The Secretary of State for India, or India Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister responsible for the government of India and the political head of the India Office. The post was created in 1858 when Company rule in India ended and British India was brought under the direct administration of the government in London (a period often called the British Raj).
In 1937, in consequence of the Government of India Act 1935 (which established Burma as a separate British colony), a new Burma Office was created, but the same Secretary of State headed both Departments and was styled the Secretary of State for India and Burma. The India Office and its Secretary of State were abolished in 1947, when the Partition of India resulted in the creation of two new independent dominions, the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. Burma achieved independence separately early in 1948.
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Prior to the establishment of the British Raj on 2 August 1858, Lord Stanley had served as President of the Board of Control.
| Name | Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Stanley | 2 August 1858 | 11 June 1859 | Conservative | ||
| Sir Charles Wood, Bt | 18 June 1859 | 16 February 1866[1] | Liberal | ||
| The Earl de Grey | 16 February 1866 | 26 June 1866 | Liberal | ||
| Viscount Cranborne | 6 July 1866 | 8 March 1867 | Conservative | ||
| Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt | 8 March 1867 | 1 December 1868 | Conservative | ||
| The Duke of Argyll | 9 December 1868 | 17 February 1874 | Liberal | ||
| The Marquess of Salisbury | 21 February 1874 | 2 April 1878 | Conservative | ||
| The Viscount Cranbrook | 2 April 1878 | 21 April 1880 | Conservative | ||
| The Marquess of Hartington | 28 April 1880 | 16 December 1882 | Liberal | ||
| The Earl of Kimberley | 16 December 1882 | 9 June 1885 | Liberal | ||
| Lord Randolph Churchill | 24 June 1885 | 28 January 1886 | Conservative | ||
| The Earl of Kimberley | 6 February 1886 | 20 July 1886 | Liberal | ||
| Sir R. A. Cross (Viscount Cross from 19 August 1886) |
3 August 1886 | 11 August 1892 | Conservative | ||
| The Earl of Kimberley | 18 August 1892 | 10 March 1894 | Liberal | ||
| Henry Fowler | 10 March 1894 | 21 June 1895 | Liberal | ||
| Lord George Hamilton | 4 July 1895 | 9 October 1903[2] | Conservative | ||
| Hon. St John Brodrick | 9 October 1903 | 4 December 1905 | Conservative | ||
| John Morley (Viscount Morley of Blackburn from 1908) |
10 December 1905 | 3 November 1910 | Liberal | ||
| The Earl of Crewe | 3 November 1910 | 7 March 1911 | Liberal | ||
| The Viscount Morley of Blackburn | 7 March 1911 | 25 May 1911 | Liberal | ||
| The Earl of Crewe (Marquess of Crewe from July 1911) |
25 May 1911 | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | ||
| Austen Chamberlain | 25 May 1915 | 17 July 1917[3] | Conservative | ||
| Hon. Edwin Samuel Montagu | 17 July 1917 | 19 March 1922 | Liberal | ||
| The Viscount Peel | 19 March 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | ||
| The Lord Olivier | 22 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 | Labour | ||
| The Earl of Birkenhead | 6 November 1924 | 18 October 1928 | Conservative | ||
| The Viscount Peel | 18 October 1928 | 4 June 1929 | Conservative | ||
| William Wedgwood Benn | 7 June 1929 | 24 August 1931 | Labour | ||
| Sir Samuel Hoare | 25 August 1931 | 7 June 1935 | Conservative | ||
| The Marquess of Zetland | 7 June 1935 | 28 May 1937 | Conservative | ||
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Marquess of Zetland | 28 May 1937 | 13 May 1940 | Conservative | |
| Leo Amery | 13 May 1940 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Pethick-Lawrence | 3 August 1945 | 17 April 1947 | Labour | |
| The Earl of Listowel | 17 April 1947 | 14 August 1947 | Labour | |
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Earl of Listowel | 14 August 1947 | 4 January 1948 | Labour | |
| History of UK Government Departments with Responsibility for Foreign Affairs | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colonial Office 1768 – 1782 Secretaries Undersecretaries |
Home Office 1782 – 1794 Secretaries Undersecretaries |
War Office 1794 – 1801 Secretaries Undersecretaries |
War and Colonial Office 1801 – 1854 Secretaries Undersecretaries |
Colonial Office 1854 – 1925 Secretaries Undersecretaries |
Colonial Office 1925 – 1966 Secretaries Ministers Undersecretaries |
Commonwealth Office 1966 – 1968 Secretaries Ministers Undersecretaries |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1968 – Present Secretaries Ministers Undersecretaries |
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| Dominions Office 1925 – 1947 Secretaries Undersecretaries |
Commonwealth Relations Office 1947 – 1966 Secretaries Ministers Undersecretaries |
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| . | India Office 1858 – 1937 Secretaries Undersecretaries |
India and Burma Office 1937 – 1947 Secretaries Undersecretaries |
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| Foreign Office 1782 – 1968 Secretaries Ministers Undersecretaries |
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