| Secretary of State for International Development |
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Arms of Her Majesty's Government Department for International Development |
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| Style | The Right Honourable |
| Appointer | David Cameron |
| Inaugural holder | Barbara Castle |
| Formation | 18 October 1964 |
| Website | DFID |
| United Kingdom | |
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Foreign policy
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In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for the Department for International Development and for promoting development overseas, particularly in the third world. The post was created in 1997 when the Department for International Development was made independent of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
A separate Ministry of Overseas Development was established by Harold Wilson when he came to office in 1964. The first three holders of the office served in the Cabinet, but from 29 August 1967 the office was demoted. Under Edward Heath, the Ministry was incorporated with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 15 October 1970. From 10 June 1975 to 8 October 1979 the Foreign Secretary served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Minister for Overseas Development in the cabinet, while the Minister for Overseas Development held the rank of Minister of State within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Minister of State had day-to-day responsibility. Under the Labour government of the 1970s, Reg Prentice sat in the Cabinet during his term.[1]
The current Secretary of State for International Development is Andrew Mitchell, who was appointed to the post on 12 May 2010.[2]
Contents |
Minister of Overseas Development (1964–1970) |
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| Name | Took office | Left office | Political party | Prime Minister | ||
| Barbara Castle | 18 October 1964 | 23 December 1965 | Labour | Harold Wilson | ||
| Anthony Greenwood | 23 December 1965 | 11 August 1966 | Labour | |||
| Arthur Bottomley | 11 August 1966 | 29 August 1967 | Labour | |||
| Reginald Prentice | 29 August 1967 | 6 October 1969 | Labour | |||
| Judith Hart | 6 October 1969 | 19 June 1970 | Labour | |||
| Richard Wood | 23 June 1970 | 15 October 1970 | Conservative | Edward Heath | ||
Minister for Overseas Development (1970–1997)at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office |
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| Name | Took office | Left office | Political party | Prime Minister | ||
| Richard Wood | 15 October 1970 | 4 March 1974 | Conservative | Edward Heath | ||
| Judith Hart | 7 March 1974 | 10 June 1975 | Labour | Harold Wilson | ||
| Reginald Prentice | 10 June 1975 | 21 December 1976 (resigned) |
Labour | |||
| James Callaghan | ||||||
| Frank Judd | 21 December 1976 | 21 February 1977 | Labour | |||
| Judith Hart | 21 February 1977 | 4 May 1979 | Labour | |||
| Neil Marten | 6 May 1979 | 6 January 1983 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher | ||
| Tim Raison | 6 January 1983 | 10 September 1986 | Conservative | |||
| Chris Patten | 10 September 1986 | 24 July 1989 | Conservative | |||
| Lynda Chalker (Baroness Chalker from 1992) |
24 July 1989 | 2 May 1997 | Conservative | |||
Secretary of State for International Development (1997– ) |
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| Name | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Political party | Prime Minister | |
| Clare Short | 3 May 1997 | 12 May 2003 (resigned) |
Labour | Tony Blair | ||
| Valerie Amos Baroness Amos |
12 May 2003 | 6 October 2003 | Labour | |||
| Hilary Benn | 6 October 2003 | 27 June 2007 | Labour | |||
| Douglas Alexander | 28 June 2007 | 11 May 2010 | Labour | Gordon Brown | ||
| Andrew Mitchell | 12 May 2010 | Incumbent | Conservative | David Cameron | ||
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