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Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)

Member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)
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The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the foreign secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.[2] The role is seen as one of the most senior ministers in the UK Government and is a Great Office of State. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom and National Security Council, and reports directly to the prime minister.

Quick Facts United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Style ...

The officeholder works alongside the other Foreign Office ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the Shadow Foreign Secretary. The Foreign Affairs Select Committee also evaluates the secretary of state's performance.[3]

The current foreign secretary is David Lammy. He was appointed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on 5 July 2024.

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Responsibilities

In contrast to what is generally known as a foreign minister in many other countries, the Foreign Secretary's remit includes:

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Residence

The official residence of the foreign secretary is 1 Carlton Gardens, in London.[7] The foreign secretary also has the use of Chevening House, a country house in Kent, South East England,[8] and works from the Foreign Office in Whitehall.[9]

History

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History of English and British government departments with responsibility for foreign affairs and those with responsibility for the colonies, dominions and the Commonwealth
Northern Department
1660–1782
SecretariesUndersecretaries
Southern Department
1660–1768
SecretariesUndersecretaries
Southern Department
1768–1782
SecretariesUndersecretaries
1782: diplomatic responsibilities transferred to new Foreign Office
Colonial Office
1768–1782
SecretariesUndersecretaries
Foreign Office
1782–1968
SecretariesMinistersUndersecretaries
Home Office
1782–1794
SecretariesUndersecretaries
War Office
1794–1801
SecretariesUndersecretaries
War and Colonial Office
1801–1854
SecretariesUndersecretaries
Colonial Office
1854–1925
SecretariesUndersecretaries
India Office
1858–1937
SecretariesUndersecretaries
Colonial Office
1925–1966
SecretariesMinistersUndersecretaries
Dominions Office
1925–1947
SecretariesUndersecretaries
India Office and Burma Office
1937–1947
SecretariesUndersecretaries
Commonwealth Relations Office
1947–1966
SecretariesMinistersUndersecretaries
Commonwealth Office
1966–1968
SecretariesMinistersUndersecretaries
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
1968–2020
SecretariesMinistersUndersecretaries
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Since 2020
SecretariesMinistersUndersecretaries

The title of secretary of state in the government of England dates back to the early 17th century. The position of secretary of state for foreign affairs was created in the British governmental reorganisation of 1782, in which the Northern Department and Southern Department became the Foreign Office and Home Office respectively.[10] The India Office was closed down in 1947. It had been a constituent predecessor department of the Foreign Office, like the Colonial Office and the Dominions Office.[11]

Eventually, the position of secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs came into existence in 1968 with the merger of the functions of secretary of state for foreign affairs and the secretary of state for Commonwealth affairs into a single department of state. Margaret Beckett, appointed in 2006 by Tony Blair, was the first woman to hold the post.[12]

The post of Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs was created in 2020 when position holder Dominic Raab absorbed the responsibilities of the secretary of state for international development.[13]

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List of foreign secretaries

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Secretaries of state for foreign affairs (1782–1968)

More information Portrait, Name ...
^† Died in office.
  1. The Prince of Wales served as prince regent from 5 February 1811.
  2. Elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom in November 1803.
  3. Elected to a new constituency in the 1807 general election.
  4. Elected to a new constituency in the 1950 general election.
  5. Walker was the MP for Smethwick and Labour's shadow Foreign Secretary, prior to the 1964 general election. He lost his seat in the election but was appointed to the post anyway. He resigned after fighting and losing a 1965 by-election in Leyton.

Secretaries of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs (1968–2020)

Post created through the merger of the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.

More information Portrait, Name (birth–death) ...

Secretaries of state for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (2020–present)

Post created through the merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development.

More information Portrait, Name (Birth–Death) ...
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Timeline

David LammyDavid CameronJames CleverlyLiz TrussDominic RaabJeremy HuntBoris JohnsonPhilip HammondWilliam HagueDavid MilibandMargaret BeckettJack StrawRobin CookMalcolm RifkindDouglas HurdJohn MajorGeoffrey HoweFrancis PymPeter CaringtonDavid OwenAnthony CroslandJames CallaghanGeorge Brown, Baron George-BrownMichael Stewart, Baron Stewart of FulhamPatrick Gordon WalkerRab ButlerAlec Douglas-HomeSelwyn LloydHarold MacmillanHerbert MorrisonErnest BevinEdward Wood, 1st Earl of HalifaxAnthony EdenSamuel Hoare, 1st Viscount TemplewoodJohn Simon, 1st Viscount SimonRufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of ReadingArthur HendersonAusten ChamberlainRamsay MacDonaldGeorge Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of KedlestonArthur BalfourEdward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of FallodonHenry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of LansdowneJohn Wodehouse, 1st Earl of KimberlyStafford NorthcoteArchibald Primrose, 5th Earl of RoseberyRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of SalisburyEdward Stanley, 15th Earl of DerbyGeorge Villiers, 4th Earl of ClarendonJohn Russell, 1st Earl RussellJames Howard Harris, 3rd Earl of MalmesburyGranville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl GranvilleArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonHenry John TempleGeorge Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of AberdeenJohn Ward, 1st Earl of DudleyRobert Stewart, Viscount CastlereaghRichard Wellesley, 1st Marquess WellesleyHenry Bathurst, 3nd Earl BathurstGeorge CanningCharles Grey, 2nd Earl GreyHenry Phipps, 3rd Baron MulgraveDudley Ryder, 2nd Baron HarrowbyRobert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of LiverpoolWilliam GrenvilleFrancis Osborne, 5th Duke of LeedsGeorge Nugent-Temple-GrenvilleThomas Robinson, 2nd Baron GranthamCharles James Fox

See also

References

Further reading

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