The Ministry of Education (Spanish: Ministerio de Educación) is the ministry of the government of Spain responsible for the administration and the preservation of the public universities, non-university education and professional training. The predecessor of this ministry was established during the reign of Maria Christina of Austria with the creation of the Ministry of Public Instruction and the Arts (Ministerio de Instrucción Pública y Bellas Artes), formed by royal decree on the April 18, 1900. The ministry's first minister was Antonio García Alix.