Foreign Secretary

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

• British relations with foreign countries and governments^[4]
• Promotion of British interests abroad^[5]
• Matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of Nations and the Overseas Territories^[5]
• Oversight for the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)^[6]

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]

The title 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 and Southern Departments became the Foreign Office and Home Office respectively.^[10] The India Office which, like the Colonial Office and the Dominions Office, had been a constituent predecessor department of the Foreign Office, was closed down in 1947.^[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 the 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 have held 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]

Secretaries of state for foreign affairs (1782–1968)

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs^[14]

Portrait		Name[15]	Term of office		Party	Ministry	Monarch (Reign)
		Charles James Fox[14] MP for Westminster	27 March 1782	5 July 1782	Whig	Rockingham II	George III (1760–1820) [1782 1]
		Thomas Robinson 2nd Baron Grantham[14]	13 July 1782	2 April 1783	Whig	Shelburne (Whig–Tory)
		Charles James Fox[14] MP for Westminster	2 April 1783	19 December 1783	Whig	Fox–North
		George Nugent-Temple-Grenville 3rd Earl Temple[14]	19 December 1783	23 December 1783	Tory	Pitt I
		His Grace Francis Osborne 5th Duke of Leeds[14]	23 December 1783	May 1791	Tory
		William Grenville 1st Baron Grenville[14]PC FRS	8 June 1791	20 February 1801	Tory
​		Robert Jenkinson 2nd Earl of Liverpool KG PC[14] MP for Rye[1782 2]	20 February 1801	14 May 1804	Tory
						Addington
		Dudley Ryder 2nd Baron Harrowby[14]	14 May 1804	11 January 1805	Tory	Pitt II
		Henry Phipps 3rd Baron Mulgrave[14]	11 January 1805	7 February 1806	Tory
		Charles James Fox[14] MP for Westminster	7 February 1806	13 September 1806†	Whig	All the Talents (Whig–Tory)
		Charles Grey Viscount Howick[14] MP for Northumberland	24 September 1806	25 March 1807	Whig
		George Canning[14] MP for Newtown (Isle of Wight) → Hastings[1782 3]	25 March 1807	11 October 1809	Tory	Portland II
		Henry Bathurst 3rd Earl Bathurst[14]	11 October 1809	6 December 1809	Tory	Perceval
		Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley[14]	6 December 1809	4 March 1812	Independent
		Robert Stewart 2nd Marquess of Londonderry[14]	4 March 1812	12 August 1822†	Tory	Liverpool
							George IV
		George Canning[14] MP for 3 constituencies respectively	16 September 1822	30 April 1827	Tory
		John Ward 1st Earl of Dudley[14]	30 April 1827	2 June 1828	Tory	Canning (Canningite–Whig)
						Goderich
​						Wellington–Peel
		George Hamilton-Gordon 4th Earl of Aberdeen[14]	2 June 1828	22 November 1830	Tory
							William IV
		Henry John Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston[14] MP for 3 constituencies respectively	22 November 1830	14 November 1834	Whig	Grey
						Melbourne I
		Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington[14]	14 November 1834	18 April 1835	Tory	Wellington Caretaker
					Conservative	Peel I
		Henry John Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston[14] MP for Tiverton	18 April 1835	2 September 1841	Whig	Melbourne II
							Victoria (1837–1901)
		George Hamilton-Gordon 4th Earl of Aberdeen[14]	2 September 1841	6 July 1846	Conservative	Peel II
		Henry John Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston[14] MP for Tiverton	6 July 1846	26 December 1851	Whig	Russell I
		Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville[14]	26 December 1851	27 February 1852	Whig
		James Howard Harris 3rd Earl of Malmesbury[14]	27 February 1852	28 December 1852	Conservative	Who? Who?
		Lord John Russell[14] MP for the City of London	28 December 1852	21 February 1853	Whig	Aberdeen (Peelite–Whig)
​		George Villiers 4th Earl of Clarendon[14]	21 February 1853	26 February 1858	Whig
						Palmerston I
		James Howard Harris 3rd Earl of Malmesbury[14]	26 February 1858	18 June 1859	Conservative	Derby–Disraeli II
		John Russell 1st Earl Russell[14]	18 June 1859	3 November 1865	Liberal	Palmerston II
		George Villiers 4th Earl of Clarendon	3 November 1865	6 July 1866	Liberal	Russell II
		Edward Stanley Lord Stanley[14] MP for King's Lynn	6 July 1866	9 December 1868	Conservative	Derby–Disraeli III
		George Villiers 4th Earl of Clarendon[14]	9 December 1868	6 July 1870	Liberal	Gladstone I
		Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville[14]	6 July 1870	21 February 1874	Liberal
		Edward Stanley 15th Earl of Derby[14]	21 February 1874	2 April 1878	Conservative	Disraeli II
		Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury[14]	2 April 1878	28 April 1880	Conservative
		Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville[14]	28 April 1880	24 June 1885	Liberal	Gladstone II
		Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury[14]	24 June 1885	6 February 1886	Conservative	Salisbury I
		Archibald Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery[14]	6 February 1886	3 August 1886	Liberal	Gladstone III
		Stafford Northcote 1st Earl of Iddesleigh[14]	3 August 1886	12 January 1887†	Conservative	Salisbury II
		Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury[14]	14 January 1887	11 August 1892	Conservative
		Archibald Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery[14]	18 August 1892	11 March 1894	Liberal	Gladstone IV
		John Wodehouse 1st Earl of Kimberley[14]	11 March 1894	21 June 1895	Liberal	Rosebery
		Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury[14]	29 June 1895	12 November 1900	Conservative	Salisbury (III & IV) (Con.–Lib.U.)
​		Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice 5th Marquess of Lansdowne[14]	12 November 1900	4 December 1905	Liberal Unionist
​							Edward VII (1901–1910)
						Balfour
		Edward Grey[14] MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed	10 December 1905	10 December 1916	Liberal	Campbell-Bannerman
​						Asquith (I–III)
​							George V
						Asquith Coalition (Lib.–Con.–et al.)
		Arthur Balfour[14] MP for the City of London	10 December 1916	23 October 1919	Conservative	Lloyd George (I & II)
​		George Curzon 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston[14]	23 October 1919	22 January 1924	Conservative
						Law
						Baldwin I
		Ramsay MacDonald[14] MP for Aberavon	22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour	MacDonald I
		Austen Chamberlain[14] MP for Birmingham West	6 November 1924	4 June 1929	Conservative	Baldwin II
		Arthur Henderson[14] MP for Burnley	7 June 1929	24 August 1931	Labour	MacDonald II
		Rufus Isaacs 1st Marquess of Reading[14]	25 August 1931	5 November 1931	Liberal	National I (N.Lab.–Con.–et al.)
		John Simon[14] MP for Spen Valley	5 November 1931	7 June 1935	Liberal National	National II
		Samuel Hoare[14] MP for Chelsea	7 June 1935	18 December 1935	Conservative	National III (Con.–N.Lab.–et al.)
​		Anthony Eden[14] MP for Warwick & Leamington	22 December 1935	20 February 1938	Conservative
							Edward VIII (1936)
​							George VI
​						National IV
​		Edward Wood 3rd Viscount Halifax[14]	21 February 1938	22 December 1940	Conservative
						Chamberlain War
						Churchill War (All parties)
		Anthony Eden[14] MP for Warwick & Leamington	22 December 1940	26 July 1945	Conservative
						Churchill Caretaker (Con.–Lib.N.)
		Ernest Bevin[14] MP for Wandsworth Central → Woolwich East[1782 4]	27 July 1945	9 March 1951	Labour	Attlee (I & II)
		Herbert Morrison[14] MP for Lewisham South	9 March 1951	26 October 1951	Labour
		Anthony Eden[14] MP for Warwick & Leamington	28 October 1951	7 April 1955	Conservative	Churchill III
							Elizabeth II
		Harold Macmillan[14] MP for Bromley	7 April 1955	20 December 1955	Conservative	Eden
		Selwyn Lloyd[14] MP for Wirral	20 December 1955	27 July 1960	Conservative
						Macmillan (I & II)
		Alec Douglas-Home 14th Earl of Home[14]	27 July 1960	18 October 1963	Conservative
		Richard Austen Butler[14] MP for Saffron Walden	20 October 1963	16 October 1964	Conservative	Douglas-Home
		Patrick Gordon Walker[14] Neither an MP nor a Lord[1782 5]	16 October 1964	22 January 1965	Labour	Wilson (I & II)
		Michael Stewart[14] MP for Fulham	22 January 1965	11 August 1966	Labour
		George Brown[14] MP for Belper	11 August 1966	16 March 1968	Labour
		Michael Stewart[14] MP for Fulham	16 March 1968	17 October 1968	Labour

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

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

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Portrait		Name[16] (birth–death)	Term of office		Party	Ministry	Sovereign (Reign)
		Michael Stewart[14] MP for Fulham (1906–1990)	17 October 1968	19 June 1970	Labour	Wilson (I & II)	Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
		Alec Douglas-Home[14] MP for Kinross and Western Perthshire (1903–1995)	20 June 1970	4 March 1974	Conservative	Heath
		James Callaghan[14] MP for Cardiff South East (1912–2005)	5 March 1974	5 April 1976	Labour	Wilson (III & IV)
		Anthony Crosland[14] MP for Great Grimsby (1918–1977)	8 April 1976	19 February 1977†	Labour	Callaghan
		David Owen[14] MP for Plymouth Devonport (born 1938)	22 February 1977	4 May 1979	Labour
		Peter Carington 6th Baron Carrington KCMGMCPCDL[14] (1919–2018)	4 May 1979	5 April 1982	Conservative	Thatcher I
		Francis Pym[14] MP for Cambridgeshire (1922–2008)	6 April 1982	11 June 1983	Conservative
		Geoffrey Howe[14] MP for East Surrey (1926–2015)	11 June 1983	24 July 1989	Conservative	Thatcher II
​						Thatcher III
		John Major[14] MP for Huntingdon (born 1943)	24 July 1989	26 October 1989	Conservative
​		Douglas Hurd[14] MP for Witney (born 1930)	26 October 1989	5 July 1995	Conservative
						Major I
​						Major II
		Malcolm Rifkind[14] MP for Edinburgh Pentlands (born 1946)	5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative
		Robin Cook[14] MP for Livingston (1946–2005)	2 May 1997	8 June 2001	Labour	Blair I
		Jack Straw[14] MP for Blackburn (born 1946)	8 June 2001	5 May 2006	Labour	Blair II
​						Blair III
		Margaret Beckett[14] MP for Derby South (born 1943)	5 May 2006	27 June 2007	Labour
		David Miliband[14] MP for South Shields (born 1965)	28 June 2007	11 May 2010	Labour	Brown
		William Hague[14] MP for Richmond (Yorks) (born 1961)	12 May 2010	14 July 2014	Conservative	Cameron–Clegg (Con.–L.D.)
​		Philip Hammond[14] MP for Runnymede and Weybridge (born 1955)	14 July 2014	13 July 2016	Conservative
						Cameron II
		Boris Johnson[14][17] MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (born 1964)	13 July 2016	9 July 2018	Conservative	May I
​						May II
		Jeremy Hunt[18] MP for South West Surrey (born 1966)	9 July 2018	24 July 2019	Conservative
		Dominic Raab[19] MP for Esher and Walton (born 1974)	24 July 2019	2 September 2020	Conservative	Johnson I
​						Johnson II

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.

Portrait		Name[16] (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party	Ministry	Sovereign (Reign)
		Dominic Raab MP for Esher and Walton (born 1974)	2 September 2020	15 September 2021	Conservative	Johnson II	Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
		Liz Truss MP for South West Norfolk (born 1975)	15 September 2021	6 September 2022	Conservative
		James Cleverly MP for Braintree (born 1969)	6 September 2022	13 November 2023	Conservative	Truss
							Charles III (2022–present)
						Sunak
		David Cameron Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton[20] (born 1966)	13 November 2023	Incumbent	Conservative

• Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs
• Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations
• Secretary of State for the Colonies
• Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
• Foreign minister
• Great Offices of State

• Cecil, Algernon. British foreign secretaries, 1807–1916: studies in personality and policy (1927). pp. 89–130. online
• Goodman, Sam. The Imperial Premiership: The Role of the Modern Prime Minister in Foreign Policy Making, 1964–2015 (Oxford UP, 2016).
• Hughes, Michael. British Foreign Secretaries in an Uncertain World, 1919–1939. (Routledge, 2004).
• Johnson, Gaynor. "Introduction: The Foreign Office and British Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century", Contemporary British History, (2004) 18:3, 1–12, doi:10.1080/1361946042000259279
• Neilson, Keith, and Thomas G. Otte. The permanent under-secretary for foreign affairs, 1854–1946 (Routledge, 2008).
• Otte, Thomas G. The Foreign Office Mind: The Making of British Foreign Policy, 1865–1914 (Cambridge UP, 2011).

• Seldon, Anthony. The Impossible Office? The History of the British Prime Minister (2021) excerpt major scholarly history. Covers the relations with Prime Minister in Chapter 8.

• Steiner, Zara. The Foreign Office and Foreign Policy, 1898–1914 (1986).
• Temperley, Harold. "British Secret Diplomacy from Canning to Grey." Cambridge Historical Journal 6.1 (1938): 1–32.
• Theakston, Kevin, ed. British foreign secretaries since 1974 (Routledge, 2004).
• Wilson, Keith M., ed. British foreign secretaries and foreign policy: from Crimean War to First World War (1987).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Foreign Secretaries of the United Kingdom.

• FCDO website