Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)

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.^[2] 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.

Style

Foreign Secretary (informal)
The Right Honourable (within the UK and Commonwealth)
Her Excellency (diplomatic)

TypeMinister of the Crown

Status

Member of

Quick facts United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Style ...

United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent Yvette Cooper since 5 September 2025
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Style	Foreign Secretary (informal) The Right Honourable (within the UK and Commonwealth) Her Excellency (diplomatic)
Type	Minister of the Crown
Status	Secretary of State Great Office of State
Member of	Cabinet Privy Council National Security Council
Reports to	The Prime Minister
Residence	No. 1 Carlton Gardens (Official) Chevening (Country House)
Seat	King Charles Street
Nominator	The Prime Minister
Appointer	The Monarch (on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation	27 March 1782 (as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) 2 September 2020 (as Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs)
First holder	Charles James Fox (as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs)
Deputy	Minister of State for Development
Salary	£106,363 per annum (2022)^[1]
Website	www.gov.uk/government/ministers/foreign-secretary

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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.^[3]

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

Responsibilities

The foreign secretary is responsible for overseeing the United Kingdom’s foreign policy and international relations. The role broadly corresponds to that of a foreign minister in many other countries, while also encompassing additional responsibilities.

The foreign secretary’s remit includes:

Conducting relations with foreign states and internationaal organisations^[4]
Promoting British interests abroad^[5]
Overseeing matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of Nations and the British Overseas Territories^[5]
Responsibility for the activities of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ),^[6] including ministerial authorisation of certain intelligence operations
Managing the United Kingdom’s international development and humanitarian assistance policy (through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Representing the United Kingdom in international negotiations, alliances, and multilateral institutions

Residence

The official residence of the foreign secretary is 1 Carlton Gardens in London.^[7] The foreign secretary also has the use of Chevening House, a country house in Kent, South East England,^[8] and works from the Foreign Office in Whitehall.^[9]

History

History of English and British government departments with responsibility for foreign affairs and those with responsibility for the colonies, dominions and the Commonwealth
Northern Department 1660–1782 Secretaries — Undersecretaries	Southern Department 1660–1768 Secretaries — Undersecretaries		—
	Southern Department 1768–1782 Secretaries — Undersecretaries 1782: diplomatic responsibilities transferred to new Foreign Office	Colonial Office 1768–1782 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
Foreign Office 1782–1968 Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries	Home Office 1782–1794 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
	War Office 1794–1801 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
	War and Colonial Office 1801–1854 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
	Colonial Office 1854–1925 Secretaries — Undersecretaries		India Office 1858–1937 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
	Colonial Office 1925–1966 Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries	Dominions Office 1925–1947 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
			India Office and Burma Office 1937–1947 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
		Commonwealth Relations Office 1947–1966 Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries
	Commonwealth Office 1966–1968 Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries
Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1968–2020 Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Since 2020 Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries

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.^[10] 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.^[11]

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.^[12]

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.^[13] The position was incorporated as a corporation sole later that year.^[14]

The deputy secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the deputy foreign secretary, was a minister of state position in the Government of the United Kingdom deputised to the foreign secretary with responsibility to represent the foreign secretary in the House of Commons.^[15] It was created for Andrew Mitchell, who was the only holder of the office, due to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointing former Prime Minister David Cameron a Life Peer in November 2023 to serve as Foreign Secretary from the House of Lords.

List of foreign secretaries

Secretaries of state for foreign affairs (1782–1968)

More information Portrait, Name ...

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs^[16]
Name^[17]	Term of office		Party	Ministry	Monarch (Reign)
Charles James Fox MP for Westminster	27 March 1782	5 July 1782	Whig	Rockingham II	George III (1760–1820) ^{[1782 1]}
Thomas Robinson 2nd Baron Grantham	13 July 1782	2 April 1783	Whig	Shelburne (Whig–Tory)
Charles James Fox MP for Westminster	2 April 1783	19 December 1783	Whig	Fox–North
George Nugent-Temple-Grenville 3rd Earl Temple	19 December 1783	23 December 1783	Tory	Pitt I
His Grace Francis Osborne 5th Duke of Leeds	23 December 1783	May 1791	Tory
William Grenville 1st Baron Grenville	8 June 1791	20 February 1801	Tory
Robert Jenkinson 2nd Baron Hawkesbury MP for Rye^{[1782 2]}	20 February 1801	14 May 1804	Tory
	20 February 1801	14 May 1804	Tory	Addington
Dudley Ryder 2nd Baron Harrowby	14 May 1804	11 January 1805	Tory	Pitt II
Henry Phipps 3rd Baron Mulgrave	11 January 1805	7 February 1806	Tory	Pitt II
Charles James Fox MP for Westminster	7 February 1806	13 September 1806^†	Whig	All the Talents (Whig–Tory)
Charles Grey Viscount Howick MP for Northumberland	24 September 1806	25 March 1807	Whig	All the Talents (Whig–Tory)
George Canning MP for Newtown (Isle of Wight) → Hastings^{[1782 3]}	25 March 1807	11 October 1809	Tory	Portland II
Henry Bathurst 3rd Earl Bathurst	11 October 1809	6 December 1809	Tory	Perceval
Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley	6 December 1809	4 March 1812	Independent	Perceval
Robert Stewart 2nd Marquess of Londonderry MP for 3 constituencies respectively	4 March 1812	12 August 1822^†	Tory	Liverpool
	4 March 1812	12 August 1822^†	Tory		George IV
George Canning MP for 3 constituencies respectively	16 September 1822	30 April 1827	Tory
John Ward 1st Earl of Dudley	30 April 1827	2 June 1828	Tory	Canning (Canningite–Whig)
				Goderich
				Wellington–Peel
George Hamilton-Gordon 4th Earl of Aberdeen	2 June 1828	22 November 1830	Tory
George Hamilton-Gordon 4th Earl of Aberdeen	2 June 1828	22 November 1830	Tory		William IV
Henry John Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston MP for 3 constituencies respectively	22 November 1830	14 November 1834	Whig	Grey
	22 November 1830	14 November 1834	Whig	Melbourne I
Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington	14 November 1834	18 April 1835	Tory	Wellington Caretaker
Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington	14 November 1834	18 April 1835	Conservative	Peel I
Henry John Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston MP for Tiverton	18 April 1835	2 September 1841	Whig	Melbourne II
	18 April 1835	2 September 1841	Whig	Melbourne II	Victoria (1837–1901)
George Hamilton-Gordon 4th Earl of Aberdeen	2 September 1841	6 July 1846	Conservative	Peel II
Henry John Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston MP for Tiverton	6 July 1846	26 December 1851	Whig	Russell I
Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville	26 December 1851	27 February 1852	Whig	Russell I
James Howard Harris 3rd Earl of Malmesbury	27 February 1852	28 December 1852	Conservative	Who? Who?
Lord John Russell MP for the City of London	28 December 1852	21 February 1853	Whig	Aberdeen (Peelite–Whig)
George Villiers 4th Earl of Clarendon	21 February 1853	26 February 1858	Whig	Aberdeen (Peelite–Whig)
George Villiers 4th Earl of Clarendon	21 February 1853	26 February 1858	Whig	Palmerston I
James Howard Harris 3rd Earl of Malmesbury	26 February 1858	18 June 1859	Conservative	Derby–Disraeli II
John Russell 1st Earl Russell	18 June 1859	3 November 1865	Liberal	Palmerston II
George Villiers 4th Earl of Clarendon	3 November 1865	6 July 1866	Liberal	Russell II
Edward Stanley Lord Stanley MP for King's Lynn	6 July 1866	9 December 1868	Conservative	Derby–Disraeli III
George Villiers 4th Earl of Clarendon	9 December 1868	6 July 1870	Liberal	Gladstone I
Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville	6 July 1870	21 February 1874	Liberal	Gladstone I
Edward Stanley 15th Earl of Derby	21 February 1874	2 April 1878	Conservative	Disraeli II
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury	2 April 1878	28 April 1880	Conservative	Disraeli II
Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville	28 April 1880	24 June 1885	Liberal	Gladstone II
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury	24 June 1885	6 February 1886	Conservative	Salisbury I
Archibald Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery	6 February 1886	3 August 1886	Liberal	Gladstone III
Stafford Northcote 1st Earl of Iddesleigh	3 August 1886	12 January 1887^†	Conservative	Salisbury II
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury	14 January 1887	11 August 1892	Conservative	Salisbury II
Archibald Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery	18 August 1892	11 March 1894	Liberal	Gladstone IV
John Wodehouse 1st Earl of Kimberley	11 March 1894	21 June 1895	Liberal	Rosebery
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury	29 June 1895	12 November 1900	Conservative	Salisbury (III & IV) (Con.–Lib.U.)
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice 5th Marquess of Lansdowne	12 November 1900	4 December 1905	Liberal Unionist
					Edward VII (1901–1910)
				Balfour
Sir Edward Grey, 3rd Bt. MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed	10 December 1905	10 December 1916	Liberal	Campbell-Bannerman
				Asquith (I–III)
				Asquith (I–III)	George V
				Asquith Coalition (Lib.–Con.–et al.)
Arthur Balfour MP for the City of London	10 December 1916	23 October 1919	Conservative	Lloyd George (I & II)
George Curzon 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston	23 October 1919	22 January 1924	Conservative	Lloyd George (I & II)
				Law
				Baldwin I
Ramsay MacDonald MP for Aberavon	22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour	MacDonald I
Austen Chamberlain MP for Birmingham West	6 November 1924	4 June 1929	Conservative	Baldwin II
Arthur Henderson MP for Burnley	7 June 1929	24 August 1931	Labour	MacDonald II
Rufus Isaacs 1st Marquess of Reading	25 August 1931	5 November 1931	Liberal	National I (N.Lab.–Con.–et al.)
Sir John Simon MP for Spen Valley	5 November 1931	7 June 1935	Liberal National	National II
Sir Samuel Hoare, 2nd Bt. MP for Chelsea	7 June 1935	18 December 1935	Conservative	National III (Con.–N.Lab.–et al.)
Anthony Eden MP for Warwick & Leamington	22 December 1935	20 February 1938	Conservative
					Edward VIII (1936)
					George VI
				National IV
Edward Wood 3rd Viscount Halifax	21 February 1938	22 December 1940	Conservative	National IV
				Chamberlain War
				Churchill War (All parties)
Anthony Eden MP for Warwick & Leamington	22 December 1940	26 July 1945	Conservative	Churchill War (All parties)
Anthony Eden MP for Warwick & Leamington	22 December 1940	26 July 1945	Conservative	Churchill Caretaker (Con.–Lib.N.)
Ernest Bevin MP for Wandsworth Central → Woolwich East^{[1782 4]}	27 July 1945	9 March 1951	Labour	Attlee (I & II)
Herbert Morrison MP for Lewisham South	9 March 1951	26 October 1951	Labour	Attlee (I & II)
Anthony Eden MP for Warwick & Leamington	28 October 1951	7 April 1955	Conservative	Churchill III
Anthony Eden MP for Warwick & Leamington	28 October 1951	7 April 1955	Conservative	Churchill III	Elizabeth II
Harold Macmillan MP for Bromley	7 April 1955	20 December 1955	Conservative	Eden
Selwyn Lloyd MP for Wirral	20 December 1955	27 July 1960	Conservative	Eden
Selwyn Lloyd MP for Wirral	20 December 1955	27 July 1960	Conservative	Macmillan (I & II)
Alec Douglas-Home 14th Earl of Home	27 July 1960	18 October 1963	Conservative	Macmillan (I & II)
Richard Austen Butler MP for Saffron Walden	20 October 1963	16 October 1964	Conservative	Douglas-Home
Patrick Gordon Walker Neither an MP nor a Lord^{[1782 5]}	16 October 1964	22 January 1965	Labour	Wilson (I & II)
Michael Stewart MP for Fulham	22 January 1965	11 August 1966	Labour
George Brown MP for Belper	11 August 1966	16 March 1968	Labour
Michael Stewart MP for Fulham	16 March 1968	17 October 1968	Labour

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^† Died in office.

[1]
The Prince of Wales served as prince regent from 5 February 1811.
[2]
Elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom in November 1803.
[3]
Elected to a new constituency in the 1807 general election.
[4]
Elected to a new constituency in the 1950 general election.
[5]
Walker was the MP for Smethwick and Labour's shadow foreign secretary, prior to the 1964 general election. He lost his seat in the election but was appointed to the post anyway. He resigned after fighting and losing a 1965 by-election in Leyton.

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

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

More information Portrait, Name (birth–death) ...

Secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs^[16]
Name^[18] (birth–death)	Term of office		Party	Ministry	Sovereign (Reign)
Michael Stewart MP for Fulham (1906–1990)	17 October 1968	19 June 1970	Labour	Wilson (I & II)	Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
Alec Douglas-Home MP for Kinross and Western Perthshire (1903–1995)	20 June 1970	4 March 1974	Conservative	Heath
James Callaghan MP for Cardiff South East (1912–2005)	5 March 1974	5 April 1976	Labour	Wilson (III & IV)
Anthony Crosland MP for Great Grimsby (1918–1977)	8 April 1976	19 February 1977^†	Labour	Callaghan
David Owen MP for Plymouth Devonport (born 1938)	22 February 1977	4 May 1979	Labour	Callaghan
Peter Carington 6th Baron Carrington (1919–2018)	4 May 1979	5 April 1982	Conservative	Thatcher I
Francis Pym MP for Cambridgeshire (1922–2008)	6 April 1982	11 June 1983	Conservative	Thatcher I
Geoffrey Howe MP for East Surrey (1926–2015)	11 June 1983	24 July 1989	Conservative	Thatcher II
Geoffrey Howe MP for East Surrey (1926–2015)	11 June 1983	24 July 1989	Conservative	Thatcher III
John Major MP for Huntingdon (born 1943)	24 July 1989	26 October 1989	Conservative
Douglas Hurd MP for Witney (born 1930)	26 October 1989	5 July 1995	Conservative
				Major I
				Major II
Malcolm Rifkind MP for Edinburgh Pentlands (born 1946)	5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative	Major II
Robin Cook MP for Livingston (1946–2005)	2 May 1997	8 June 2001	Labour	Blair I
Jack Straw MP for Blackburn (born 1946)	8 June 2001	5 May 2006	Labour	Blair II
Jack Straw MP for Blackburn (born 1946)	8 June 2001	5 May 2006	Labour	Blair III
Margaret Beckett MP for Derby South (born 1943)	5 May 2006	27 June 2007	Labour	Blair III
David Miliband MP for South Shields (born 1965)	28 June 2007	11 May 2010	Labour	Brown
William Hague MP for Richmond (Yorks) (born 1961)	12 May 2010	14 July 2014	Conservative	Cameron–Clegg (Con.–L.D.)
Philip Hammond MP for Runnymede and Weybridge (born 1955)	14 July 2014	13 July 2016	Conservative	Cameron–Clegg (Con.–L.D.)
	14 July 2014	13 July 2016	Conservative	Cameron II
Boris Johnson^[19] MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (born 1964) Tenure	13 July 2016	9 July 2018	Conservative	May I
	13 July 2016	9 July 2018	Conservative	May II
Jeremy Hunt^[20] MP for South West Surrey (born 1966)	9 July 2018	24 July 2019	Conservative	May II
Dominic Raab^[21] MP for Esher and Walton (born 1974)	24 July 2019	2 September 2020	Conservative	Johnson I
Dominic Raab^[21] MP for Esher and Walton (born 1974)	24 July 2019	2 September 2020	Conservative	Johnson II

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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.

More information Portrait, Name (Birth–Death) ...


Name^[18] (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party	Ministry	Sovereign (Reign)
Dominic Raab MP for Esher and Walton (born 1974)	2 September 2020	15 September 2021	Conservative	Johnson II	Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
Liz Truss MP for South West Norfolk (born 1975)	15 September 2021	6 September 2022	Conservative	Johnson II	Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
James Cleverly MP for Braintree (born 1969)	6 September 2022	13 November 2023	Conservative	Truss
				Truss	Charles III (2022–present)
				Sunak
David Cameron Sits in the House of Lords (born 1966)	13 November 2023	5 July 2024	Conservative	Sunak
David Lammy MP for Tottenham (born 1972)	5 July 2024	5 September 2025	Labour	Starmer
Yvette Cooper MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley (born 1969)	5 September 2025	Incumbent	Labour	Starmer