 June 1947 and submitted to a referendum on 6 July 1947, coming into force on 27 July 1947.