It is the fourth authority of the country after the Monarch (Head of State), the Prime Minister (Head of Government) and the President of the Congress of Deputies (Speaker of the Lower House).

The current office was established by the 1978 Constitution, however, the position has a tradition of almost 200 years, since its creation in 1834 when it was called President of the House of Peers.

As of the 15th term of the Cortes Generales, the current officeholder is Pedro Rollán, a member of the Popular Parliamentary Group representing Madrid.

The first president was the Duke of Bailé who served for 60 days before resigning.

The shortest presidency was that of the Marquess of Miraflores which was president briefly between August 3 and August 12, 1836 and the longest was that of Javier Rojo serving 7 years, 8 months and 10 days.