General Post Office

General Post Office

Royal Arms of HM Government
Agency overview
Formed	31 July 1635 (1635-07-31) (public service) 29 December 1660 (1660-12-29) (Post Office Act 1660)
Dissolved	1 October 1969 (1969-10-01)
Superseding agency	Post Office Ltd Post Office Telecommunications
Jurisdiction	1660–1707  England & Wales 1707–1800  Great Britain 1800–1969  United Kingdom
Headquarters	General Post Office, St Martin's le Grand, London EC2
Agency executives	Sir Brian Tuke, Master of the King's Post (first Postmaster General of  the United Kingdom) John Stonehouse, last Postmaster General
Parent agency	HM Government

The General Post Office (GPO)^[1] was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969.^[2] Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific sender to a specific receiver (which was to be of great importance when new forms of communication were invented); it was overseen by a Government minister, the Postmaster General. Over time its remit was extended to Scotland and Ireland, and across parts of the British Empire.

The GPO was abolished by the Post Office Act 1969, which transferred its assets to the Post Office, so changing it from a Department of State to a statutory corporation. Responsibility for telecommunications was given to Post Office Telecommunications, the successor of the GPO Telegraph and Telephones department. In 1980, the telecommunications and postal sides were split prior to British Telecommunications' conversion into a totally separate publicly owned corporation the following year as a result of the British Telecommunications Act 1981. The postal service was transferred to Royal Mail.