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| Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (United Kingdom) | |
|---|---|
| Post | Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs |
| Incumbent | David Cameron |
| Incumbent since | 24 July 2019 |
| Department | Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office |
| Style | The Right Honourable |
| Reports to | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| Seat | King Charles III |
| Appointer | Monarch of the United Kingdom |
| Formation | 1782 |
| Inaugural | Charles James Fox |
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (United Kingdom) is a senior United Kingdom Cabinet position responsible for the United Kingdom's external relations, diplomacy, and international representation. The office evolved from the 18th-century Secretary of State system into the modern head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, shaping policy towards states, multilateral organisations, and overseas territories. Holders have coordinated responses to crises involving entities such as United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and European Union institutions.
The office traces origins to the split of the 17th- and 18th-century Secretary of State roles, with early holders like Charles James Fox and William Pitt the Younger navigating relations with France, Spain, and the Dutch East India Company. Nineteenth-century occupiers including Lord Palmerston, Lord Castlereagh, and Lord Salisbury managed diplomacy during the Congress of Vienna, the Crimean War, and imperial expansion involving British Raj, Cape Colony, and Hong Kong. In the twentieth century, incumbents such as Arthur Balfour, Anthony Eden, Winston Churchill, and Ernest Bevin confronted the First World War, Second World War, League of Nations, and the Cold War, while postwar figures like James Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher engaged with NATO, European Economic Community, and decolonisation including Suez Crisis and independence of India and Ghana. The 1968 merger of the Foreign Office with the Colonial Office and later reformations culminated in the 2020 creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office under recent incumbents such as Boris Johnson and Theresa May.
The Secretary directs UK foreign policy, representing the United Kingdom at summits such as G7 summit, G20 meetings, and sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, while liaising with counterparts like the United States Secretary of State, German Federal Foreign Office ministers, and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Responsibilities include negotiating treaties such as the Treaty of Versailles precedent and supervising diplomatic posts in capitals like Washington, D.C., Beijing, Moscow, and Brussels. The Secretary also manages responses to international crises involving entities like Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, and states such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
Appointment is by the Monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following conventions exercised in Cabinets of Tony Blair, David Cameron, and John Major. Succession depends on Cabinet reshuffles, parliamentary elections involving parties such as Conservative Party (UK), Labour Party (UK), and coalition arrangements exemplified by the Cameron–Clegg coalition, with instances of interim holders during resignations like Robin Cook and David Miliband.
The Secretary exercises prerogative powers in recognition of diplomats and ambassadors accredited to the Monarch of the United Kingdom, accrediting envoys to states including Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil. The office leads sanction decisions against actors such as Bashar al-Assad's regime and coordinates aid and development policy with organisations like United Nations Development Programme and Department for International Development, historically separate until merger. The Secretary sits on national security bodies including meetings with Secretary of State for Defence (United Kingdom), Home Secretary, and chairs interdepartmental committees during operations like Falklands War deployments and evacuation operations exemplified by Operation Pitting.
The Secretary heads the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, directing permanent secretaries and ambassadors, shaping organisational strategy alongside senior civil servants with careers through the former Diplomatic Service and postings at missions accredited to United Nations Headquarters. The office integrates functions from the former Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development, aligning diplomatic, consular, and development work in coordination with agencies such as the British Council and UK Export Finance.
Notable holders include Lord Palmerston for influence in 19th-century diplomacy, Arthur Balfour for the Balfour Declaration, Anthony Eden for the Suez Crisis, and Ernest Bevin for postwar reconstruction and the Marshall Plan era. William Hague is noted for modernising diplomacy, Robin Cook for articulating the "ethical foreign policy", and Dominic Raab for recent crisis management. Records include longest-serving holders like Lord Carrington and shortest tenures in caretaker Cabinets, with family connections to peers such as Viscount Castlereagh.
The office has faced criticism over decisions during crises including the Suez Crisis, the handling of the Rwandan Genocide, controversies over arms sales to Saudi Arabia during the Yemen conflict, and debates about the Iraq War and intelligence dossiers associated with Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell. Questions have arisen about ministerial accountability in events such as diplomatic leaks involving the WikiLeaks disclosures and inquiries like the Chilcot Inquiry.
Category:United Kingdom government ministers