Zapatero government Zapatero government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero formed the Zapatero government on 18 April 2004 after being nominated by King Juan Carlos I to form a government as a result of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party's victory at the 2004 general election. Zapatero was nominated again after the 2008 general election to form a new cabinet for a second term in office. The first Zapatero government was the government of Spain from 18 April 2004 to 14 April 2008, a total of days, or . Zapatero was elected Prime Minister by the Congress of Deputies on 16 April and was sworn
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero 1,300 Spanish troops in Iraq. The decision aroused international support worldwide, though the Bush administration claimed that terrorists could perceive it as "a victory obtained due to the 2004 Madrid train bombings". John Kerry, then Democratic party candidate for the U.S. Presidency, asked Zapatero not to withdraw the Spanish soldiers. Some months after withdrawing the troops, the Zapatero government agreed to increase the number of Spanish soldiers in Afghanistan and to send troops to Haiti to show the Spanish Government's willingness to spend resources on international missions approved by the United Nations. On 8 June 2004, with the withdrawal already