Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)

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Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox official post <templatestyles src="Hlist/styles.css" />Script error: No such module "Sidebar". The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, commonly known as the foreign secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.[1] The role is one of the most senior ministers in the UK Government and is a Great Office of State. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom and National Security Council, and reports directly to the prime minister.

The officeholder works alongside the other Foreign Office ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow foreign secretary. The Foreign Affairs Select Committee also evaluates the secretary of state's performance.[2]

The current foreign secretary is Yvette Cooper. She was appointed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on 5 September 2025.

Responsibilities

In contrast to what is generally known as a foreign minister in many other countries, the foreign secretary's remit includes:

Residence

The official residence of the foreign secretary is 1 Carlton Gardens, in London.[6] The foreign secretary also has the use of Chevening House, a country house in Kent, South East England,[7] and works from the Foreign Office in Whitehall.[8]

History

Template:Uk-fco-history The title of secretary of state in the government of England dates back to the early 17th century. The position of secretary of state for foreign affairs was created in the British governmental reorganisation of 1782, in which the Northern Department and Southern Department became the Foreign Office and Home Office respectively.[9] The India Office was closed down in 1947. It had been a constituent predecessor department of the Foreign Office, like the Colonial Office and the Dominions Office.[10]

Eventually, 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 the secretary of state for Commonwealth affairs into a single department of state. Margaret Beckett, appointed in 2006 by Tony Blair, was the first woman to hold the post.[11]

The post of secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs was created in 2020 when position holder Dominic Raab absorbed the responsibilities of the secretary of state for international development.[12]

List of foreign secretaries

Secretaries of state for foreign affairs (1782–1968)

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs[13]
Portrait NameTemplate:Refn Term of office Party Ministry Monarch
(Reign)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Charles James Fox00.jpg Charles James Fox
MP for WestminsterScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		27 March 1782 5 July 1782 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Whig Template:Party shading/Whigs | Rockingham II George III
File:Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1801-1816).svg
(1760–1820)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Template:Refn
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Thomas Robinson 2nd Baron.jpg Thomas Robinson
2nd Baron Grantham 		13 July 1782 2 April 1783 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Whig Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Shelburne
(Whig–Tory)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Charles James Fox00.jpg Charles James Fox
MP for WestminsterScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		2 April 1783 19 December 1783 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Whig Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Fox–North
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:1stMarquessOfBuckingham.jpg George Nugent-Temple-Grenville
3rd Earl Temple 		19 December 1783 23 December 1783 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory Template:Party shading/Tories rowspan=4 | Pitt I
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Francis Osborne cropped.jpg His GraceScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Francis Osborne
5th Duke of Leeds 		23 December 1783 May 1791 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:1st Baron Grenville-cropped.jpg William Grenville
1st Baron Grenville 		8 June 1791 20 February 1801 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp File:Earl jenkinson.jpg Robert Jenkinson
2nd Earl of Liverpool
MP for RyeTemplate:Refn 		20 February 1801 14 May 1804 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | Template:Party shading/Tories | Addington
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:1stEarlOfHarrowby.jpg Dudley Ryder
2nd Baron Harrowby 		14 May 1804 11 January 1805 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Tories | Pitt II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave by Sir William Beechey.jpg Henry Phipps
3rd Baron Mulgrave 		11 January 1805 7 February 1806 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Charles James Fox00.jpg Charles James Fox
MP for WestminsterScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		7 February 1806 13 September 1806† Template:Party shading/Whigs | Whig rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | All the Talents
(Whig–Tory)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey by Sir Thomas Lawrence.jpg Charles Grey
Viscount Howick
MP for NorthumberlandScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		24 September 1806 25 March 1807 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Whig
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:George Canning by Richard Evans - detail.jpg
George Canning
Template:Smalldiv 		25 March 1807 11 October 1809 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory Template:Party shading/Tories | Portland II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst by William Salter.jpg Henry Bathurst
3rd Earl Bathurst 		11 October 1809 6 December 1809 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Tories | Perceval
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Richard Colley Wellesley, Marquess Wellesley by John Philip Davis ('Pope' Davis).jpg Richard Wellesley
1st Marquess Wellesley 		6 December 1809 4 March 1812 Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Independent
height=50 style="background-color: Template:Party color; border-bottom:none" | File:Lord Castlereagh Marquess of Londonderry.jpg Robert Stewart
2nd Marquess of Londonderry 		4 March 1812 12 August 1822† rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Tories | Liverpool
height=50 style="background-color: Template:Party color; border-top:none" | George IV
File:Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1816-1837).svg
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:George Canning by Richard Evans - detail.jpg George Canning
MP for 3 constituencies respectivelyScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		16 September 1822 30 April 1827 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | File:1stEarlOfDudley.jpg John Ward
1st Earl of Dudley 		30 April 1827 2 June 1828 rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Canning
(Canningite–Whig)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Goderich
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp Template:Party shading/Tories rowspan=3 | Wellington–Peel
height=50 style="background-color: Template:Party color; border-bottom:none" | File:Earlofaberdeen.jpg George Hamilton-Gordon
4th Earl of Aberdeen 		2 June 1828 22 November 1830 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory
height=50 style="background-color: Template:Party color; border-top:none" | William IV
File:Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1816-1837).svg
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Lord Palmerston 1855.jpg Henry John Temple
3rd Viscount Palmerston
MP for 3 constituencies respectively 		22 November 1830 14 November 1834 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Whig Template:Party shading/Whigs | Grey
Template:Party shading/Whigs | Melbourne I
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington by John Jackson cropped.jpg Arthur Wellesley
1st Duke of Wellington 		14 November 1834 18 April 1835 Template:Party shading/Tories | Tory Template:Party shading/Tories | Wellington Caretaker
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Peel I
height=50 style="background-color: Template:Party color; border-bottom:none" | File:Lord Palmerston 1855.jpg Henry John Temple
3rd Viscount Palmerston
MP for Tiverton 		18 April 1835 2 September 1841 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Whig Template:Party shading/Whigs rowspan=2 | Melbourne II
height=50 style="background-color: Template:Party color; border-top:none" | Victoria
File:Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
(1837–1901)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Earlofaberdeen.jpg George Hamilton-Gordon
4th Earl of Aberdeen 		2 September 1841 6 July 1846 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Peel II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Lord Palmerston 1855.jpg Henry John Temple
3rd Viscount Palmerston
MP for Tiverton 		6 July 1846 26 December 1851 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Whig Template:Party shading/Whigs rowspan=2 | Russell I
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Second Earl Granville.jpg Granville Leveson-Gower
2nd Earl Granville 		26 December 1851 27 February 1852 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Whig
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:JH Harris 3rd Earl of Malmesbury by JG Middleton crop.jpg James Howard Harris
3rd Earl of Malmesbury 		27 February 1852 28 December 1852 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Who? Who?
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Lord john russell.jpg Lord John Russell
MP for the City of LondonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		28 December 1852 21 February 1853 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Whig Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) rowspan=2 | Aberdeen
(Peelite–Whig)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp File:4thEarlOfClarendon.jpg George Villiers
4th Earl of Clarendon 		21 February 1853 26 February 1858 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Whig
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | Template:Party shading/Whigs | Palmerston I
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:JH Harris 3rd Earl of Malmesbury by JG Middleton crop.jpg James Howard Harris
3rd Earl of Malmesbury 		26 February 1858 18 June 1859 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Derby–Disraeli II
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | File:Lord john russell.jpg John Russell
1st Earl Russell 		18 June 1859 3 November 1865 Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Liberal Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Palmerston II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:4thEarlOfClarendon.jpg George Villiers
4th Earl of Clarendon 		3 November 1865 6 July 1866 Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Liberal Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Russell II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby 2.jpg Edward Stanley
Lord Stanley
MP for King's Lynn 		6 July 1866 9 December 1868 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Derby–Disraeli III
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:4thEarlOfClarendon.jpg George Villiers
4th Earl of Clarendon 		9 December 1868 6 July 1870 Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Liberal rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Gladstone I
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Second Earl Granville.jpg Granville Leveson-Gower
2nd Earl Granville 		6 July 1870 21 February 1874 Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby 2.jpg Edward Stanley
15th Earl of Derby 		21 February 1874 2 April 1878 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Disraeli II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Robert-Gascoyne-Cecil-3rd-Marquess-of-Salisbury (cropped).jpg Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
3rd Marquess of Salisbury 		2 April 1878 28 April 1880 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Second Earl Granville.jpg Granville Leveson-Gower
2nd Earl Granville 		28 April 1880 24 June 1885 Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Liberal Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Gladstone II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Robert-Gascoyne-Cecil-3rd-Marquess-of-Salisbury (cropped).jpg Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
3rd Marquess of Salisbury 		24 June 1885 6 February 1886 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Salisbury I
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Archibald-Philip-Primrose-5th-Earl-of-Rosebery (cropped).jpg Archibald Primrose
5th Earl of Rosebery 		6 February 1886 3 August 1886 Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Liberal Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Gladstone III
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Stafford Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh.jpg Stafford Northcote
1st Earl of Iddesleigh 		3 August 1886 12 January 1887† Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) rowspan=2 | Salisbury II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Robert-Gascoyne-Cecil-3rd-Marquess-of-Salisbury (cropped).jpg Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
3rd Marquess of Salisbury 		14 January 1887 11 August 1892 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Archibald-Philip-Primrose-5th-Earl-of-Rosebery (cropped).jpg Archibald Primrose
5th Earl of Rosebery 		18 August 1892 11 March 1894 Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Liberal Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Gladstone IV
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:1st Earl of Kimberley 1897 (cropped).jpg John Wodehouse
1st Earl of Kimberley 		11 March 1894 21 June 1895 Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Liberal Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Rosebery
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Robert-Gascoyne-Cecil-3rd-Marquess-of-Salisbury (cropped).jpg Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
3rd Marquess of Salisbury 		29 June 1895 12 November 1900 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Salisbury
(III & IV)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
(Con.–Lib.U.)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp File:Marquess of Lansdowne crop.jpg Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice
5th Marquess of Lansdowne 		12 November 1900 4 December 1905 Template:Party shading/Liberal Unionist rowspan=3 | Liberal Unionist
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp Edward VII
File:Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837-1952).svg
(1901–1910)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Balfour
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | File:Picture of Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon.jpg Edward Grey
MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed 		10 December 1905 10 December 1916 Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) rowspan=4 | Liberal Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Campbell-Bannerman
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Asquith
(I–III)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp George V
File:Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837-1952).svg
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Asquith Coalition
(Lib.–Con.–et al.)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Arthur-James-Balfour-1st-Earl-of-Balfour.jpg Arthur Balfour
MP for the City of London 		10 December 1916 23 October 1919 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) rowspan=2 | Lloyd George
(I & II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp File:Curzon GGBain.jpg George Curzon
1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston 		23 October 1919 22 January 1924 rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Law
Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Baldwin I
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Ramsay-MacDonald.jpg Ramsay MacDonald
MP for AberavonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		22 January 1924 3 November 1924 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour Template:Party shading/Labour | MacDonald I
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Austen Chamberlain nobel.jpg Austen Chamberlain
MP for Birmingham WestScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		6 November 1924 4 June 1929 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Baldwin II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:1910 Arthur Henderson.jpg Arthur Henderson
MP for BurnleyScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		7 June 1929 24 August 1931 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour Template:Party shading/Labour | MacDonald II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Rufus Isaacs.jpg Rufus Isaacs
1st Marquess of Reading 		25 August 1931 5 November 1931 Template:Party shading/Liberal (UK) | Liberal Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | National I
(N.Lab.–Con.–et al.)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Viscount Simon.jpg John Simon
MP for Spen Valley 		5 November 1931 7 June 1935 Template:Party shading/Liberal National | Liberal National Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | National II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Sir Samuel Hoare GGBain.jpg Samuel Hoare
MP for Chelsea 		7 June 1935 18 December 1935 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative rowspan=4 Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | National III
(Con.–N.Lab.–et al.)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp File:Anthony Eden (retouched).jpg Anthony Eden
MP for Warwick & LeamingtonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		22 December 1935 20 February 1938 rowspan=4 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | Edward VIII
File:Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837-1952).svg
(1936)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp George VI
File:Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837-1952).svg
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | National IV
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border-bottom: none" |Template:Zwsp File:1st Earl of Halifax 1947.jpg Edward Wood
3rd Viscount Halifax 		21 February 1938 22 December 1940 rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Chamberlain War
rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Churchill War
(All parties)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Anthony Eden (retouched).jpg Anthony Eden
MP for Warwick & LeamingtonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		22 December 1940 26 July 1945 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Churchill Caretaker
(Con.–Lib.N.)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Ernest Bevin cph.3b17494.jpg Ernest Bevin
Template:Smalldiv 		27 July 1945 9 March 1951 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Labour | Attlee
(I & II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | Herbert Morrison
MP for Lewisham SouthScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		9 March 1951 26 October 1951 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour
height=50 style="background-color: Template:Party color; border-bottom:none" | File:Anthony Eden (retouched).jpg Anthony Eden
MP for Warwick & LeamingtonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		28 October 1951 7 April 1955 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Churchill III
height=50 style="background-color: Template:Party color; border-top:none" | Elizabeth II
File:Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom.svg
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Harold Macmillan in 1942.jpg Harold Macmillan
MP for BromleyScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		7 April 1955 20 December 1955 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) rowspan=2 | Eden
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Selwyn Lloyd cropped.jpg Selwyn Lloyd
MP for WirralScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		20 December 1955 27 July 1960 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) rowspan=2 | Conservative
Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) rowspan=2 | Macmillan
(I & II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Alec Douglas-Home (c1963).jpg Alec Douglas-Home
14th Earl of Home 		27 July 1960 18 October 1963 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Rab Butler.jpg Richard Austen Butler
MP for Saffron WaldenScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		20 October 1963 16 October 1964 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Douglas-Home
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | Template:CSS image crop Patrick Gordon Walker
Neither an MP nor a LordTemplate:RefnScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		16 October 1964 22 January 1965 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour Template:Party shading/Labour rowspan=4 | Wilson
(I & II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Michael Stewart (1966).jpg Michael Stewart
MP for FulhamScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		22 January 1965 11 August 1966 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:George Brown, 1967.jpg George Brown
MP for BelperScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		11 August 1966 16 March 1968 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Michael Stewart (1966).jpg Michael Stewart
MP for FulhamScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		16 March 1968 17 October 1968 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour

Template:Refbegin

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>^† Died in office.

Template:Refend Template:Reflist

Secretaries of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs (1968–2020)

Post created through the merger of the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.

Secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairsTemplate:R
Portrait NameTemplate:Refn
(birthTemplate:Ndashdeath)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Term of office Party Ministry Sovereign
(Reign)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Michael Stewart (1966).jpg Michael Stewart
MP for Fulham
(1906Template:Ndash1990)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		17 October 1968 19 June 1970 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour Template:Party shading/Labour | Wilson
(I & II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Elizabeth II
File:Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom.svg
(1952Template:Ndash2022)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Alec Douglas-Home (c1963) (cropped).jpg Alec Douglas-Home
MP for Kinross and Western Perthshire
(1903Template:Ndash1995)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		20 June 1970 4 March 1974 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Heath
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:James Callaghan (1975).jpg James Callaghan
MP for Cardiff South East
(1912Template:Ndash2005)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		5 March 1974 5 April 1976 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour Template:Party shading/Labour | Wilson
(III & IV)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Charles-Anthony-Raven-Crosland (cropped).jpg Anthony Crosland
MP for Great Grimsby
(1918Template:Ndash1977)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		8 April 1976 19 February 1977† Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Labour | Callaghan
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:David Owen-1.jpg David Owen
MP for Plymouth Devonport
(born 1938)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		22 February 1977 4 May 1979 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Peter Carington 1984.jpg Peter Carington
6th Baron Carrington
(1919Template:Ndash2018)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		4 May 1979 5 April 1982 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Thatcher I
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Francis Leslie Pym.jpg Francis Pym
MP for Cambridgeshire
(1922Template:Ndash2008)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		6 April 1982 11 June 1983 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | File:Geoffrey Howe (1985).jpg Geoffrey Howe
MP for East Surrey
(1926Template:Ndash2015)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		11 June 1983 24 July 1989 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Thatcher II
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Thatcher III
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:John Major Feb. 1993.jpg John Major
MP for Huntingdon
(born 1943)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		24 July 1989 26 October 1989 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp File:Douglas Hurd, November 2007 cropped.jpg Douglas Hurd
MP for Witney
(born 1930)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		26 October 1989 5 July 1995 rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Major I
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Major II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Malcolm Rifkind 2011 (cropped).jpg Malcolm Rifkind
MP for Edinburgh Pentlands
(born 1946)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		5 July 1995 2 May 1997 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | File:Robin Cook official portrait.jpg Robin Cook
MP for Livingston
(1946Template:Ndash2005)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		2 May 1997 8 June 2001 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour Template:Party shading/Labour | Blair I
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | File:Jack Straw.jpg Jack Straw
MP for Blackburn
(born 1946)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		8 June 2001 5 May 2006 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour Template:Party shading/Labour | Blair II
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Labour | Blair III
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Margaret Beckett May 2007 cropped.jpg Margaret Beckett
MP for Derby South
(born 1943)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		5 May 2006 27 June 2007 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:David Miliband 2.jpg David Miliband
MP for South Shields
(born 1965)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		28 June 2007 11 May 2010 Template:Party shading/Labour | Labour Template:Party shading/Labour | Brown
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:William Hague (2010).jpg William Hague
MP for Richmond (Yorks)
(born 1961)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		12 May 2010 14 July 2014 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Cameron–Clegg
(Con.Template:NdashL.D.)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp File:Philip Hammond 2016.jpg Philip Hammond
MP for Runnymede and Weybridge
(born 1955)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		14 July 2014 13 July 2016 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border-top:none" | Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Cameron II
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | File:Boris Johnson MP.jpg Boris Johnson[14]
MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip
(born 1964)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

TenureScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

13 July 2016 9 July 2018 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | May I
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | May II
style="background-color: Template:Party color" | File:Jeremy Hunt with Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahyan in London - 2018 (29653209427) (cropped).jpg Jeremy Hunt[15]
MP for South West Surrey
(born 1966)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		9 July 2018 24 July 2019 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" | File:Official portrait of Foreign Secretary Raab (cropped).jpg Dominic Raab[16]
MP for Esher and Walton
(born 1974)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		24 July 2019 2 September 2020 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Johnson I
style="background-color: Template:Party color; border:none" |Template:Zwsp Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Johnson II

Secretaries of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs (2020–present)

Post created through the merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development.

Portrait NameTemplate:Refn
(BirthTemplate:NdashDeath)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Term of office Party Ministry Sovereign
(Reign)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color| File:Official portrait of Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP crop 2.jpg Dominic Raab
MP for Esher and Walton
(born 1974)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		2 September 2020 15 September 2021 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Johnson II Elizabeth II
File:Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom.svg
(1952Template:Ndash2022)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
style="background-color: Template:Party color| File:Liz Truss Official Portrait.jpg Liz Truss
MP for South West Norfolk
(born 1975)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		15 September 2021 6 September 2022 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
rowspan=3 style="background-color: Template:Party color| File:James Cleverly Official Cabinet Portrait (cropped).jpg James Cleverly
MP for Braintree
(born 1969)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		6 September 2022 13 November 2023 rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Truss
Charles III
File:Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (2022).svg
(2022–present)
rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Sunak
style="background-color: Template:Party color| File:David Cameron Official Portrait 2023 (cropped).jpg David Cameron
Sits in the House of Lords
(born 1966)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		13 November 2023 5 July 2024 Template:Party shading/Conservative (UK) | Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color| File:David Lammy, 2024 (cropped).jpg David Lammy
MP for Tottenham
(born 1972)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		5 July 2024 5 September 2025 Template:Party shading/Labour Party (UK) | Labour rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Labour Party (UK) | Starmer
style="background-color: Template:Party color| File:Yvette Cooper Official Cabinet Portrait, September 2025 (cropped).jpg Yvette Cooper
MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
(born 1969)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		5 September 2025 Incumbent Template:Party shading/Labour Party (UK) | Labour

Timeline

<timeline>ImageSize=width:1100 height:auto barincrement:12 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late PlotArea = width:85% left:10 top:10 bottom:70 Legend = columns:1 left:120 top:35 columnwidth:160

Define $now = 2025

DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1780 till:2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal

Colors = 

 id:whig           value:rgb(1,0.5,0)          legend: Whig
 id:tory           value:rgb(0.2,0.2,0.8)      legend: Tory
 id:conservative   value:rgb(0,0.53,0.86)      legend: Conservative
 id:liberal        value:rgb(1,0.84,0)         legend: Liberal
 id:libunionist    value:rgb(0,0.2,0.56)       legend: Liberal_Unionist
 id:labour         value:rgb(0.86,0.08,0.18)   legend: Labour
 id:natliberal     value:rgb(0.3,0.73,0.96)    legend: National_Liberal
 id:independent    value:rgb(0.6,0.6,0.6)      legend: Independent_or_no_party
 id:liteline       value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9)
 id:line           value:rgb(0.8,0.8,0.8)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:10 start:1780 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:liteline unit:year increment:2 start:1780

TextData = 

 pos:(20,40) textcolor:black fontsize:M
 text:"Political parties:"

BarData = 

 bar:Fox
 bar:Grantham
 bar:Temple
 bar:Leeds
 bar:Grenville
 bar:Liverpool
 bar:Harrowby
 bar:Mulgrave
 bar:Grey
 bar:Canning
 bar:Bathurst
 bar:Wellesley
 bar:Londonderry
 bar:Dudley
 bar:Aberdeen
 bar:Palmerston
 bar:Wellington
 bar:Granville
 bar:Malmesbury
 bar:Russell
 bar:Clarendon
 bar:Derby
 bar:Salisbury
 bar:Rosebery
 bar:Iddesleigh
 bar:Kimberley
 bar:Lansdowne
 bar:EGrey
 bar:Balfour
 bar:Curzon
 bar:MacDonald
 bar:Chamberlain
 bar:Henderson
 bar:Reading
 bar:Simon
 bar:Hoare
 bar:Eden
 bar:Halifax
 bar:Bevin
 bar:Morrison
 bar:Macmillan
 bar:Lloyd
 bar:Douglas-Home
 bar:RAB
 bar:Gordon-Walker
 bar:Stewart
 bar:Brown
 bar:Callaghan
 bar:Crosland
 bar:Owen
 bar:Carrington
 bar:Pym
 bar:Howe
 bar:Major
 bar:Hurd
 bar:Rifkind
 bar:Cook
 bar:Straw
 bar:Backett
 bar:Milliband
 bar:Hague
 bar:Hammond
 bar:Johnson
 bar:Hunt
 bar:Raab
 bar:Truss
 bar:Cleverly
 bar:Cameron
 bar:Lammy
 bar:Cooper

PlotData= 

 width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

bar:Fox
 from: 1782 till: 1782 color:Whig
 from: 1783 till: 1783 color:Whig
 from: 1806 till: 1806 color:Whig         text:"Charles James Fox"
bar:Grantham 
 from: 1782 till: 1783 color:Whig         text:"Thomas Robinson
bar:Temple
 from: 1783 till: 1783 color:Tory         text:"George Nugent-Temple-Grenville
bar:Leeds
 from: 1783 till: 1791 color:Tory         text:"Francis Osborne"
bar:Grenville
 from: 1791 till: 1801 color:Tory         text:"William Grenville"
bar:Liverpool
 from: 1801 till: 1804 color:Tory         text:"Robert Jenkinson"
bar:Harrowby
 from: 1804 till: 1805 color:Tory         text:"Dudley Ryder"
bar:Mulgrave
 from: 1805 till: 1806 color:Tory         text:"Henry Phipps"
bar:Grey
 from: 1806 till: 1807 color:Whig         text:"Charles Grey"
bar:Canning
 from: 1807 till: 1809 color:Tory
 from: 1822 till: 1827 color:Tory         text:"George Canning"
bar:Bathurst
 from: 1809 till: 1809 color:Tory         text:"Henry Bathurst
bar:Wellesley
 from: 1809 till: 1812 color:Independent  text:"Richard Wellesley"
bar:Londonderry
 from: 1812 till: 1822 color:Tory         text:"Robert Stewart"
bar:Dudley
 from: 1827 till: 1828 color:Tory         text:"John Ward"
bar:Aberdeen
 from: 1828 till: 1830 color:Tory
 from: 1841 till: 1846 color:Conservative text:"George Hamilton-Gordon"
bar:Palmerston
 from: 1830 till: 1834 color:Whig
 from: 1835 till: 1841 color:Whig
 from: 1846 till: 1851 color:Whig         text:"Henry John Temple"
bar:Wellington
 from: 1834 till: 1834 color:Tory
 from: 1834 till: 1835 color:Conservative text:"Arthur Wellesley"
bar:Granville
 from: 1851 till: 1852 color:Whig
 from: 1870 till: 1874 color:Liberal
 from: 1880 till: 1885 color:Liberal      text:"Granville Leveson-Gower"
bar:Malmesbury
 from: 1852 till: 1852 color:Conservative
 from: 1858 till: 1859 color:Conservative text:"James Howard Harris"
bar:Russell
 from: 1852 till: 1853 color:Whig   
 from: 1859 till: 1865 color:Liberal      text:"John Russell"
bar:Clarendon
 from: 1853 till: 1858 color:Whig   
 from: 1865 till: 1866 color:Liberal
 from: 1868 till: 1870 color:Liberal      text:"George Villiers"
bar:Derby
 from: 1866 till: 1868 color:Conservative
 from: 1874 till: 1878 color:Conservative text:"Edward Stanley"
bar:Salisbury
 from: 1878 till: 1880 color:Conservative
 from: 1885 till: 1886 color:Conservative
 from: 1887 till: 1892 color:Conservative
 from: 1895 till: 1900 color:Conservative text:"Robert Gascoyne-Cecil"
bar:Rosebery
 from: 1886 till: 1886 color:Liberal
 from: 1892 till: 1894 color:Liberal      text:"Archibald Primrose"
bar:Iddesleigh
 from: 1886 till: 1887 color:Conservative text:"Stafford Northcote"
bar:Kimberley
 from: 1894 till: 1895 color:Liberal      text:"John Wodehouse"
bar:Lansdowne
 from: 1900 till: 1905 color:Libunionist  text:"Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice
bar:EGrey
 from: 1905 till: 1916 color:Liberal      text:"Edward Grey"
bar:Balfour
 from: 1916 till: 1919 color:Conservative text:"Arthur Balfour"
bar:Curzon
 from: 1919 till: 1924 color:Conservative text:"George Curzon"
bar:MacDonald
 from: 1924 till: 1924 color:Labour       text:"Ramsay MacDonald"
bar:Chamberlain
 from: 1924 till: 1929 color:Conservative text:"Austen Chamberlain"
bar:Henderson
 from: 1929 till: 1931 color:Labour       text:"Arthur Henderson"
bar:Reading
 from: 1931 till: 1931 color:Liberal      text:"Rufus Isaacs"
bar:Simon
 from: 1931 till: 1935 color:Natliberal   text:"John Simon"
bar:Hoare
 from: 1935 till: 1935 color:Conservative text:"Samuel Hoare"
bar:Eden
 from: 1935 till: 1938 color:Conservative
 from: 1940 till: 1945 color:Conservative
 from: 1951 till: 1955 color:Conservative text:"Anthony Eden"
bar:Halifax
 from: 1938 till: 1940 color:Conservative text:"Edward Wood
bar:Bevin
 from: 1945 till: 1951 color:Labour       text:"Ernest Bevin
bar:Morrison 
 from: 1951 till: 1951 color:Labour       text:"Herbert Morrison"
bar:Macmillan
 from: 1955 till: 1955 color:Conservative text:"Harold Macmillan"
bar:Lloyd
 from: 1955 till: 1960 color:Conservative text:"Selwyn Lloyd"
bar:Douglas-Home
 from: 1960 till: 1963 color:Conservative
 from: 1970 till: 1974 color:Conservative text:"Alec Douglas-Home"
bar:RAB
 from: 1963 till: 1964 color:Conservative text:"Rab Butler"
bar:Gordon-Walker
 from: 1964 till: 1965 color:Labour       text:"Patrick Gordon Walker"
bar:Stewart 
 from: 1965 till: 1966 color:Labour
 from: 1968 till: 1970 color:Labour       text:"Michael Stewart"
bar:Brown
 from: 1966 till: 1968 color:Labour       text:"George Brown"
bar:Callaghan
 from: 1974 till: 1976 color:Labour       text:"James Callaghan"
bar:Crosland
 from: 1976 till: 1977 color:Labour       text:"Anthony Crosland"
bar:Owen
 from: 1977 till: 1979 color:Labour       text:"David Owen"
bar:Carrington
 from: 1979 till: 1982 color:Conservative text:"Peter Carington"
bar:Pym
 from: 1982 till: 1983 color:Conservative text:"Francis Pym"
bar:Howe
 from: 1983 till: 1989 color:Conservative text:"Geoffrey Howe"
bar:Major
 from: 1989 till: 1989 color:Conservative text:"John Major"
bar:Hurd
 from: 1989 till: 1995 color:Conservative text:"Douglas Hurd"
bar:Rifkind
 from: 1995 till: 1997 color:Conservative text:"Malcolm Rifkind"
bar:Cook
 from: 1997 till: 2001 color:Labour       text:"Robin Cook"
bar:Straw
 from: 2001 till: 2006 color:Labour       text:"Jack Straw"
bar:Backett
 from: 2006 till: 2007 color:Labour       text:"Margaret Beckett"
bar:Milliband
 from: 2007 till: 2010 color:Labour       text:"David Miliband"
bar:Hague
 from: 2010 till: 2014 color:Conservative text:"William Hague"
bar:Hammond
 from: 2014 till: 2016 color:Conservative text:"Philip Hammond"
bar:Johnson
 from: 2016 till: 2018 color:Conservative text:"Boris Johnson"
bar:Hunt
 from: 2018 till: 2019 color:Conservative text:"Jeremy Hunt"
bar:Raab
 from: 2019 till: 2021 color:Conservative text:"Dominic Raab"
bar:Truss
 from: 2021 till: 2022 color:Conservative text:"Liz Truss"
bar:Cleverly
 from: 2022 till: 2023 color:Conservative text:"James Cleverly"
bar:Cameron
 from: 2023 till: 2024 color:Conservative text:"David Cameron"
bar:Lammy
 from: 2024 till: 2025 color:Labour text:"David Lammy"
bar:Cooper
 from: 2025 till: $Now color:Labour text:"Yvette Cooper"

</timeline>

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

  • Cecil, Algernon. British foreign secretaries, 1807–1916: studies in personality and policy (1927). pp. 89–130. online
  • Goodman, Sam. The Imperial Premiership: The Role of the Modern Prime Minister in Foreign Policy Making, 1964–2015 (Oxford UP, 2016).
  • Hughes, Michael. British Foreign Secretaries in an Uncertain World, 1919–1939. (Routledge, 2004).
  • Johnson, Gaynor. "Introduction: The Foreign Office and British Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century", Contemporary British History, (2004) 18:3, 1–12, Script error: No such module "doi".
  • Neilson, Keith, and Thomas G. Otte. The permanent under-secretary for foreign affairs, 1854–1946 (Routledge, 2008).
  • Otte, Thomas G. The Foreign Office Mind: The Making of British Foreign Policy, 1865–1914 (Cambridge UP, 2011).
  • Seldon, Anthony. The Impossible Office? The History of the British Prime Minister (2021) excerpt major scholarly history. Covers the relations with Prime Minister in Chapter 8.
  • Steiner, Zara. The Foreign Office and Foreign Policy, 1898–1914 (1986).
  • Temperley, Harold. "British Secret Diplomacy from Canning to Grey." Cambridge Historical Journal 6.1 (1938): 1–32.
  • Theakston, Kevin, ed. British foreign secretaries since 1974 (Routledge, 2004).
  • Wilson, Keith M., ed. British foreign secretaries and foreign policy: from Crimean War to First World War (1987).

External links

Template:Sister project

Template:Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Template:Cabinet positions in the United Kingdom Template:Great Offices of State

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