Secretary of State for Education

United Kingdom Secretary of State for Education
Royal Arms as used by Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent Justine Greening since 14 July 2016
Department for Education
Style	The Right Honourable (formal prefix) Education Secretary
Appointer	Elizabeth II
Inaugural holder	William Cowper-Temple Committee of the Council on Education John Patten Secretary of State for Education
Formation	5 February 1857 10 April 1992
Website	DfE

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Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Education (frequently shortened to the Education Secretary) is the chief minister of the Department for Education in the United Kingdom government. The position was re-established on 12 May 2010. Under the provisions for devolved government in the UK its remit applies only to England, covering;^[1]

• Early years
• Adoption and child protection
• Teachers’ pay
• The school curriculum
• School improvement
• The establishment of academies and free schools.

History

A committee of the Privy Council was appointed in 1839 to supervise the distribution of certain government grants in the education field. The members of the committee were the Lord President of the Council, the Secretaries of State, the First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. From 1857 a vice-president was appointed who took responsibility for policy.

On 1 April 1900, the Board of Education Act 1899 abolished the committee and instituted a new board, headed by a president. The members were initially very similar to the old committee and the president of the board was the Lord President of the Council; however, from 1902 this ceased to be the case and the president of the board was appointed separately (although the Marquess of Londonderry happened to hold both jobs from 1903 to 1905).

The Education Act 1944 replaced the Board of Education with a new Ministry of Education.

The Department of Education and Science was created in 1964 with the merger of the offices of Minister of Education and the Minister of Science.

In 1992, the responsibility for science was transferred to Cabinet Office's Office of Public Service, and the department was renamed Department of Education. In 1995 the department merged with the Department of Employment to become the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) and in 2001 the employment functions were transferred to a newly created Department for Work and Pensions, with the DfEE becoming the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). In 2007 under Gordon Brown's new premiership, the DfES was split into two new departments; the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and a Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, under two new secretaries of state.

The ministerial office of the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills was, in late 2009, amalgamated into the new ministerial office of the resurgent politician Peter Mandelson, made a peer and given the title Lord Mandelson as the newly created Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills – itself an amalgamation of the responsibilities of the Secretaries of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Innovation, Universities and Skills. The Secretary of State has remit over higher education policy as well as British business and enterprise. As of 14 July 2016, the position is held by Justine Greening, as her predecessor, Nicky Morgan, was sacked by Theresa May.

List

Vice-President of the Committee of the Council on Education

Colour key (for political parties):
  Whig   Conservative   Liberal

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
	William Cowper		5 February 1857	21 February 1858	Whig		The Viscount Palmerston
	Charles Adderley		12 March 1858	11 June 1859	Conservative		The Earl of Derby
	Robert Lowe		24 June 1859	26 April 1864 (resigned)	Liberal		The Viscount Palmerston
	Henry Bruce		26 April 1864	26 June 1866	Liberal
							The Earl Russell
	Henry Lowry-Corry		26 June 1866	19 March 1867	Conservative		The Earl of Derby
	Lord Robert Montagu		19 March 1867	1 December 1868	Conservative
							Benjamin Disraeli
	William Edward Forster		9 December 1868	17 February 1874	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
	Viscount Sandon		2 March 1874	4 April 1878	Conservative		Benjamin Disraeli
	Lord George Hamilton		4 April 1878	21 April 1880	Conservative
	A. J. Mundella		3 May 1880	9 June 1885	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
	Edward Stanhope		24 June 1885	17 September 1885	Conservative		The Marquess of Salisbury
	Sir Henry Holland, Bt		17 September 1885	28 January 1886	Conservative
	Sir Lyon Playfair		13 February 1886	20 July 1886	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
	Sir Henry Holland, Bt		3 August 1886	25 January 1887	Conservative		The Marquess of Salisbury
	Sir William Hart Dyke, Bt		25 January 1887	11 August 1892	Conservative
	Arthur Dyke Acland		25 August 1892	21 June 1895	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
							The Earl of Rosebery
	Sir John Eldon Gorst		4 July 1895	8 August 1902	Conservative		The Marquess of Salisbury (Unionist Coalition)

President of the Board of Education

Colour key (for political parties):
  Liberal Unionist   Conservative   Liberal   Labour   National Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
	The Duke of Devonshire (also Lord President of the Council)		1 April 1900	8 August 1902	Liberal Unionist		The Marquess of Salisbury (Unionist Coalition)
	The Marquess of Londonderry (also Lord President of the Council)		11 August 1902	4 December 1905	Conservative		Arthur Balfour (Unionist Coalition)
	Augustine Birrell		10 December 1905	23 January 1907	Liberal		Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
	Reginald McKenna		23 January 1907	12 April 1908	Liberal
	Walter Runciman		12 April 1908	23 October 1911	Liberal		H. H. Asquith
	Jack Pease		23 October 1911	25 May 1915	Liberal
	Arthur Henderson		25 May 1915	18 August 1916	Labour		H. H. Asquith (Coalition)
	The Marquess of Crewe		18 August 1916	10 December 1916	Liberal
	Herbert Fisher		10 December 1916	19 October 1922	Liberal		David Lloyd George (Coalition)
	Edward Wood (subsequently Lord Irwin and Viscount Halifax)		24 October 1922	22 January 1924	Conservative		Bonar Law
							Stanley Baldwin
	Charles Trevelyan		22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour		Ramsay MacDonald
	Lord Eustace Percy		6 November 1924	4 June 1929	Conservative		Stanley Baldwin
	Sir Charles Trevelyan		7 June 1929	2 March 1931 (resigned)	Labour		Ramsay MacDonald
	Hastings Lees-Smith		2 March 1931	24 August 1931	Labour
	Sir Donald Maclean		25 August 1931	15 June 1932 (died in office)	Liberal		Ramsay MacDonald (1st & 2nd National Min.)
	The Lord Irwin (Viscount Halifax from 1934)		15 June 1932	7 June 1935	Conservative
	Oliver Stanley		7 June 1935	28 May 1937	Conservative		Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.)
	The Earl Stanhope		28 May 1937	27 October 1938	Conservative		Neville Chamberlain (4th National Min; War Coalition)
	The Earl De La Warr		27 October 1938	3 April 1940	National Labour
	Herwald Ramsbotham		3 April 1940	20 July 1941	Conservative		Winston Churchill (War Coalition)
	R. A. Butler		20 July 1941	3 August 1944	Conservative

Minister of Education

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
	R. A. Butler		3 August 1944	25 May 1945	Conservative		Winston Churchill (War Coalition)
	Richard Law		25 May 1945	26 July 1945	Conservative		Winston Churchill (Caretaker Min.)
	Ellen Wilkinson		3 August 1945	6 February 1947 (died in office)	Labour		Clement Attlee
	George Tomlinson		10 February 1947	26 October 1951	Labour
	Florence Horsbrugh		2 November 1951	18 October 1954	Conservative		Sir Winston Churchill
	David Eccles		18 October 1954	13 January 1957	Conservative
							Sir Anthony Eden
	The Viscount Hailsham		13 January 1957	17 September 1957	Conservative		Harold Macmillan
	Geoffrey Lloyd		17 September 1957	14 October 1959	Conservative
	David Eccles		14 October 1959	13 July 1962	Conservative
	Sir Edward Boyle, Bt		13 July 1962	1 April 1964	Conservative
							Sir Alec Douglas-Home

Secretary of State for Education and Science

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
	Quintin Hogg (formerly Viscount Hailsham)		1 April 1964	16 October 1964	Conservative		Sir Alec Douglas-Home
	Michael Stewart		18 October 1964	22 January 1965	Labour		Harold Wilson
	Anthony Crosland		22 January 1965	29 August 1967	Labour
	Patrick Gordon Walker		29 August 1967	6 April 1968	Labour
	Edward Short		6 April 1968	19 June 1970	Labour
	Margaret Thatcher		20 June 1970	4 March 1974	Conservative		Edward Heath
	Reginald Prentice		5 March 1974	10 June 1975	Labour		Harold Wilson
	Fred Mulley		10 June 1975	10 September 1976	Labour
	Shirley Williams		10 September 1976	4 May 1979	Labour		James Callaghan
	Mark Carlisle		5 May 1979	14 September 1981	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher
	Sir Keith Joseph, Bt		14 September 1981	21 May 1986	Conservative
	Kenneth Baker		21 May 1986	24 July 1989	Conservative
	John MacGregor		24 July 1989	2 November 1990	Conservative
	Kenneth Clarke		2 November 1990	10 April 1992	Conservative
							John Major

Secretary of State for Education

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative

Secretary of State for Education and Employment

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
	Gillian Shephard		5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative		John Major
	David Blunkett		2 May 1997	8 June 2001	Labour		Tony Blair

Secretary of State for Education and Skills

Colour key (for political parties):
  Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
	Estelle Morris		8 June 2001	24 October 2002 (resigned)	Labour		Tony Blair
	Charles Clarke		24 October 2002	15 December 2004	Labour
	Ruth Kelly		15 December 2004	5 May 2006	Labour
	Alan Johnson		5 May 2006	27 June 2007	Labour

Secretaries of State for Children, Schools and Families; and Innovation, Universities and Skills

In 2007, the education portfolio was divided between the Department for Children, Schools and Families (responsible for infant, primary and secondary education), and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (responsible for further, higher and adult education). In 2009, the latter department was merged into the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Colour key (for political parties):
  Labour   Labour Co-operative

Sec.State for Children, Schools and Families			Sec.State for Innovation, Universities and Skills			Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
	Ed Balls			John Denham		28 June 2007	5 June 2009	Labour Labour Co-op (Balls)		Gordon Brown
			Post abolished; duties transferred to Sec.State for Business, Innovation and Skills.			5 June 2009	11 May 2010

Secretary of State for Education

The Department for Education and the post of Secretary of State for Education were recreated in 2010.

Responsibility for higher and adult education remained with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable 2010–2015, Sajid Javid 2015–2016), until reunited with the Department for Education in 2016.

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
	Michael Gove		11 May 2010	15 July 2014	Conservative		David Cameron (Coalition)
	Nicky Morgan		15 July 2014	14 July 2016	Conservative
							David Cameron (II)
	Justine Greening		14 July 2016	Incumbent	Conservative		Theresa May

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Secretaries of State for Education of the United Kingdom.

• Department for Education
• Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)

References