Secretary of State for International Development

United Kingdom Secretary of State for International Development
Royal Arms as used by Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent Priti Patel since 14 July 2016
Department for International Development
Style	The Right Honourable (Formal prefix) International Development Secretary Madam Secretary
Appointer	Elizabeth II
Inaugural holder	Barbara Castle
Formation	18 October 1964
Website	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/

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Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for International Development is a British cabinet minister responsible for the Department for International Development and for promoting development overseas, particularly in developing countries. 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 re-incorporated into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 15 October 1970. Wilson again established the Ministry in 1974, but later merged it into the Foreign Office once again: 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 post is currently held by Priti Patel.

Ministers and Secretaries of State

Name			Term of 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
Name			Term of 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
							John Major
Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
	Clare Short		3 May 1997	12 May 2003	Labour		Tony Blair
	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	4 September 2012	Conservative		David Cameron (Coalition)
	Justine Greening		4 September 2012	14 July 2016	Conservative
							David Cameron (II)
	Priti Patel		14 July 2016	Incumbent	Conservative		Theresa May

References