Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has been a junior position in the British government since 1782, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. The post has been based at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which was created in 1968, by the merger of the Foreign Office, where the position was initially based, and the Commonwealth Office. Notable holders of the office include Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, and Anthony Eden.

This article is about a junior ministerial role in Britain's Foreign & Commonwealth Office. For the senior civil servant in that department, see Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Wendy Morton
since 13 February 2020
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
StatusIncumbent
Reports toSecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
NominatorSecretary of State
AppointerThe Prime Minister
approved and sworn in by the Queen-in-Council
Term lengthNo fixed term
Formation1782
First holderRichard Brinsley Sheridan
William Fraser

Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, 1782–1968
Name PortraitTerm of office Political party P.M. F.Sec.
William Fraser 1782 1789
Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1782 1782 Whig The Marquess of Rockingham Fox
George Maddison 1782 1783 The Earl of Shelburne The Lord Grantham
The Duke of Portland Fox
St Andrew St John 1783 1789 Pitt the Younger The Earl Temple
The Duke of Leeds
Hon. Dudley Ryder 1789 1789 Tory
Sir James Burges, Bt 1789 January 1796
The Lord Grenville
George Canning January 1796 April 1799 Tory
John Hookham Frere April 1799 September 1800
Edward Fisher September 1800 February 1801
Lord Hervey February 1801 November 1803 Addington The Lord Hawkesbury
Charles Arbuthnot November 1803 June 1804 Tory
William Eliot June 1804 February 1805 Pitt the Younger The Lord Harrowby
Robert Ward February 1805 February 1806 The Lord Mulgrave
George Walpole February 1806 March 1807 The Lord Grenville Fox
The Viscount Howick
Sir Francis Vincent February 1806 March 1807 The Duke of Portland Canning
The Viscount FitzHarris March 1807 August 1807
Charles Bagot August 1807 December 1809
Perceval The Earl Bathurst
Culling Charles Smith December 1809 February 1812 The Marquess Wellesley
Edward Cooke February 1812 1817[1]
The Earl of Liverpool The Marquess of Londonderry
Joseph Planta 25 July 1817 22 January 1822[2] Tory
The Earl of Clanwilliam January 1822 January 1823
Canning
Lord Francis Conyngham January 1823 January 1826 Tory
The Lord Howard de Walden July 1824 June 1828
The Earl of Dudley
The Marquess of Clanricarde January 1826 1827
Lord Dunglass June 1828 November 1830 The Duke of Wellington
The Earl of Aberdeen
Sir George Shee 26 November 1830 13 November 1834 Whig The Earl Grey The Viscount Palmerston
The Viscount Melbourne
The Viscount Fordwich 13 November 1834 17 December 1834 The Duke of Wellington The Duke of Wellington
The Viscount Mahon 17 December 1834 18 April 1835 Conservative Peel
William Fox-Strangways 18 April 1835 7 March 1840 Whig The Viscount Melbourne The Viscount Palmerston
Lord Leveson 7 March 1840 4 September 1841
The Viscount Canning 4 September 1841 27 January 1846 Conservative Peel The Earl of Aberdeen
George Smythe 27 January 1846 6 July 1846
Edward Stanley 6 July 1846 12 February 1852 Whig Russell The Viscount Palmerston
The Earl Granville
Austen Henry Layard 12 February 1852 18 May 1852
Lord Stanley 18 May 1852 28 December 1852 Conservative The Earl of Derby The Earl of Malmesbury
The Lord Wodehouse 28 December 1852 5 July 1856 Whig The Earl of Aberdeen Lord John Russell
The Earl of Clarendon
The Earl of Shelburne 5 July 1856 26 February 1858 The Viscount Palmerston
William Vesey-FitzGerald 26 February 1858 19 June 1859 Conservative The Earl of Derby The Earl of Malmesbury
The Lord Wodehouse 19 June 1859 15 August 1861 Liberal The Viscount Palmerston The Earl Russell
Austen Henry Layard 15 August 1861 6 July 1866
The Earl Russell The Earl of Clarendon
Edward Egerton 6 July 1866 12 December 1868 Conservative The Earl of Derby The Lord Stanley
Disraeli
Arthur Otway 12 December 1868 9 January 1871 Liberal Gladstone The Earl of Clarendon
The Earl Granville
The Viscount Enfield 9 January 1871 23 February 1874
Robert Bourke 23 February 1874 28 April 1880 Conservative Disraeli The 15th Earl of Derby
The Marquess of Salisbury
Sir Charles Dilke 28 April 1880 1 January 1883 Liberal Gladstone The Earl Granville
Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice 1 January 1883 25 June 1885
Robert Bourke 25 June 1885 28 January 1886 Conservative The Marquess of Salisbury The Marquess of Salisbury
James Bryce 7 February 1886 20 July 1886 Liberal Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery
Sir James Fergusson 4 August 1886 22 September 1891 Conservative The Marquess of Salisbury The Earl of Iddesleigh
The Marquess of Salisbury
James Lowther 22 September 1891 18 August 1892
Sir Edward Grey 18 August 1892 20 June 1895 Liberal Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery
The Earl of Rosebery
The Earl of Kimberley
George Curzon 20 June 1895 15 October 1898 Conservative The Marquess of Salisbury The Marquess of Salisbury
St John Brodrick 15 October 1898 12 November 1900
The Viscount Cranborne 12 November 1900 9 October 1903 The Marquess of Lansdowne
Balfour
Earl Percy 9 October 1903 18 December 1905
Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice[3] 18 December 1905 19 October 1908 Liberal Campbell-Bannerman Grey
Asquith
McKinnon Wood 19 October 1908 23 October 1911
Francis Dyke Acland 23 October 1911 4 February 1915
Neil Primrose 4 February 1915 30 May 1915
Lord Robert Cecil 30 May 1915 10 January 1919
Lloyd George Balfour
Cecil Harmsworth 10 January 1919 31 October 1922
Ronald McNeill 31 October 1922 23 January 1924 Conservative Law
The Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
Baldwin
Arthur Ponsonby 23 January 1924 11 November 1924 Labour MacDonald MacDonald
Ronald McNeill 11 November 1924 7 December 1925 Conservative Baldwin Chamberlain
Godfrey Locker-Lampson 7 December 1925 11 June 1929
Hugh Dalton 11 June 1929 3 September 1931 Labour MacDonald Henderson
Anthony Eden 3 September 1931 18 January 1934 Conservative The Marquess of Reading
Simon
The Earl Stanhope 18 January 1934 16 June 1936
Baldwin Hoare
Eden
The Viscount Cranborne 18 June 1935 20 February 1938 Baldwin (1935–37)
Chamberlain (1937–40)		 Eden (1935–38)
The Viscount Halifax (1938–40)
The Earl of Plymouth 30 July 1936 12 May 1940
Rab Butler 25 February 1938 20 July 1941 Chamberlain The Viscount Halifax
Churchill
Eden
Richard Law 20 July 1941 25 September 1943
George Hall 25 September 1943 26 May 1945 Labour
Lord Dunglass 26 May 1945 26 July 1945 Conservative
The Lord Lovat 26 May 1945 26 July 1945
Hector McNeil 4 August 1945 4 October 1946 Labour Attlee Bevin
Christopher Mayhew 4 October 1946 2 March 1950
The Lord Henderson 7 June 1948 26 October 1951
Ernest Davies 2 March 1950 26 October 1951
Morrison
The Marquess of Reading 31 October 1951 11 November 1953 Conservative Churchill Eden
Anthony Nutting 31 October 1951 18 October 1954
Douglas Dodds-Parker 11 November 1953 18 October 1954
Robin Turton 18 October 1954 20 December 1955 Churchill (1954–55)
Eden (1955–56)		 Eden (1954–55)
Macmillan (1955)
Lloyd (1955–56)
Lord John Hope 18 October 1954 9 November 1956
Douglas Dodds-Parker 20 December 1955 9 January 1957 Eden Lloyd
David Ormsby-Gore 9 November 1956 9 January 1957
Ian Harvey 18 January 1957 24 November 1958 Macmillan
The Earl of Gosford 18 January 1957 23 October 1958
The Marquess of Lansdowne 23 October 1958 20 April 1962
The Earl of Home
John Profumo 28 November 1958 16 January 1959 Lloyd
Robert Allan 16 January 1959 7 October 1960
Joseph Godber 28 October 1960 27 June 1961 The Earl of Home
Peter Thomas 27 June 1961 27 June 1963
Peter Smithers 16 July 1962 29 January 1964
Douglas-Home Butler
Robert Mathew 30 January 1964 16 October 1964
The Lord Walston 20 October 1964 7 January 1967 Labour Wilson Walker
Stewart
Brown
Bill Rodgers 7 January 1967 3 July 1968
Maurice Foley 3 July 1968 17 October 1968 Stewart

Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 1968–present
Name PortraitTerm of office Political party P.M. F.Sec.
Maurice Foley 17 October 1968 19 June 1970 Labour Wilson Stewart
William Whitlock 17 October 1968 13 October 1969
Evan Luard 13 October 1969 19 June 1970
Anthony Royle 24 June 1970 8 January 1974 Conservative Heath Douglas-Home
The Marquess of Lothian 24 June 1970 9 April 1972
Anthony Kershaw 15 October 1970 5 June 1973
Peter Blaker 8 January 1974 4 March 1974
The Lord Goronwy-Roberts 8 March 1974 4 December 1975 Labour Wilson Callaghan
Joan Lestor 8 March 1974 12 June 1975
Ted Rowlands 12 June 1975 14 April 1976
John Tomlinson 17 March 1976 4 May 1979 Callaghan Crosland (1976–77)
Owen (1977–79)
Evan Luard 14 April 1976 4 May 1979
Richard Luce 6 May 1979 14 September 1981 Conservative Thatcher The Lord Carrington
The Lord Trefgarne 14 September 1981 6 April 1982
Malcolm Rifkind 6 April 1982 13 June 1983 Pym
Ray Whitney 13 June 1983 11 September 1984 Howe
Tim Renton 11 September 1984 2 September 1985
Timothy Eggar 2 September 1985 24 July 1989
Tim Sainsbury 24 July 1989 24 July 1990 Major
Hurd
Hon. Mark Lennox-Boyd 24 July 1990 20 July 1994
Major
Office vacant 1994–96
Liam Fox 23 July 1996 1 May 1997 Conservative Major Rifkind
The Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean 2 May 1997 28 June 1999 Labour Blair Cook
The Baroness Scotland of Asthal 28 July 1999 12 June 2001
The Baroness Amos 12 June 2001 13 June 2003 Straw
Ben Bradshaw 12 June 2001 29 May 2002
Mike O'Brien 29 May 2002 13 June 2003
Bill Rammell 28 October 2002 10 May 2005
Chris Mullin 13 June 2003 10 May 2005
The Lord Triesman 10 May 2005 28 June 2007
Beckett
Meg Munn 29 June 2007 5 October 2008 Brown Miliband
Gillian Merron 5 October 2008 9 June 2009
Chris Bryant 9 June 2009 11 May 2010
Henry Bellingham 14 May 2010 5 September 2012 Conservative Cameron Hague
Mark Simmonds 5 September 2012 11 August 2014[4]
Tobias Ellwood 12 August 2014 14 June 2017 Hammond
May Johnson
Office vacant 2017–19
Heather Wheeler
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Asia and the Pacific		 26 July 2019 13 February 2020 Conservative Johnson Raab
Wendy Morton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for European Neighbourhood and the Americas		 13 February 2020 Incumbent

See also

References
  1. Jupp, P. J. (September 2004), "Cooke, Edward (bap. 1755, d. 1820)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, retrieved 15 March 2009
  2. Haydn's Book of Dignities
  3. Created Baron Fitzmaurice in January 1906
  4. "Our ministers". Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.