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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 member of the British Government responsible for relations with foreign countries, heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The holder is a member of the Cabinet, and the position is considered one of the Great Offices of State.
This position 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.
Chevening is an official residence of the Secretary of State.
In the Cabinet reshuffle on 5 May 2006 Margaret Beckett became the first woman to hold the post.
David Miliband was appointed to the post on 28 June 2007 by the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

Contents

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1782-1968)

Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1968 - present)

See also

External links

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1782-1968)

The position of 'Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs' was created in the United Kingdom's governmental reorganization of 1782, in which the Northern and Southern Departments became the Home and Foreign Offices.

Name	Term (From - To)
Charles James Fox1	March 27, 1782 - July 5, 1782
The Lord Grantham	July 13, 1782 - April 2, 1783
Charles James Fox	April 2, 1783 - December 19, 1783
The Earl Temple	December 19, 1783 - December 23, 1783
The Duke of Leeds1	December 23, 1783 - May 1791
The Lord Grenville	June 8, 1791 - February 20, 1801
The Lord Hawkesbury	February 20, 1801 - May 14, 1804
The Lord Harrowby	May 14, 1804 - January 11, 1805
The Lord Mulgrave	January 11, 1805 - February 7, 1806
Charles James Fox2	February 7, 1806 - September 13, 1806
The Viscount Howick	September 24, 1806 - March 25, 1807
George Canning1	March 25, 1807 - October 11, 1809
The Earl Bathurst	October 11, 1809 - December 6, 1809
The Marquess Wellesley	December 6, 1809 - March 4, 1812
The Viscount Castlereagh2	March 4, 1812 - August 12, 1822
George Canning	September 16, 1822 - April 30, 1827
The Earl of Dudley	April 30, 1827 - June 2, 1828
The Earl of Aberdeen	June 2, 1828 - November 22, 1830
The Viscount Palmerston	November 22, 1830 - November 15, 1834
The Duke of Wellington	November 15, 1834 - April 18, 1835
The Viscount Palmerston	April 18, 1835 - September 2, 1841
The Earl of Aberdeen	September 2, 1841 - July 6, 1846
The Viscount Palmerston	July 6, 1846 - December 26, 1851
The Earl Granville	December 26, 1851 - February 27, 1852
The Earl of Malmesbury	February 27, 1852 - December 28, 1852
Lord John Russell3	December 28, 1852 - February 21, 1853
The Earl of Clarendon	February 21, 1853 - February 26, 1858
The Earl of Malmesbury	February 26, 1858 - June 18, 1859
The Earl Russell3	June 18, 1859 - November 3, 1865
The Earl of Clarendon	November 3, 1865 - July 6, 1866
The Lord Stanley4	July 6, 1866 - December 9, 1868
The Earl of Clarendon	December 9, 1868 - July 6, 1870
The Earl Granville	July 6, 1870 - February 21, 1874
The Earl of Derby4	February 21, 1874 - April 2, 1878
The Marquess of Salisbury	April 2, 1878 - April 28, 1880
The Earl Granville	April 28, 1880 - June 24, 1885
The Marquess of Salisbury	June 24, 1885 - February 6, 1886
The Earl of Rosebery	February 6, 1886 - August 3, 1886
The Earl of Iddesleigh2	August 3, 1886 - January 12, 1887
The Marquess of Salisbury	January 14, 1887 - August 11, 1892
The Earl of Rosebery	August 18, 1892 - March 11, 1894
The Earl of Kimberley	March 11, 1894 - June 21, 1895
The Marquess of Salisbury	June 29, 1895 - November 12, 1900
The Marquess of Lansdowne	November 12, 1900 - December 4, 1905
Sir Edward Grey	December 10, 1905 - December 10, 1916
Arthur Balfour	December 10, 1916 - October 23, 1919
The Marquess Curzon of Kedleston	October 23, 1919 - January 22, 1924
Ramsay MacDonald	January 22, 1924 - November 3, 1924
Sir Austen Chamberlain	November 6, 1924 - June 4, 1929
Arthur Henderson	June 7, 1929 - August 24, 1931
The Marquess of Reading	August 25, 1931 - November 5, 1931
Sir John Simon	November 5, 1931 - June 7, 1935
Sir Samuel Hoare1	June 7, 1935 - December 18, 1935
Anthony Eden1	December 22, 1935 - February 20, 1938
The Viscount Halifax	February 21, 1938 - December 22, 1940
Anthony Eden	December 22, 1940 - July 26, 1945
Ernest Bevin	July 27, 1945 - March 9, 1951
Herbert Morrison	March 9, 1951 - October 26, 1951
Sir Anthony Eden	October 28, 1951 - April 7, 1955
Harold Macmillan	April 7, 1955 - December 20, 1955
Selwyn Lloyd	December 20, 1955 - July 27, 1960
The Earl of Home	July 27, 1960 - October 20, 1963
R.A. Butler	October 20, 1963 - October 16, 1964
Patrick Gordon Walker5	October 16, 1964 - January 22, 1965
Michael Stewart	January 22, 1965 - August 11, 1966
George Brown1	August 11, 1966 - March 16, 1968
Michael Stewart	March 16, 1968 - October 17, 1968

¹Resigned

²Died in office

³Lord John Russell was later elevated to the Peerage as the Earl Russell

⁴Lord Stanley later succeeded to the Peerage as the Earl of Derby

⁵Defeated for election to the House of Commons

Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1968 - present)

Name		Portrait	Entered office	Left office	Political party
	Michael Stewart		17 October 1968	19 June 1970	Labour
	Alec Douglas-Home		20 June, 1970	28 February 1974	Conservative
	James Callaghan		29 February, 1974	8 April 1976	Labour
	Anthony Crosland		9 April 1976	19 February 1977 1	Labour
	David Owen		22 February 1977	4 May 1979	Labour
	Baron Carrington		5 May 1979	5 April 1982 2	Conservative
	Francis Pym		6 April 1982	11 June 1983	Conservative
	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
	Malcolm Rifkind		5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative
	Robin Cook		2 May 1997	8 June 2001	Labour
	Margaret Beckett		5 May 2006	28 June 2007	Labour
	David Miliband		28 June 2007	present	Labour

¹ Died in office

² Resigned

See also

★ Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs

★ Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office

★ Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs

★ Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations

★ Secretary of State for the Colonies

★ Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs

★ Foreign minister

★ Great Offices of State

External links

★ FCO website