He was Minister of the Interior from 2001 to 2002 and Minister of the Presidency twice, once from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2002 to 2003. Mariano served as Government Spokesperson from 2002 to 2003. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Spain from 2000 to 2003. Rajoy served as Secretary-General of the People’s Party from 2003 to 2004. From 2004 to 2011 he was the Lead of the Opposition. Rajoy became Prime Minister of Spain in December 2011 succeeding Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Mariano married Elvira Fernandez Balboa in 1996 and the couple has two children together.