Recognition of Galicia's status as a nationality had a clear precedent in the Autonomy Statute of June 1936, which did not come into force because of the Spanish Civil War, despite the efforts of Castelar, one of the most important representatives of Galician nationalism, linked to the Republican Left.

On March 16th 1979 the region obtained a pre-autonomy regime and in June that year the Galician M.P.'s presented to the Cortes the draft Autonomy Statute of Galicia, which, modified by the Constitutional Committee and the Assembly of Parliamentarians, was ratified in a referendum by the Galician people (December 1980) and came into for in April 1981.

Galicia was set up as an Autonomous Community by Organic Law 1/1981, April 6th (B.O.E. 28-4-81).