Francisco González Aguado, a psychiatrist specialising in disasters and emergencies, holds the position of Deputy Director-General of the Mental Health Commission of the Spanish Ministry of Health.
The Mental Health Commissioner, created in 2024, is a governing body of the Spanish Ministry of Health that promotes decent living conditions for people with mental health problems and their families. It was created in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, in response to the growing importance that the Ministry of Health attaches to mental health care, and with the intention of creating a specific, independent body with greater institutional relevance and standing.
In interaction with other ministerial departments, public administrations, public and private institutions, and civil society, the Mental Health Commissioner develops strategic lines and, in the post-disaster period of the DANA, deploys the Emergency Mental Health Units (in Spanish, USME) to care for those affected.