Lukashenka Reorganises the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus
Reform.news Editorial Team · 19 October 2026, 18:34
https://reform.news/en/lukashenka-reorganises-the-national-academy-of-sciences-of-belarus/Aliaksandr Lukashenka signed a decree entitled “On the Activities of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus” on October 19. The document reorganises the Academy’s operations, approves a new charter and gives Lukashenka the authority to confer academic titles.
“The document aims to improve the scientific sector, the organisational structure and activities of the National Academy of Sciences, as well as those of organisations subordinate to it; strengthen their scientific and production capacities; and increase the practical relevance and effectiveness of their research,” Lukashenka’s press service said.
A number of state research institutions and research and practical centres under the National Academy of Sciences will be dissolved, reorganised or transformed in order to “eliminate duplication of functions and concentrate the potential of research institutions on addressing applied tasks in technology and engineering that are priorities for the state, while further improving the effectiveness of scientific research.”
The chair of the Academy’s Presidium, their deputies and the chief academic secretary will be granted the status of civil servants. The measure is intended to strengthen the management hierarchy and increase the personal accountability of senior officials for the results of the Academy’s scientific and economic activities.
The chair of the Presidium will be authorised to appoint and dismiss heads and deputy heads of subordinate organisations, as well as their academic secretaries.
The powers of the Presidium and its Bureau have been expanded through the delegation of certain functions of the General Assembly to enable prompt decisions on the Academy’s activities.
A maximum staffing level for the Academy’s administrative apparatus has been established.
The decree changes the rules for electing full members and corresponding members of the Academy. Candidates for full membership must be no older than 70, while the age limit for corresponding membership is 60. Candidates must hold a Doctor of Sciences degree and the academic title of professor, have led scientific, scientific and technical, and sectoral programmes, and have made a substantial contribution to the development of science, including scientific and practical publications in the relevant field.
The decree gives Lukashenka the authority to confer academic titles on individuals who have “made a significant contribution to the development of the national economy and domestic and global science”.
Lukashenka had planned to conduct a thorough review of the Academy of Sciences three years ago, in October 2023. A special working group was established in 2024. Since then, Lukashenka has periodically returned to the issue and demanded results from scientists.