History of the Formation and Development of the Ministry of Science and Technology

On August 15, 1945, at Tan Trao (Tuyen Quang), the National Conference of the Indochinese Communist Party resolved to establish the Specialized Communications Board, the forerunner of today's Postal sector.

On August 28, 1945, the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was established; the national cabinet included the Ministry of Public Works and Communications, which managed postal affairs.

On April 13, 1946, President Ho Chi Minh issued Decree No. 50-SL, whose Article Seven stated that the Postal Department belonged to the Ministry of Public Works and Communications.

In October 1946, the first military ordnance workshop was established in Viet Bac, producing and repairing various weapons and military equipment for the resistance war, such as guns, mines, and grenades. The founding of this workshop laid the foundation for Vietnam's military ordnance industry, marking the start of applying science and technology to weapons manufacturing and making an important contribution to the cause of resistance and national construction.

On June 28, 1947, the Ministry of Public Works and Communications issued Decree No. 335/ND reorganizing the postal sector into three Postal Departments nationwide.

On April 2, 1948, the Ministry of Public Works and Communications issued Decree No. 33/ND on the organization of Vietnam's postal apparatus during the resistance period. On June 12, 1951, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No. 30-SL renaming the Postal Department under the Ministry of Public Works and Communications as the Posts and Radio-Telegraphy Department.

On March 8, 1955, the Posts and Radio-Telegraphy Department was renamed the General Department of Posts under Government Decree No. 480-TTg.

On September 19, 1955, the Government Council issued a Resolution splitting the Ministry of Public Works and Communications into the Ministry of Transport and Posts and the Ministry of Irrigation and Architecture. The General Department of Posts came under the Ministry of Transport and Posts.

On March 4, 1959, the State Committee for Science was officially established under Decree No. 016-SL of the President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

On May 13, 1961, the Government Council issued Decision No. 63/CP separating the General Department of Posts from the Ministry of Transport and Posts, making it an agency directly under the Government.

In October 1961, the Communications and Liaison Board of the Central Office for South Vietnam was established.

On February 9, 1962, the Government Council issued Decision No. 12/CP assigning the General Department of Posts the additional task of managing broadcasting technical facilities and broadcasting development.

On February 18, 1962, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly announced the renaming of the General Department of Posts as the General Department of Posts and Broadcasting.

On June 2, 1962, the Southern Postal Transport Board was established under a Decision of the Central Office for South Vietnam.

On October 11, 1965, the State Committee for Science was split into two agencies: the State Committee for Science and Technology, and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, pursuant to ???? [reference incomplete in source]

On December 21, 1967, the Government Council issued Decree No. 219/TTg separating the radio and television broadcasting function from the General Department of Posts and Broadcasting.

On January 21, 1968, the Government Council decided to rename the General Department of Posts and Broadcasting as the General Department of Posts.

In July 1975, the Standing Committee of the Central Office for South Vietnam issued Decision No. 024/QD-75 establishing the Southern General Department of Posts.

On August 19, 1975, the Party Civil Affairs Committee of the General Department of Posts formally proposed to the Party Central Secretariat and the Standing Committee of the Government Council that the postal sector be allowed to adopt unified, comprehensive vertical management nationwide.

On August 23, 1976, the General Department of Posts, representing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, officially joined the Universal Postal Union (UPU).

In November 1976, the General Department of Posts officially joined the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Facing the substantial and urgent demands of scientific and technological development in the new period, the Government Council decided to separate the research sector from the State Committee for Science and Technology to establish the Vietnam Academy of Sciences (Decree No. 118-CP dated May 20, 1975), in order to strengthen both scientific-technical research and scientific-technical management at the same time.

The organizational apparatus of the State Committee for Science and Technology was essentially implemented under the Committee's Charter on Organization and Operation, issued together with Decree No. 192-CP of the Government Council dated October 13, 1975.

In 1990, the State Committee for Science and Technology was renamed the State Committee for Science, performing state management functions in natural science, technical science, and social science to encourage creativity and the widespread application of scientific and technological achievements, delivering practical benefits for the country's new stage of development.

On March 31, 1990, the Council of State issued Resolution No. 224/NQ-HDNN assigning the Ministry of Transport and Posts to take on state management functions over the postal sector.

On April 7, 1990, the Council of Ministers issued Decree No. 115/HDBT converting the General Department of Posts into the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications General Corporation, under the Ministry of Transport and Posts.

On September 30, 1992, at its First Session, the 9th National Assembly issued a Resolution establishing the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, affirming the Party and State's commitment to strengthening leadership and direction over the country's scientific and technological development, and raising the effectiveness of state management of science, technology, and the environment.

On October 26, 1992, the Government issued Decree No. 03/CP on re-establishing the General Department of Posts, stipulating that it was an agency directly under the Government responsible for state management of posts and telecommunications, radio and television signal transmission technology, and the postal industry nationwide. The Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications General Corporation was a production and business unit under the General Department of Posts.

On May 7, 1994, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 91/TTg converting the Posts and Telecommunications General Corporation into a State business corporation.

On April 29, 1995, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 249/TTg establishing Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT), based on the reorganization of the service, production, distribution, and operational units for posts and telecommunications under the General Department of Posts. VNPT was a general corporation directly under the Government.

In August 2002, at its First Session, the 11th National Assembly decided to rename the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment as the Ministry of Science and Technology, while transferring state environmental management functions to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. That same year, in November 2002, the Government established the Ministry of Post and Telematics under Decree No. 90/2002/ND-CP dated November 11, 2002, with state management functions over posts, telecommunications, information technology, electronics, the Internet, broadcast transmission, radio frequencies, and national information infrastructure.

In 2007, the Ministry of Information and Communications was established on the basis of the functions and tasks of the Ministry of Post and Telematics, additionally taking on the state management functions for press and publishing from the Ministry of Culture and Information. Government Decree No. 187/2007/ND-CP dated December 25, 2007, defined the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Throughout the country's development, the Party and State have always regarded science and technology as a decisive factor and a foundation for the nation's sustainable development. Since the 4th National Party Congress, science and technology have been identified as a revolution, and today they stand as the foremost national policy. Many important resolutions, such as Resolution 20, Resolution 52, and Resolution 36, have been issued, yielding positive results and contributing to the country's development as seen today.

Politburo Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024, on "Breakthroughs in the Development of Science, Technology, Innovation, and National Digital Transformation" is a key document that identifies science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation as strategic breakthroughs and the main driving force for national development. Resolution 57 sets out a vision to 2045, with the goal of making Vietnam a developed, high-income country, with a digital economy accounting for at least 50% of GDP.

In the spirit of Resolution 57-NQ/TW, and implementing the Party's direction on reorganizing and strengthening the organizational apparatus to be streamlined and to operate effectively and efficiently in the spirit of Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW, as of March 1, 2025, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Information and Communications were officially merged into the Ministry of Science and Technology, marking an important historic milestone for the two sectors and fields.

On March 2, 2025, the Government issued Decree No. 55/2025/ND-CP defining the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology. The Decree clearly states that the Ministry of Science and Technology is a government agency performing state management functions over scientific research, technology development, innovation, development of high technology and strategic technology, and development of science and technology potential; intellectual property; standards, metrology, and quality; atomic energy, radiation and nuclear safety; posts; telecommunications; radio frequencies; the information technology industry and digital technology industry; information technology application; electronic transactions; national digital transformation; and state management of public services within the sectors and fields under the Ministry's management, in accordance with the law.

The Ministry has 37 groups of tasks and powers under the Law on Government Organization and the Government's regulations on the organizational structure of the administrative apparatus.

On March 1, 2025, the Ministry of Science and Technology officially began operations, marking the first term of the Ministry of Science and Technology implementing Politburo Resolution 57 on breakthroughs in the development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation; the first term to comprehensively carry out the second wave of renovation in science and technology and in posts and telecommunications; the first term in which the strategic trio of science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation came together under one roof; and the first term in which science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation were entrusted with the mission of serving as the main driving force for realizing Vietnam's aspiration to rise and become a developed, high-income country following the socialist orientation.