Secretary of State for Telecommunications

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Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures
Secretario de Estado de Telecomunicaciones e Infraestructuras Digitales
Escudo de Espana (mazonado).svg
Coat of Arms used by the Government
Logotipo de la Secretaria de Estado de Telecomunicaciones e Infraestructuras Digitales.png
Antonio Hernando 2014 (cropped).jpg
since September 24, 2024
Ministry of Digital Transformation and Civil Service
Secretariat of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infraestructures
Style The Most Excellent (formal)
Mr/Ms. Secretary of State(informal)
AbbreviationSETID
Reports to Minister for Digital Transformation
Nominator Ministry of Digital Transformation
Appointer Monarch
PrecursorSecretary General for Communications
FormationApril 27, 2000;25 years ago (2000-04-27)
First holder Baudilio Tomé Muguruza
Website mineco.gob.es

The secretary of state for telecommunications and digital infrastructures (SETID) is senior minister of the Spanish Department of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

Contents

The secretary of state for telecommunications is responsible for the promotion, regulation and knowledge of the telecommunications sector, audiovisual services and the Information Society, the dialogue with the professional, industrial and academic sectors and the coordination or cooperation between different ministries and with other public administrations regarding these matters.

The Secretariat of State, led by the SETID, is divided in two departments; one with the level of Directorate-General and other with the level of Deputy Directorate-General.

History

Since the arrival of the democracy to Spain, becoming an advanced country was one of the goals of the first democratic governments and that means to have a good network of communications.

The importance was such that in 1977, a year before the Constitution was approved, a Ministry of Transport and Communications was created. This ministry assumed most of the competences that the current Secretariat of State for Communications has and the organs of this ministry dedicated to telecoms had most of them the level of Directorate-General.

In 1985, because of the fast growing of the communications systems and media, the department dedicated to telecoms in this Ministry was elevated to the level of General Secretariat and was divided in three departments: for mail, for telecoms and for communications infraestructure. [1]

In 1990, the Ministry was fusionated with the Ministry of Development but maintain the communications department intact.

It wasn't until 2000 when the department was elevated to the level of Secretariat of State and the current department is officially created. [2] At the beginning received the name of Secretariat of State for Telecommunications and for the Information Society and depended from the Ministry of Science from 2000 to 2004 and from the Ministry of Industry since 2004 to its renovation in 2016.

In 2016, a new government reestructuration created a new ministry with competences over Energy, Tourism and Communications, being called Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda. With this ministry, the Secretariat of State was renamed Secretariat of State for the Information Society and Digital Agenda.

Two years later, in 2018, a change in the government provoked that the competences over telecommunications were transferred to the Ministry of Economy and the Secretariat of State was renamed Secretariat of State for Digital Progress. [3] In 2020, the position of secretary of state for digitization and artificial intelligence was created and it assumed some responsibilities. This new position also assumed the oversight for Red.es, a public company in charge of the development of programs to boost the digital economy, innovation, entrepreneurship, training for young people and professionals and support for SMEs by promoting the efficient and intensive use of information and communication technologies. [4]

Structure

Under the authority of the secretary of state, there are the following departments: [4]

List of secretaries of state

No.ImageNameTerm of officeMinisters serving under: Prime Minister appointed by:
BeganEndedDays of service
Baudilio Tome 2011 (cropped).jpg Baudilio Tomé Muguruza 6 May 20003 August 2002819 Anna Birulés José María Aznar
Escudo de Espana (mazonado).svg Carlos López Blanco3 August 20021 May 2004637 Josep Piqué
Escudo de Espana (mazonado).svg Francisco Ros Perán1 May 200427 July 20102278 José Montilla
Miguel Sebastián Gascón
José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
Escudo de Espana (mazonado).svg Bernardo Lorenzo Almendros27 July 201010 May 2011287 Miguel Sebastián Gascón
Escudo de Espana (mazonado).svg Juan Junquera Temprano10 May 201131 December 2011235 Miguel Sebastián Gascón
Victor Calvo-Sotelo en la inauguracion del Encuentro Aporta 2012.jpg Víctor Calvo-Sotelo31 December 201119 November 20161785 José Manuel Soria
Luis de Guindos
Mariano Rajoy
Jose Maria Lassalle 2012b (cropped).jpg José María Lassalle19 November 201619 June 20181785 Álvaro Nadal
Francisco Polo, en Wayra (2012) (cropped).jpg Francisco Polo19 June 201815 January 2020575 Nadia Calviño Pedro Sánchez
Escudo de Espana (mazonado).svg Roberto Sánchez Sánchez15 January 20205 October 2022994
Maria Gonzalez Veracruz (2012) (cropped).jpg María González Veracruz 5 October 202224 September 2024720
José Luis Escrivá
10º Antonio Hernando 2014 (cropped).jpg Antonio Hernando Vera 24 September 2024Incumbent296 Óscar López Águeda

References

  1. "Royal Decree 1209/1985, of June 19, by which the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Transport, Tourism and Communications is partially modified, the National Institute for the Promotion of Tourism is established and certain autonomous Organisms attached to the Department are abolished". BOE.es. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  2. "Royal Decree 696/2000, of May 12, which establishes the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology". BOE.es. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  3. "Royal Decree 1046/2018, of August 24, by which the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Economy and Business is developed". BOE.es. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Royal Decree 210/2024, of February 27, which develops the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Civil Service". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-07-09.