Thatcher Ministry

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Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister (1979 - 1990)
Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister (1979 - 1990)

Contents

[edit] The Ministry

OFFICE NAME TERM
Prime Minister
First Lord of the Treasury
Minister for the Civil Service		 Margaret Thatcher 1979–1990
Deputy Prime Minister The Viscount Whitelaw 1979–1988
  Sir Geoffrey Howe 1989–1990
Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Geoffrey Howe 1979–1983
  Nigel Lawson 1983–1989
  John Major 1989–1990
Lord Chancellor The Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone 1979–1987
  The Lord Havers 1987
  The Lord Mackay of Clashfern 1987–1990
Lord President of the Council The Lord Soames 1979–1981
  Francis Pym 1981–1982
  John Biffen 1982–1983
  The Viscount Whitelaw 1983–1988
  John Wakeham 1988–1989
  Sir Geoffrey Howe 1989–1990
  John MacGregor 1990
Lord Privy Seal Sir Ian Gilmour 1979–1981
  Humphrey Atkins 1981–1982
  The Baroness Young 1982–1983
  John Biffen 1983–1987
  John Wakeham 1987–1988
  The Lord Belstead 1988–1990
Foreign Secretary The Lord Carrington 1979–1982
  Francis Pym 1982–1983
  Sir Geoffrey Howe 1983–1989
  John Major 1989
  Douglas Hurd 1989–1990
Home Secretary William Whitelaw 1979–1983
  Leon Brittan 1983–1985
  Douglas Hurd 1985–1989
  David Waddington 1989–1990
Secretary of State for Defence Francis Pym 1979–1981
  John Nott 1981–1983
  Michael Heseltine 1983–1986
  George Younger 1986–1989
  Tom King 1989–1990
Secretary of State for Education and Science Mark Carlisle 1979–1981
  Sir Keith Joseph, Bt 1981–1986
  Kenneth Baker 1986–1989
  John MacGregor 1989–1990
  Kenneth Clarke 1990
Secretary of State for Employment James Prior 1979–1981
  Norman Tebbit 1981–1983
  Tom King 1983–1985
  The Lord Young of Graffham 1985–1987
  Norman Fowler 1987–1990
  Michael Howard 1990
Secretary of State for Energy David Howell 1979–1981
  Nigel Lawson 1981–1983
  Peter Walker 1983–1987
  Cecil Parkinson 1987–1989
  John Wakeham 1989–1990
Secretary of State for the Environment Michael Heseltine 1979–1983
  Tom King 1983
  Patrick Jenkin 1983–1985
  Kenneth Baker 1985–1986
  Nicholas Ridley 1986–1989
  Chris Patten 1989–1990
Secretary of State for Social Services Patrick Jenkin 1979–1981
  Norman Fowler 1981–1987
  John Moore 1987–1988
Secretary of State for Social Security John Moore 1988–1989
  Tony Newton 1989–1990
Secretary of State for Health Kenneth Clarke 1988–1990
  William Waldegrave 1990
Secretary of State for Trade John Nott 1979–1981
  John Biffen 1981–1982
  The Lord Cockfield 1982–1983
Secretary of State for Industry Sir Keith Joseph, Bt 1979–1981
  Patrick Jenkin 1981–1983
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Cecil Parkinson 1983
  Norman Tebbit 1983–1985
  Leon Brittan 1985–1986
  Paul Channon 1986–1987
  The Lord Young of Graffham 1987–1989
  Nicholas Ridley 1989–1990
  Peter Lilley 1990
Secretary of State for Transport Norman Fowler 1981
  David Howell 1981–1983
  Tom King 1983
  Nicholas Ridley 1983–1986
  John Moore 1986–1987
  Paul Channon 1987–1989
  Cecil Parkinson 1989–1990
Secretary of State for Scotland George Younger 1979–1986
  Malcolm Rifkind 1986–1990
Secretary of State for Wales Nicholas Edwards 1979–1987
  Peter Walker 1987–1990
  David Hunt 1990
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Humphrey Atkins 1979–1981
  James Prior 1981–1984
  Douglas Hurd 1984–1985
  Tom King 1985–1989
  Peter Brooke 1989–1990
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Norman St John-Stevas 1979–1981
  Francis Pym 1981
  The Baroness Young 1981–1982
  Cecil Parkinson 1982–1983
  Lord Cockfield 1983–1984
  The Earl of Gowrie 1984–1985
  Norman Tebbit 1985–1987
  Kenneth Clarke 1987–1988
  Tony Newton 1988–1989
  Kenneth Baker 1989–1990
Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Biffen 1979–1981
  Leon Brittan 1981–1983
  Peter Rees 1983–1985
  John MacGregor 1985–1987
  John Major 1987–1989
  Norman Lamont 1989–1990
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Peter Walker 1979–1983
  Michael Jopling 1983–1987
  John MacGregor 1987–1989
  John Gummer 1989–1990
Paymaster-General Angus Maude 1979–1981
  Francis Pym 1981
  Cecil Parkinson 1981–1983
  Kenneth Clarke 1985–1987
Minister without Portfolio The Lord Young of Graffham 1984–1985
Minister for the Arts Norman St John-Stevas 1979–1981
  The Earl of Gowrie 1984–1985

[edit] Cabinets listed chronologically

These are the cabinets under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (from May 1979 to November 1990).

[edit] Cabinet May 1979–September 1981

[edit] Changes

  • January 1981: Francis Pym succeeds Norman St John-Stevas as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Pym succeeds Angus Maude as Paymaster-General. John Nott succeeds Pym as Secretary of State for Defence. John Biffen succeeds Nott as Secretary of State for Trade and President of the Board of Trade. Leon Brittan succeeds John Biffen as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. St John-Stevas resigns as Minister for the Arts. His successor is not in the cabinet. The post of Secretary of State for Transport is brought into the cabinet and Norman Fowler is given the post.

[edit] Cabinet September 1981–June 1983

September 1981: A substantial reshuffle took place:

[edit] Changes

  • April 1982: Francis Pym succeeds Lord Carrington as Foreign Secretary. John Biffen succeeds Pym as Lord President of the Council. Baroness Young succeeds Humphrey Atkins as Lord Privy Seal. Cecil Parkinson succeeds Baroness Young as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Lord Cockfield succeeds John Biffen as Secretary of State for Trade.
  • January 1983: Michael Heseltine succeeds John Nott as Secretary of State for Defence. Tom King succeeds Heseltine as Secretary of State for the Environment.

[edit] Cabinet June 1983–June 1987

[edit] Changes

  • October 1983: Tom King succeeds Norman Tebbit as Secretary of State for Employment. Norman Tebbit succeeds Cecil Parkinson as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Nicholas Ridley succeeds Tom King as Secretary of State for Transport.
  • September 1984: Lord Gowrie succeeds Lord Cockfield as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Douglas Hurd succeeds James Prior as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Lord Young of Graffham enters the cabinet as Minister without Portfolio.
  • September 1985: Lord Young of Graffham succeeds Tom King as Secretary of State for Employment. Kenneth Baker succeeds Patrick Jenkin as Secretary of State for the Environment. Norman Tebbit succeeds Lord Gowrie as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Tom King succeeds Douglas Hurd as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Kenneth Clarke enters the cabinet as Paymaster-General. Leon Brittan succeeds Norman Tebbit as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. John MacGregor succeeds Peter Rees as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Douglas Hurd succeeds Leon Brittan as Home Secretary.
  • Early January 1986: Malcolm Rifkind succeeds George Younger as Secretary of State for Scotland. Younger succeeds Michael Heseltine as Secretary of State for Defence.
  • Late January 1986: Paul Channon succeeds Leon Brittan as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
  • May 1986: Nicholas Ridley succeeds Kenneth Baker as Secretary of State for the Environment. John Moore succeeds Nicholas Ridley as Secretary of State for Transport. Kenneth Baker succeeds Keith Joseph as Secretary of State for Education and Science.

[edit] Cabinet June 1987–July 1989

[edit] Changes

  • October 1987: Lord Mackay of Clashfern succeeds Lord Havers as Lord Chancellor.
  • January 1988: Lord Whitelaw retires and is succeeded by John Wakeham as Lord President; no new Deputy Prime Minister is appointed until July 1989. Lord Belstead succeeds Wakeham as Lord Privy Seal.
  • July 1988: Department of Health and Social Security broken up into component parts. John Moore continues on as Secretary of State for Social Security. Kenneth Clarke becomes Secretary of State for Health. Tony Newton succeeds Clarke as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

[edit] Cabinet July 1989–November 1990

July 1989: Reshuffle:

[edit] Changes

  • October 1989: John Major succeeds Nigel Lawson as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Douglas Hurd succeeds John Major as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. David Waddington succeeds Douglas Hurd as Secretary of State for the Home Department. Tim Renton succeeds David Waddington as Chief Whip.
  • January 1990: Norman Fowler resigns as Secretary of State for Employment and is succeeded by Michael Howard.
  • May 1990: Peter Walker finally resigns as Secretary of State for Wales having announced his intentions in March. David Hunt succeeds him.
  • July 1990: Nicholas Ridley resigns as Secretary of State for Trade & Industry. Peter Lilley succeeds him.
  • November 1990: At the start of the month Geoffrey Howe resigns and the title of Deputy Prime Minister was not reallocated. John MacGregor succeeds him as Lord President of the Council and is in turn succeeded by Kenneth Clarke as Secretary of State for Education and Science who is succeeded by William Waldegrave as Secretary of State for Health.


Preceded by
Labour Government, 1976-1979		 Government of the United Kingdom
1979–1990		 Succeeded by
Conservative Government, 1990-1997
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