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Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs |
| Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | |
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| Incumbent: David Miliband Took office: 28 June 2007 |
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| Style: | The Right Honourable |
| Appointed by: | Gordon Brown as Prime Minister |
| First : | Charles James Fox |
| Formation: | 27 March 1782 |
| United Kingdom |
 This article is part of the series: |
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Judiciary
Foreign Policy
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Other countries · Atlas Politics portal |
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and responsible for relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of Nations and the UK's overseas territories and the promotion of British interests abroad.
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The Foreign Secretary is a member of the Cabinet, and the post is considered one of the Great Offices of State. It came into existence in 1968 with the merger of the functions of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs into a single Department of State. The India Office was a predecessor department of the Foreign Office.
The Foreign Secretary works out of the Foreign Office in Whitehall. The post's official residences are 1 Carlton Gardens in London and Chevening in Kent.
In the Cabinet reshuffle on 5 May 2006 Margaret Beckett became the first woman to hold the post.
David Miliband was appointed to the post on 28 June 2007 by the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
The position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was created in the United Kingdom's governmental reorganization of 1782, in which the Northern and Southern Departments became the Home and Foreign Offices
| Name | Term (From - To) |
|---|---|
| Charles James Fox1 | 27 March 1782 - 5 July 1782 |
| Lord Grantham | 13 July 1782 - 2 April 1783 |
| Charles James Fox | 2 April 1783 - 19 December 1783 |
| Earl Temple | 19 December 1783 - 23 December 1783 |
| The Duke of Leeds1 | 23 December 1783 - May 1791 |
| Lord Grenville | 8 June 1791 - 20 February 1801 |
| Lord Hawkesbury | 20 February 1801 - 14 May 1804 |
| Lord Harrowby | 14 May 1804 - 11 January 1805 |
| Lord Mulgrave | 11 January 1805 - 7 February 1806 |
| Charles James Fox² | 7 February 1806 - 13 September 1806 |
| Viscount Howick | 24 September 1806 - 25 March 1807 |
| George Canning1 | 25 March 1807 - 11 October 1809 |
| Earl Bathurst | 11 October 1809 - 6 December 1809 |
| Marquess Wellesley | 6 December 1809 - 4 March 1812 |
| Viscount Castlereagh² | 4 March 1812 - 12 August 1822 |
| George Canning | 16 September 1822 - 30 April 1827 |
| The Earl of Dudley | 30 April 1827 - 2 June 1828 |
| The Earl of Aberdeen | 2 June 1828 - 22 November 1830 |
| Viscount Palmerston | 22 November 1830 - 15 November 1834 |
| The Duke of Wellington | 15 November 1834 - 18 April 1835 |
| Viscount Palmerston | 18 April 1835 - 2 September 1841 |
| The Earl of Aberdeen | 2 September 1841 - 6 July 1846 |
| Viscount Palmerston | 6 July 1846 - 26 December 1851 |
| Earl Granville | 26 December 1851 - 27 February 1852 |
| The Earl of Malmesbury | 27 February 1852 - 28 December 1852 |
| Lord John Russell³ | 28 December 1852 - 21 February 1853 |
| The Earl of Clarendon | 21 February 1853 - 26 February 1858 |
| The Earl of Malmesbury | 26 February 1858 - 18 June 1859 |
| Earl Russell³ | 18 June 1859 - 3 November 1865 |
| The Earl of Clarendon | 3 November 1865 - 6 July 1866 |
| Lord Stanley4 | 6 July 1866 - 9 December 1868 |
| The Earl of Clarendon | 9 December 1868 - 6 July 1870 |
| Earl Granville | 6 July 1870 - 21 February 1874 |
| The Earl of Derby4 | 21 February 1874 - 2 April 1878 |
| The Marquess of Salisbury | 2 April 1878 - 28 April 1880 |
| Earl Granville | 28 April 1880 - 24 June 1885 |
| The Marquess of Salisbury | 24 June 1885 - 6 February 1886 |
| The Earl of Rosebery | 6 February 1886 - 3 August 1886 |
| The Earl of Iddesleigh² | 3 August 1886 - 12 January 1887 |
| The Marquess of Salisbury | 14 January 1887 - 11 August 1892 |
| The Earl of Rosebery | 18 August 1892 - 11 March 1894 |
| The Earl of Kimberley | 11 March 1894 - 21 June 1895 |
| The Marquess of Salisbury | 29 June 1895 - 12 November 1900 |
| The Marquess of Lansdowne | 12 November 1900 - 4 December 1905 |
| Sir Edward Grey | 10 December 1905 - 10 December 1916 |
| Arthur Balfour | 10 December 1916 - 23 October 1919 |
| Marquess Curzon | 23 October 1919 - 22 January 1924 |
| James Ramsay MacDonald | 22 January 1924 - 3 November 1924 |
| Sir Austen Chamberlain | 6 November 1924 - 4 June 1929 |
| Arthur Henderson | 7 June 1929 - 24 August 1931 |
| The Marquess of Reading | 25 August 1931 - 5 November 1931 |
| Sir John Simon | 5 November 1931 - 7 June 1935 |
| Sir Samuel Hoare1 | 7 June 1935 - 18 December 1935 |
| Anthony Eden1 | 22 December 1935 - 20 February 1938 |
| Viscount Halifax | 21 February 1938 - 22 December 1940 |
| Anthony Eden | 22 December 1940 - 26 July 1945 |
| Ernest Bevin | 27 July 1945 - 9 March 1951 |
| Herbert Morrison | 9 March 1951 - 26 October 1951 |
| Sir Anthony Eden | 28 October 1951 - 7 April 1955 |
| Harold Macmillan | 7 April 1955 - 20 December 1955 |
| Selwyn Lloyd | 20 December 1955 - 27 July 1960 |
| The Earl of Home | 27 July 1960 - 20 October 1963 |
| R. A. Butler | 20 October 1963 - 16 October 1964 |
| Patrick Gordon Walker5 | 16 October 1964 - 22 January 1965 |
| Michael Stewart | 22 January 1965 - 11 August 1966 |
| George Brown1 | 11 August 1966 - 16 March 1968 |
| Michael Stewart | 16 March 1968 - 17 October 1968 |
1Resigned
²Died in office
³Lord John Russell was later elevated to the Peerage as the Earl Russell
4Lord Stanley later succeeded to the Peerage as the Earl of Derby
5Defeated for election to the House of Commons
| Name | Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Stewart | 17 October 1968 3 | 19 June 1970 | Labour | ||
| Sir Alec Douglas-Home | 20 June 1970 5 | 28 February 1974 | Conservative | ||
| James Callaghan |  |
29 February 1974 5 | 8 April 1976 1 | Labour | |
| Anthony Crosland | 9 April 1976 3 | 19 February 1977 4 | Labour | ||
| David Owen | 22 February 1977 3 | 4 May 1979 | Labour | ||
| Lord Carrington |  |
5 May 1979 5 | 5 April 1982 2 | Conservative | |
| Francis Pym |  |
6 April 1982 3 | 11 June 1983 3 | Conservative | |
| Sir Geoffrey Howe | 11 June 1983 3 | 24 July 1989 3 | Conservative | ||
| John Major |  |
24 July 1989 3 | 26 October 1989 3 | Conservative | |
| Douglas Hurd |  |
26 October 1989 3 | 5 July 1995 2 | Conservative | |
| Malcolm Rifkind | 5 July 1995 3 | 2 May 1997 | Conservative | ||
| Robin Cook |  |
2 May 1997 5 | 8 June 2001 3 | Labour | |
| Jack Straw |  |
8 June 2001 3 | 5 May 2006 | Labour | |
| Margaret Beckett |  |
5 May 2006 3 | 28 June 2007 | Labour | |
| David Miliband | |
28 June 2007 5 | present | Labour | |
1 Became Prime Minister
2 Resigned
3 Cabinet Reshuffled
4 Died in Office
5 Change of Ministry
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