With the approval of the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country in 1979, Vitoria-Gasteiz was elected the seat of the government and therefore the de facto capital of the Basque Autonomous Community, although Bilbao was larger and more powerful economically.
Uz izglasavanje Statuta autonomije Baskije godine 1979. godine, Vitoria-Gasteiz je odabrana za sjedište vlade i time de facto glavni grad Baskijske autonomne zajednice, iako Bilbao bio je veći i ekonomski moćniji.