Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

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"Foreign Secretary" redirects here. For equivalent positions in other countries, see Foreign minister.

United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Flag of the United Kingdom
Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent The Rt Hon William Hague MP since 11 May 2010
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Style	The Right Honourable
Member of	British Cabinet
Reports to	The Prime Minister
Appointer	Elizabeth II as Monarch of the United Kingdom
Inaugural holder	Charles James Fox
Formation	27 March 1782

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Her Majesty's Principal 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) and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which are directly accountable to this person.

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

	Term of office		Political party
Charles James Fox	27 March 1782	5 July 1782 (resigned)	Whig	The Marquess of Rockingham
The Lord Grantham	13 July 1782	2 April 1783	Whig	The Earl of Shelburne
Charles James Fox	2 April 1783	19 December 1783	Whig	The Duke of Portland (Fox-North Coalition)
The Earl Temple	19 December 1783	23 December 1783	Tory	William Pitt the Younger
Marquess of Carmarthen (Duke of Leeds from 1789)	23 December 1783	May 1791 (resigned)	Tory
The Lord Grenville	8 June 1791	20 February 1801	Tory

Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, 1801–1900

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

Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, 1900–1968

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

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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Foreign Secretaries of the United Kingdom.

FCO website

Great Offices of State of the United Kingdom

Prime Minister
David Cameron

Chancellor of the Exchequer
George Osborne

Foreign Secretary
William Hague

Home Secretary
Theresa May

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