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Revision as of 18:22, 19 August 2012

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Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent William Hague since 11 May 2010
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	Prime Minister
Inaugural holder	Charles James Fox
Formation	27 March 1782

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The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State. The Secretary of State's remit includes: relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of Nations and the overseas territories in addition to the promotion of British interests abroad. The Foreign Secretary also has responsibility for the Secret Intelligence Service MI6, who are directly accountable to the Foreign Secretary.

Position

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 Home and Foreign Offices respectively. 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 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 is a member of the Cabinet, and the post is considered one of the Great Offices of State. 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 2006 reshuffle, Margaret Beckett became the first (and only) woman to hold the post.

The current Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is the Right Honourable William Hague MP.

List of Foreign Secretaries

Colour key
(for political parties)

Whig Tory Conservative Liberal Labour National Labour National Liberal

Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, 1782–1801

Name		Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Charles James Fox	27 March 1782	5 July 1782 (resigned)	Whig	style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Rockingham
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Lord Grantham	13 July 1782	2 April 1783	Whig	style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Shelburne
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Charles James Fox	2 April 1783	19 December 1783	Whig	style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Duke of Portland (Fox-North Coalition)
style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Earl Temple	19 December 1783	23 December 1783	Tory	rowspan="3" style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	William Pitt the Younger
style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Carmarthen (Duke of Leeds from 1789)	23 December 1783	May 1791 (resigned)	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Lord Grenville	8 June 1791	20 February 1801	Tory

Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, 1801–1900

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Lord Hawkesbury (subsequently Earl of Liverpool)		20 February 1801	14 May 1804	Tory	style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Henry Addington
style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Lord Harrowby		14 May 1804	11 January 1805	Tory	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	William Pitt the Younger
style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Lord Mulgrave		11 January 1805	7 February 1806	Tory		William Pitt the Younger
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Charles James Fox		7 February 1806	13 September 1806 (died)	Whig	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Lord Grenville (Ministry of All the Talents)
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Viscount Howick (subsequently Earl Grey)		24 September 1806	25 March 1807	Whig		Lord Grenville (Ministry of All the Talents)
style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	George Canning		25 March 1807	11 October 1809 (resigned)	Tory	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Duke of Portland
style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Earl Bathurst		11 October 1809	6 December 1809	Tory		The Duke of Portland
style="background-color: Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess Wellesley		6 December 1809	4 March 1812		style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Spencer Perceval
style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Viscount Castlereagh		4 March 1812	12 August 1822 (died)	Tory	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Liverpool
style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	George Canning		16 September 1822	30 April 1827	Tory		The Earl of Liverpool
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Dudley		30 April 1827	2 June 1828	Tory	style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	George Canning
style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Dudley		30 April 1827	2 June 1828	Tory	The Viscount Goderich
style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Aberdeen		2 June 1828	22 November 1830	Tory	style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Duke of Wellington
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Viscount Palmerston		22 November 1830	14 November 1834	Whig	style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Earl Grey
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Viscount Palmerston		22 November 1830	14 November 1834	Whig	The Viscount Melbourne
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Duke of Wellington		14 November 1834	18 April 1835	Tory	style="background-color: Template:Tory (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Duke of Wellington
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Duke of Wellington		14 November 1834	18 April 1835	Tory	Sir Robert Peel
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Viscount Palmerston		18 April 1835	2 September 1841	Whig	style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Viscount Melbourne
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Aberdeen		2 September 1841	6 July 1846	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Sir Robert Peel
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Viscount Palmerston		6 July 1846	26 December 1851	Whig	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Lord John Russell
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Earl Granville		26 December 1851	27 February 1852	Whig		Lord John Russell
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Malmesbury	File:3rd Earl of Malmesbury.jpg	27 February 1852	28 December 1852	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The 14th Earl of Derby
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Lord John Russell		28 December 1852	21 February 1853	Whig	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Peelite/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Aberdeen (Coalition)
height=15 style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Clarendon		21 February 1853	26 February 1858	Whig		The Earl of Aberdeen (Coalition)
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Clarendon		21 February 1853	26 February 1858	Whig	style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Viscount Palmerston
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Malmesbury	File:3rd Earl of Malmesbury.jpg	26 February 1858	18 June 1859	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The 14th Earl of Derby
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Lord John Russell (Earl Russell from 1861)		18 June 1859	3 November 1865	Liberal	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Viscount Palmerston
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Clarendon		3 November 1865	6 July 1866	Liberal	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl Russell
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Lord Stanley (subsequently 15th Earl of Derby)		6 July 1866	9 December 1868	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The 14th Earl of Derby
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Lord Stanley (subsequently 15th Earl of Derby)		6 July 1866	9 December 1868	Conservative	Benjamin Disraeli
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Clarendon		9 December 1868	6 July 1870	Liberal	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	William Ewart Gladstone
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl Granville		6 July 1870	21 February 1874	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The 15th Earl of Derby		21 February 1874	2 April 1878	Conservative	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Benjamin Disraeli
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Salisbury		2 April 1878	28 April 1880	Conservative		Benjamin Disraeli
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl Granville		28 April 1880	24 June 1885	Liberal	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	William Ewart Gladstone
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Salisbury		24 June 1885	6 February 1886	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Salisbury
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Rosebery		6 February 1886	3 August 1886	Liberal	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	William Ewart Gladstone
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Iddesleigh		3 August 1886	12 January 1887 (died)	Conservative	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Salisbury
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Salisbury		14 January 1887	11 August 1892	Conservative		The Marquess of Salisbury
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Rosebery		18 August 1892	11 March 1894	Liberal	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	William Ewart Gladstone
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Kimberley		11 March 1894	21 June 1895	Liberal	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Rosebery
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Salisbury		29 June 1895	12 November 1900	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Salisbury (Unionist Coalition)

Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, 1900–1968

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Liberal Unionist Party/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Lansdowne		12 November 1900	4 December 1905	Liberal Unionist	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Salisbury (Unionist Coalition)
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Lansdowne		12 November 1900	4 December 1905	Liberal Unionist	Arthur Balfour (Unionist Coalition)
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Sir Edward Grey, Bt		10 December 1905	10 December 1916	Liberal	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Sir Edward Grey, Bt		10 December 1905	10 December 1916	Liberal	H. H. Asquith (Coalition from 1915)
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Arthur Balfour		10 December 1916	23 October 1919	Conservative	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	David Lloyd George (Coalition)
height=15 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl Curzon (Marquess Curzon from 1921)		23 October 1919	22 January 1924	Conservative		David Lloyd George (Coalition)
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|						style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Andrew Bonar Law
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|						Stanley Baldwin
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Ramsay MacDonald		22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Ramsay MacDonald
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Sir Austen Chamberlain		6 November 1924	4 June 1929	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Stanley Baldwin
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Arthur Henderson		7 June 1929	24 August 1931	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Ramsay MacDonald
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Marquess of Reading		25 August 1931	5 November 1931	Liberal	style="background-color: Template:National Labour Organisation/meta/color" \|	Ramsay MacDonald (1st National Min.)
style="background-color: Template:National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)/meta/color" \|	Sir John Simon		5 November 1931	7 June 1935	Liberal National	style="background-color: Template:National Labour Organisation/meta/color" \|	Ramsay MacDonald (2nd National Min.)
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Sir Samuel Hoare, Bt		7 June 1935	18 December 1935 (resigned)	Conservative	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.)
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Anthony Eden		22 December 1935	20 February 1938 (resigned)	Conservative		Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.)
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Anthony Eden		22 December 1935	20 February 1938 (resigned)	Conservative	Neville Chamberlain (4th National Min.; War Coalition)
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Viscount Halifax		21 February 1938	22 December 1940	Conservative	Neville Chamberlain (4th National Min.; War Coalition)
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Anthony Eden		22 December 1940	26 July 1945	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Winston Churchill (War Coalition)
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Ernest Bevin		27 July 1945	9 March 1951	Labour	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Clement Attlee
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Herbert Morrison		9 March 1951	26 October 1951	Labour		Clement Attlee
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Anthony Eden		28 October 1951	7 April 1955	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Sir Winston Churchill
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Harold Macmillan	File:Macmillan cph.3b40592.jpg	7 April 1955	20 December 1955	Conservative	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Sir Anthony Eden
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Selwyn Lloyd		20 December 1955	27 July 1960	Conservative		Sir Anthony Eden
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Selwyn Lloyd		20 December 1955	27 July 1960	Conservative	Harold Macmillan
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Earl of Home		27 July 1960	20 October 1963	Conservative	Harold Macmillan
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	R. A. Butler		20 October 1963	16 October 1964	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Sir Alec Douglas-Home
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Patrick Gordon Walker		16 October 1964	22 January 1965 (lost seat 1964)	Labour	rowspan="4" style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Harold Wilson
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Michael Stewart		22 January 1965	11 August 1966	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	George Brown	File:LordGeorge-Brown2.jpg	11 August 1966	16 March 1968 (resigned)	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Michael Stewart		16 March 1968	17 October 1968	Labour

Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1968–present

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

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Michael Stewart		17 October 1968	19 June 1970	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Harold Wilson
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Sir Alec Douglas-Home		20 June 1970	28 February 1974	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Edward Heath
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	James Callaghan		5 March 1974	5 April 1976	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Harold Wilson
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Anthony Crosland		8 April 1976	19 February 1977 (died)	Labour	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	James Callaghan
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	David Owen		22 February 1977	4 May 1979	Labour		James Callaghan
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	The Lord Carrington		5 May 1979	5 April 1982 (resigned)	Conservative	rowspan="5" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Margaret Thatcher
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Francis Pym	File:Zconcam61.jpg	6 April 1982	11 June 1983	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Sir Geoffrey Howe		11 June 1983	24 July 1989	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	John Major		24 July 1989	26 October 1989	Conservative
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Douglas Hurd		26 October 1989	5 July 1995	Conservative
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Douglas Hurd		26 October 1989	5 July 1995	Conservative	John Major
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Malcolm Rifkind		5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative	John Major
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Robin Cook		2 May 1997	8 June 2001	Labour	rowspan="3" style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Tony Blair
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Jack Straw		8 June 2001	5 May 2006	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Margaret Beckett		5 May 2006	28 June 2007	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	David Miliband		28 June 2007	11 May 2010	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Gordon Brown
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	William Hague		11 May 2010	Incumbent	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	David Cameron (Coalition)