List of Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs (UK)
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The position Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom has been in existence in various forms since 1782. Here is a list of the holders of it and its predecessor offices.[1]
Contents
Foreign Secretary of Great Britain
In 1782 the positions of Secretary of State for the Northern Department and Secretary of State for the Southern Department were put together and divided upon domestic/international lines into the positions of Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary.
Name | Portrait | Name and Party of Prime Minister | Entered office | Left office | Political party | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Charles James Fox | The Marquess of Rockingham (Whig) | 27 March | 5 June 1782 | Whig | ||
The Lord Grantham | The Earl of Shelburne (Whig) | 13 July 1782 | 3 April 1783 | Whig | ||
Charles James Fox | The Duke of Portland (Whig) | 2 April | 19 December 1783 | Whig | ||
The Earl Temple | William Pitt the Younger (Tory) | 19 December | 22 December 1783 | Whig | ||
The Marquess of Camarthen | William Pitt the Younger (Tory) | 23 December 1783 | May 1791 | Whig | ||
The Lord Grenville | William Pitt the Younger (Tory) | 8 June 1791 | 20 February 1801 | Whig |
Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom
In 1801 the Act of Union unified Great Britain and Ireland and the position of Foreign Secretary of Great Britain gave way to that of Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom.
Ministers concerned with the British Empire and Commonwealth
This office was in charge of the dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free State, as well as the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia. The name was changed in 1947 to that of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations. This office was combined with that of Secretary of State for the Colonies (previously Secretary of State for War and the Colonies). This new position, called `Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs.
Secretaries of State for (War and) the Colonies, 1768-1966
- Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough (27 February 1768 – 27 August 1772)
- William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth (27 August 1772 – 10 November 1775)
- Lord George Germain (10 November 1775 - February 1782
- Welbore Ellis ( - 8 February March 1782)
In 1782, following the loss of the American colonies, the office was abolished, and its duties given to the Home Secretary, then Lord Sydney. In 1794 a new office was created for Henry Dundas — the Secretary of State for War, which now took responsibility for the Colonies, and was renamed the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1801. In 1854, military reforms led to the Colonial and Military responsibilities of this secretary of state being split into two separate offices, with Sir George Grey becoming the first Secretary of State for the Colonies under the new arrangement.
- Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet (12 June 1854 – 8 February 1855)
- Sidney Herbert (8 February 1855 – 23 February 1855)
- Lord John Russell (23 February 1855 – 21 July 1855)
- Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet (21 July 1855 – 21 November 1855)
- Henry Labouchere (21 November 1855 – 21 February 1858)
- Edward Henry Stanley, Lord Stanley (26 February 1858 – 5 June 1858)
- Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton (5 June 1858 – 11 June 1859)
- Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle (18 June 1859 – 7 April 1864)
- Edward Cardwell (7 April 1864 – 26 June 1866)
- Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon (6 July 1866 – 8 March 1867)
- Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (8 March 1867 – 1 December 1868)
- Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (9 December 1868 – 6 July 1870)
- John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (6 July 1870 – 17 February 1874)
- Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon (21 February 1874 – 4 February 1878)
- Sir Michael Hicks Beach (4 February 1878 – 21 April 1880)
- John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (21 April 1880 – 16 December 1882)
- Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby (16 December 1882 – 9 June 1885)
- Frederick Arthur Stanley (24 June 1885 – 28 January 1886)
- Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (6 February 1886 – 20 July 1886)
- Edward Stanhope (3 August 1886 – 14 January 1887)
- Henry Thurstan Holland, 1st Baron Knutsford (14 January 1887 – 11 August 1892)
- George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon (18 August 1892 – 21 June 1895)
- Joseph Chamberlain (29 June 1895 – 16 September 1903) (Resigned)
- Alfred Lyttelton (11 October 1903 – 4 December 1905)
- Victor Alexander Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin (10 December 1905 – 12 April 1908)
- Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Earl of Crewe (12 April 1908 – 3 November 1910)
- Lewis Vernon Harcourt (3 November 1910 – 25 May 1915)
- Andrew Bonar Law (25 May 1915 – 10 December 1916)
- Walter Hume Long (10 December 1916 – 10 January 1919)
- Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner (10 January 1919 – 13 February 1921)
- Winston Churchill (13 February 1921 – 19 October 1922)
- Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire (24 October 1922 – 22 January 1924)
- James Henry Thomas (22 January 1924 – 3 November 1924)
- Leo Amery (6 November 1924 – 4 June 1929)
- Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield (7 June 1929 – 24 August 1931)
- James Henry Thomas (25 August 1931 – 5 November 1931)
- Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister (5 November 1931 – 7 June 1935)
- Malcolm MacDonald (7 June 1935 – 22 November 1935)
- James Henry Thomas (22 November 1935 – 22 May 1936) (Resigned)
- William Ormsby-Gore (28 May 1936 – 16 May 1938)
- Malcolm MacDonald (16 May 1938 – 12 May 1940)
- George Ambrose Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd (12 May 1940 – 8 February 1941)
- Walter Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne (8 February 1941 – 22 February 1942)
- Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne (22 February 1942 – 22 November 1942)
- Oliver Stanley (22 November 1942 – 26 July 1945)
- George Hall (3 August 1945 – 4 October 1946)
- Arthur Creech Jones (4 October 1946 – 28 February 1950)
- James Griffiths (28 February 1950 – 26 October 1951)
- Oliver Lyttelton (28 October 1951 – 28 July 1954)
- Alan Lennox-Boyd (28 July 1954 – 14 October 1959)
- Iain Macleod (14 October 1959 – 9 October 1961)
- Reginald Maudling (9 October 1961 – 13 July 1962)
- Duncan Sandys (13 July 1962 – 16 October 1964)
- Anthony Greenwood (18 October 1964 – 23 December 1965)
- Francis Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford (23 December 1965 – 6 April 1966)
- Frederick Lee (6 April 1966 – 1 August 1966)
Secretaries of State for Dominion Affairs, 1925-1947
- Leo Amery (11 June 1925 – 4 June 1929)
- Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield (7 June 1929 – 5 June 1930)
- James Henry Thomas (5 June 1930 – 22 November 1935)
- Malcolm MacDonald (22 November 1935 – 16 May 1938)
- Edward Montagu Cavendish Stanley, Lord Stanley (16 May 1938 – 31 October 1938)
- Malcolm MacDonald (31 October 1938 – 29 January 1939)
- Sir Thomas Walker Inskip (29 January 1939 – 3 September 1939)
- Anthony Eden (3 September 1939 – 14 May 1940)
- Thomas Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote (14 May 1940 – 3 October 1940)
- Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne (3 October 1940 – 19 February 1942)
- Clement Attlee (19 February 1942 – 24 September 1943)
- Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne (24 September 1943 – 26 July 1945)
- Viscount Addison (3 August 1945 – 7 July 1947)
Secretaries of State for Commonwealth Relations, 1947-1966
- Viscount Addison (7 July 1947 – 7 October 1947)
- Philip Noel-Baker (7 October 1947 – 28 February 1950)
- Patrick Gordon Walker (28 February 1950 – 26 October 1951)
- Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay (28 October 1951 – 12 March 1952)
- Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury (12 March 1952 – 24 November 1952)
- Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Viscount Swinton (24 November 1952 – 7 April 1955)
- Alexander Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home (7 April 1955 – 27 July 1960)
- Duncan Sandys (27 July 1960 – 16 October 1964)
- Arthur Bottomley (18 October 1964 – 1 August 1966)
Secretaries of State for Commonwealth Affairs, 1966-1968
- Herbert Bowden (1 August 1966 – 29 August 1967)
- George Thomson (29 August 1967 – 17 October 1968)
Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, since 1968
Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1968-present)
Name | Portrait | Name and Party of Prime Minister | Entered office | Left office | Political party | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael Stewart | Harold Wilson (Labour) | 17 October 1968 | 19 June 1970 | Labour | ||
Alec Douglas-Home | Edward Heath (Conservative) | 20 June 1970 | 28 February 1974 | Conservative | ||
James Callaghan | Harold Wilson (Labour) | 29 February 1974 | 8 April 1976 | Labour | ||
Anthony Crosland | James Callaghan (Labour) | 9 April 1976 | 19 February 19771 | Labour | ||
David Owen | James Callaghan (Labour) | 22 February 1977 | 4 May 1979 | Labour | ||
The Lord Carrington | Margaret Thatcher (Conservative) | 5 May 1979 | 5 April 1982 | Conservative | ||
Francis Pym | 60px | Margaret Thatcher (Conservative) | 6 April 1982 | 11 June 1983 | Conservative | |
Geoffrey Howe | Margaret Thatcher (Conservative) | 11 June 1983 | 24 July 1989 | Conservative | ||
John Major | Margaret Thatcher (Conservative) | 24 July 1989 | 26 October 1989 | Conservative | ||
Douglas Hurd | Margaret Thatcher (Conservative) | 26 October 1989 | 5 July 1995 | Conservative | ||
Malcolm Rifkind | John Major (Conservative) | 5 July 1995 | 2 May 1997 | Conservative | ||
Robin Cook | 60px | Tony Blair (Labour) | 2 May 1997 | 8 June 2001 | Labour | |
Jack Straw | Tony Blair (Labour) | 8 June 2001 | 5 May 2006 | Labour | ||
Margaret Beckett | 60px | Tony Blair (Labour) | 5 May 2006 | 28 June 2007 | Labour | |
David Miliband | Gordon Brown (Labour) | 28 June 2007 | 11 May 2010 | Labour | ||
William Hague | 60px | David Cameron (Conservative) | 11 May 2010 | 14 July 2014 | Conservative | |
Philip Hammond | David Cameron (Conservative) | 15 July 2014 | present | Conservative |
References
- ↑ For a selective treatment of 11 earlier office-holders by a former Foreign Secretary (Douglas Hurd - Later Lord Hurd), see Douglas Hurd (and Edward Young), Choose Your Weapons: The British Foreign Secretary: Two Centuries of Conflict and Personalities, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2010; ISBN 978-0-297-85334-3