Secretary of State for Universities, Research, Development and Innovation


The Secretary of State for Universities, Research, Development and Innovation was an official post of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Government of Spain that existed from 1977 to 2020. The Secretary of State was appointed by the King of Spain after being nominated by the Science Minister.
As the second highest office of the Ministry, the Secretary of State was responsible for the direction of the competencies assigned to the Ministry over science, R&D&I and universities. In this sense, he or she designed and directed, in coordination with the Secretary of State for Education, the scholarship and study aid programs and he or she coordinated the efforts of the different Spanish public administrations and the European institutions.
The Secretary of State also took care of the well administration and distribution of the European community funds destined to universities, science and research and it secured the equal and universal access and no discrimination to universities and science with special attention to the role of women in this area.
Because of his position, the Secretary of State was also the President of the State Research Agency and the President of the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology.

History

The Secretariat of State was created for the first time in 1977 with the name of Secretariat of State for Universities and Innovation and was integrated in the Ministry of Education and Science but it was soon replaced by the Ministry of Universities and Science created in 1979. This ministry was suppressed in 1981 and the secretariat of state was activated again and integrated in the Ministry of Education.
The significant modification happened in 2000. During the Second Aznar Government, the Ministry of Science and Technology was created and assumed the competences over R&D&I and science, but the competences over universities were maintained in the Ministry of Education. At this time, the Secretary of State for Education assumed the competences over universities and in the Ministry of Science was created the Secretariat of State for Scientific and Technological Policy.
In 2004, the Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero merged the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and the Secretariat of State for Universities and Research was created again. In his second government, Zapatero revived the Ministry of Science but split the secretariat of state in two. In 2009 the Secretariat of State for Universities was suppressed and all its competences were assumed by the General Secretariat of Universities in the Ministry of Education.
In 2012, the new government of Mariano Rajoy continued with the major austerity plan started by Zapatero to improve the economy which started with the reduction of dozens of high-ranking officials. This provoked that disappearance of the Ministry of Science and most of its competences were granted to the Ministry of Economy, which had as one of its major departments the Secretariat of State for Research, Development and Innovation. The General Secretariat for Universities was also eliminated and its competences were assumed, once again, by the Secretary of State for Education.
Once that the crisis was over, the change of government in 2018 it brought with it the enlargement of the State Administration with the creation of new ministerial departments like the Ministry of Science, that assumed its old competences.

Names

To carry out its duties, the Secretariat of State was divided in three major departments and two non-ministerial bodies:
Along with the mentioned departments, the Secretariat of State was the directly responsible of the State Research Agency and the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology.

List of State Secretaries

The coloured secretaries of state hadn't all the competences described in this article.