Secretary of State for Justice

Corresponding to what is generally known as a justice minister in many other countries, the Justice Secretary's remit includes:

• Her Majesty's Prison Service in England and Wales
• Matters of probation
• Oversight of the Judiciaries of the United Kingdom[2]

The then Lord Chancellor, Charlie Falconer, was appointed to the post of Secretary of State for Justice when it was created in 2007. The office of the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs was abolished, along with the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The Home Secretary, John Reid, told Parliament that future Secretaries of State for Justice would be MPs rather than peers. Jack Straw took over this department on 28 June 2007, following the selection of Gordon Brown as leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister and left office on the resignation of Gordon Brown after the May 2010 general election. He was replaced by Conservative MP Ken Clarke. In the Cabinet reshuffle of August 2012 Chris Grayling was promoted to Lord Chancellor, and, by convention, Secretary of State for Justice. He was the first Lord Chancellor to have no legal background or expertise. After the 2015 general election, the position was given to former Government Chief Whip Michael Gove. Michael Gove was replaced after Theresa May became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 14 July 2016 and succeeded by Liz Truss. Following the 2017 general election, which resulted in a minority Conservative government, David Lidington was appointed Secretary of State for Justice, who in turn was succeeded by David Gauke on 8 January 2018.

For Lord Chancellors before 2003, see List of Lord Chancellors and Lord Keepers

For Secretaries between 2003 and 2007, see Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs

Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor

Labour       Conservative
Portrait		Name Honorifics & Constituency	Term of office		Length of term	Political Party	Government
		The Right Honourable Charlie Falconer The Lord Falconer of Thoroton PC QC (born 1951)	9 May 2007	27 June 2007	1 month and 18 days	Labour		Blair III
		The Right Honourable Jack Straw[3] MP for Blackburn (born 1946)	28 June 2007	11 May 2010	2 years, 10 months and 13 days	Labour		Brown
		The Right Honourable Kenneth Clarke QC MP for Rushcliffe (born 1940)	12 May 2010	4 September 2012	2 years, 3 months and 23 days	Conservative		Cameron–Clegg (Con.-L.D.)
		The Right Honourable Chris Grayling MP for Epsom and Ewell (born 1962)	4 September 2012	9 May 2015	2 years, 8 months and 5 days	Conservative
		The Right Honourable Michael Gove MP for Surrey Heath (born 1967)	9 May 2015	14 July 2016	1 year, 2 months and 5 days	Conservative		Cameron II
		The Right Honourable Liz Truss MP for South West Norfolk (born 1975)	14 July 2016	11 June 2017	10 months and 28 days	Conservative		May I
		The Right Honourable David Lidington CBE[4] MP for Aylesbury (born 1956)	11 June 2017	8 January 2018	6 months and 28 days	Conservative		May II
		The Right Honourable David Gauke MP for South West Hertfordshire (born 1971)	8 January 2018	24 July 2019	1 year, 6 months and 16 days	Conservative
		The Right Honourable Robert Buckland QC MP for South Swindon (born 1968)	24 July 2019	Incumbent	1 year, 6 months and 16 days*	Conservative		Johnson I
								Johnson II

* Incumbent's length of term last updated: 9 February 2021.

• Constitutional Reform Act 2005
• Lord Chancellor

• The Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs Order 2003 from HMSO
• The Ministry of Justice official website