Secretary of State for International Development
Encyclopedia
In the United Kingdom
, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet
minister responsible for the Department for International Development
and for promoting development overseas, particularly in the third world
. 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 incorporated with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
on 15 October 1970. 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.
The current Secretary of State for International Development is Andrew Mitchell
, who was appointed to the post on 12 May 2010.
! colspan="3"|Name
! Took office
! Left office
! Political party
! Prime Minister
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Barbara Castle
| 18 October 1964
| 23 December 1965
| Labour
| rowspan="5"|Harold Wilson
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Anthony Greenwood
| 23 December 1965
| 11 August 1966
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Arthur Bottomley
| 11 August 1966
| 29 August 1967
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Reginald Prentice
| 29 August 1967
| 6 October 1969
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Judith Hart
| 6 October 1969
| 19 June 1970
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Richard Wood
| 23 June 1970
| 15 October 1970
| Conservative
| Edward Heath
|-
! colspan=7|
|-
! colspan="3"|Name
! Took office
! Left office
! Political party
! Prime Minister
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Richard Wood
| 15 October 1970
| 4 March 1974
| Conservative
| Edward Heath
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Judith Hart
| 7 March 1974
| 10 June 1975
| Labour
| rowspan="2"|Harold Wilson
|-
! rowspan="2" style="background-color: " |
| rowspan="2" colspan="2"|Reginald Prentice
| rowspan="2"|10 June 1975
| rowspan="2"| 21 December 1976
(resigned)
| rowspan="2"|Labour
|-
| rowspan="3"|James Callaghan
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Frank Judd
| 21 December 1976
| 21 February 1977
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Judith Hart
| 21 February 1977
| 4 May 1979
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Neil Marten
| 6 May 1979
| 6 January 1983
| Conservative
| rowspan="4"|Margaret Thatcher
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Tim Raison
| 6 January 1983
| 10 September 1986
| Conservative
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Chris Patten
| 10 September 1986
| 24 July 1989
| Conservative
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Lynda Chalker
(Baroness Chalker from 1992)
| 24 July 1989
| 2 May 1997
| Conservative
|-
! colspan=7|
! colspan="2"|Name
! Portrait
! Took office
! Left office
! Political party
! Prime Minister
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| Clare Short
|
| 3 May 1997
| 12 May 2003
(resigned)
| Labour
| rowspan="3"|Tony Blair
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| Valerie Amos
Baroness Amos
|
| 12 May 2003
| 6 October 2003
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| Hilary Benn
|
| 6 October 2003
| 27 June 2007
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| Douglas Alexander
|
| 28 June 2007
| 11 May 2010
| Labour
| Gordon Brown
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| Andrew Mitchell
|
| 12 May 2010
| Incumbent
| Conservative
| David Cameron
|}
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
minister responsible for the Department for International Development
Department for International Development
The Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
and for promoting development overseas, particularly in the third world
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
. The post was created in 1997 when the Department for International Development was made independent of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
.
A separate Ministry of Overseas Development was established by Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
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
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
, the Ministry was incorporated with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
on 15 October 1970. 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.
The current Secretary of State for International Development is Andrew Mitchell
Andrew Mitchell
The Right Honourable Andrew John Bower Mitchell MP is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sutton Coldfield...
, who was appointed to the post on 12 May 2010.
Minister of Overseas Development (1964–1970)
|-! colspan="3"|Name
! Took office
! Left office
! Political party
! Prime Minister
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Barbara Castle
Barbara Castle
Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn , PC, GCOT was a British Labour Party politician....
| 18 October 1964
| 23 December 1965
| Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
| rowspan="5"|Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Anthony Greenwood
| 23 December 1965
| 11 August 1966
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Arthur Bottomley
Arthur Bottomley
Arthur George Bottomley, Baron Bottomley, OBE, PC was a British Labour politician, Member of Parliament and minister....
| 11 August 1966
| 29 August 1967
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Reginald Prentice
| 29 August 1967
| 6 October 1969
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Judith Hart
| 6 October 1969
| 19 June 1970
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Richard Wood
Richard Wood, Baron Holderness
Richard Frederick Wood, Baron Holderness PC, DL was a British Conservative politician who held numerous ministerial positions from 1955 to 1974...
| 23 June 1970
| 15 October 1970
| Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
| Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
|-
! colspan=7|
Minister for Overseas Development (1970–1997)
at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office|-
! colspan="3"|Name
! Took office
! Left office
! Political party
! Prime Minister
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Richard Wood
Richard Wood, Baron Holderness
Richard Frederick Wood, Baron Holderness PC, DL was a British Conservative politician who held numerous ministerial positions from 1955 to 1974...
| 15 October 1970
| 4 March 1974
| Conservative
| Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Judith Hart
Judith Hart
Judith Hart, Baroness Hart of South Lanark DBE PC was a British Labour Party politician...
| 7 March 1974
| 10 June 1975
| Labour
| rowspan="2"|Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
|-
! rowspan="2" style="background-color: " |
| rowspan="2" colspan="2"|Reginald Prentice
Reginald Prentice
Reginald Ernest Prentice, Baron Prentice, PC was a British politician who held ministerial office in both Labour and Conservative Party governments...
| rowspan="2"|10 June 1975
| rowspan="2"| 21 December 1976
(resigned)
| rowspan="2"|Labour
|-
| rowspan="3"|James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Frank Judd
| 21 December 1976
| 21 February 1977
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Judith Hart
Judith Hart
Judith Hart, Baroness Hart of South Lanark DBE PC was a British Labour Party politician...
| 21 February 1977
| 4 May 1979
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Neil Marten
Neil Marten
Harry Neil Marten was a British Conservative Party politician.Born in Lambeth, Marten was educated at Rossall School. During World War II he was parachuted into France to work with French resistance and later served with Norwegian resistance...
| 6 May 1979
| 6 January 1983
| Conservative
| rowspan="4"|Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Tim Raison
| 6 January 1983
| 10 September 1986
| Conservative
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Chris Patten
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
| 10 September 1986
| 24 July 1989
| Conservative
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" height=45|Lynda Chalker
Lynda Chalker
Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey PC is a British Conservative politician who was Member of Parliament for Wallasey from 1974 to 1992...
(Baroness Chalker from 1992)
| 24 July 1989
| 2 May 1997
| Conservative
|-
! colspan=7|
Secretary of State for International Development (1997– )
|-! colspan="2"|Name
! Portrait
! Took office
! Left office
! Political party
! Prime Minister
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| Clare Short
Clare Short
Clare Short is a British politician, and a member of the Labour Party. She was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood from 1983 to 2010; for most of this period she was a Labour Party MP, but she resigned the party whip in 2006 and served the remainder of her term as an Independent. She...
|
| 3 May 1997
| 12 May 2003
(resigned)
| Labour
| rowspan="3"|Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| Valerie Amos
Baroness Amos
Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos
Valerie Ann Amos, Baroness Amos, PC is the eighth and current UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Before her appointment to the UN, she had been British High Commissioner to Australia. She was made a Labour life peer in 1997 and served as Leader...
|
| 12 May 2003
| 6 October 2003
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| Hilary Benn
Hilary Benn
Hilary James Wedgwood Benn is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Leeds Central since 1999. He served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2003 to 2007 and as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...
|
| 6 October 2003
| 27 June 2007
| Labour
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| Douglas Alexander
Douglas Alexander
Douglas Garven Alexander is a British Labour Party politician, who is currently the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in the shadow cabinet of Ed Miliband. He has held cabinet posts under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, including Secretary of State for Scotland and...
|
| 28 June 2007
| 11 May 2010
| Labour
| Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
|-
! style="background-color: " |
| Andrew Mitchell
Andrew Mitchell
The Right Honourable Andrew John Bower Mitchell MP is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sutton Coldfield...
|
| 12 May 2010
| Incumbent
| Conservative
| David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
|}