Secretary of State for War

Last updated

Secretary of State for War
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
Royal Arms as used by Her Majesty's Government
War Office
Member of British Cabinet
Privy Council
Seat Westminster, London
AppointerThe British Monarch
(on advice of the Prime Minister)
Term length No fixed term
Formation11 July 1794
First holder Henry Dundas
Final holder James Ramsden
Abolished1 April 1964
Deputy Under-Secretary of State for War
Edward Cardwell, later Viscount Cardwell, Secretary of State for War from 1868 to 1874; architect of the Cardwell Reforms 1stViscountCardwell.jpg
Edward Cardwell, later Viscount Cardwell, Secretary of State for War from 1868 to 1874; architect of the Cardwell Reforms

The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and was assisted by a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for War, a Parliamentary Private Secretary who was also a Member of Parliament (MP), and a Military Secretary, who was a general.

Contents

History

The position of Secretary of State for War was first held by Henry Dundas who was appointed in 1794. In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position of Secretary of State for War was re-instated in 1854 when the Secretary of State for the Colonies was created as a separate position.

In the nineteenth century the post was twice held by future prime minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman. At the outset of the First World War, prime minister H. H. Asquith was filling the role, but he quickly appointed Lord Kitchener, who became famous while in this position for Lord Kitchener Wants You. He was replaced by David Lloyd George, who went on to become prime minister. Between the World Wars, the post was held by future prime minister Winston Churchill for two years.

In 1946, the three posts of Secretary of State for War, First Lord of the Admiralty, and Secretary of State for Air became formally subordinated to that of Minister of Defence, which had itself been created in 1940 for the co-ordination of defence and security issues.

In the 1960s, John Profumo held this post at the time of the Profumo affair.

On 1 April 1964, with the creation of a new united Ministry of Defence headed by the Secretary of State for Defence, the three service ministries as well as the post of Minister of Defence as created in 1940 were abolished.

List of secretaries of state

Secretary of State for War, 1794–1801

SecretaryTerm of officePolitical partyPrime Minister
1stViscountMelville2.jpg Henry Dundas
(also President of the Board of Control)
11 July 179417 March 1801 Tory William Pitt the Younger

For 1801–1854 see Secretary of State for War and the Colonies .

Secretaries of State for War, 1854–1964

NamePortraitTerm of officePolitical partyPrime Minister
5thDukeOfNewcastle.jpg Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle 12 June 185430 January 1855 Peelite George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
(Coalition)
Thomas duncan.jpg Fox Maule-Ramsay, 2nd Baron Panmure 8 February 185521 February 1858 Whig Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
Jonathan Peel.JPG Jonathan Peel 26 February 185811 June 1859 Conservative
Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea.jpg Sidney Herbert 18 June 185922 July 1861 Liberal Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Sir George Cornewall Lewis, 2nd Bt.jpg Sir George Cornewall Lewis, 2nd Baronet 23 July 186113 April 1863 Liberal
George Robinson 1st Marquess of Ripon.jpg George Robinson, 3rd Earl de Grey and 2nd Earl of Ripon 28 April 186316 February 1866 Liberal
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
Picture of Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire.jpg Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington 16 February 186626 June 1866 Liberal
Jonathan Peel.JPG Jonathan Peel 6 July 18668 March 1867 Conservative 14th Earl of Derby
John Pakington 1st Baron Hampton (cropped).jpg John Pakington, 1st Baron Hampton 8 March 18671 December 1868 Conservative
Benjamin Disraeli
1stViscountCardwell.jpg Edward Cardwell 9 December 186817 February 1874 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
1st Earl of Cranbrook.jpg Gathorne Hardy 21 February 18742 April 1878 Conservative Benjamin Disraeli
Frederick Arthur Stanley.jpg Frederick Stanley 2 April 187821 April 1880 Conservative
Hugh Childers, Lock & Whitfield woodburytype, 1876-83 crop.jpg Hugh Childers 28 April 188016 December 1882 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
Picture of Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire.jpg Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington 16 December 18829 June 1885 Liberal
William Henry Smith (1825-1891).jpg W. H. Smith 24 June 188521 January 1886 Conservative Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
1st Earl of Cranbrook.jpg Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook 21 January 18866 February 1886 Conservative
Picture of Henry Campbell-Bannerman.jpg Henry Campbell-Bannerman 6 February 188620 July 1886 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
William Henry Smith (1825-1891).jpg W. H. Smith 3 August 188614 January 1887 Conservative Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Edward Stanhope.jpg Edward Stanhope 14 January 188711 August 1892 Conservative
Picture of Henry Campbell-Bannerman.jpg Henry Campbell-Bannerman 18 August 189221 June 1895 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Marquess of Lansdowne crop.jpg Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne 4 July 189512 November 1900 Liberal Unionist Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
(Unionist Coalition)
St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, circa 1910s.jpg St John Brodrick 12 November 19006 October 1903 Irish Unionist
Arthur Balfour
(Unionist Coalition)
Portrait of H. O. Arnold-Forster.jpg H. O. Arnold-Forster 6 October 19034 December 1905 Liberal Unionist
Portrait of Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane.jpg Richard Haldane
(Viscount Haldane from 1911)
10 December 190512 June 1912 Liberal Henry Campbell-Bannerman
H. H. Asquith
JEB Seely 1909.jpg J. E. B. Seely 12 June 191230 March 1914 Liberal
H H Asquith 1908.jpg H. H. Asquith
(while Prime Minister)
30 March 19145 August 1914 Liberal
Lord Kitchener AWM A03547.jpg Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener 5 August 19145 June 1916none
H. H. Asquith
(Coalition)
PMLloydGeorge--nsillustratedwar03londuoft.jpg David Lloyd George 6 July [1] 19165 December 1916 Liberal
17th Earl of Derby.jpg Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby 10 December 191618 April 1918 Conservative David Lloyd George
(Coalition)
Lord Milner.jpg Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner 18 April 191810 January 1919 Conservative
Churchill 1904 Q 42037.jpg Winston Churchill 10 January 191913 February 1921 Liberal
Worthington-Evans MP.jpg Laming Worthington-Evans 13 February 192119 October 1922 Conservative
17th Earl of Derby.jpg Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby 24 October 192222 January 1924 Conservative Bonar Law
Stanley Baldwin
Stephen Walsh MP.png Stephen Walsh 22 January 19243 November 1924 Labour Ramsay MacDonald
Worthington-Evans MP.jpg Laming Worthington-Evans 6 November 19244 June 1929 Conservative Stanley Baldwin
Tom Shaw - politician.jpg Thomas Shaw 7 June 192924 August 1931 Labour Ramsay MacDonald
Portrait of Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe.jpg Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe 25 August 19315 November 1931 Liberal Ramsay MacDonald
(1st National Min.)
Hailsham1.JPG Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham 5 November 19317 June 1935 Conservative Ramsay MacDonald
(2nd National Min.)
Lord Halifax 1937.jpg E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax 7 June 193522 November 1935 Conservative Stanley Baldwin
(3rd National Min.)
Duff Cooper 1941.jpg Duff Cooper 22 November 193528 May 1937 Conservative
Leslie Hore-Belisha 1951.jpg Leslie Hore-Belisha 28 May 19375 January 1940 National Liberal Neville Chamberlain
(4th National Min.;
War Coalition)
Oliver Stanley.png Oliver Stanley 5 January 194011 May 1940 Conservative
Anthony Eden (retouched).jpg Anthony Eden 11 May 194022 December 1940 Conservative P.M. Min.Defence
Winston Churchill
(War Coalition)
David Margesson.jpg David Margesson 22 December 194022 February 1942 Conservative
Percy James Grigg.jpg P. J. Grigg 22 February 194226 July 1945 National
Lord Lawson of Beamish.jpg Jack Lawson 3 August 19454 October 1946 Labour Attlee Attlee
Frederick Bellenger.jpg Frederick Bellenger 4 October 19467 October 1947 Labour A.V. Alexander
Emanuel Shinwel HU 059765 (crop).jpg Emanuel Shinwell 7 October 194728 February 1950 Labour
John Strachey.jpg John Strachey 28 February 195026 October 1951 Labour Shinwell
Blank.png Antony Head 31 October 195118 October 1956 Conservative Churchill Churchill
H. Alexander
Macmillan
Eden Lloyd
Monckton
John Hare 1929.jpg John Hare 18 October 19566 January 1958 Conservative Head
Macmillan Sandys
Christopher Soames.jpg Christopher Soames 6 January 195827 July 1960 Conservative
Watkinson
John Profumo.jpg John Profumo 27 July 19605 June 1963 Conservative
Thorneycroft
Blank.png Joseph Godber 27 June 196321 October 1963 Conservative
No image.svg James Ramsden 21 October 19631 April 1964 Conservative Douglas-Home

See also

Principal political leaders of the English/British Armed Forces:
Royal NavyBritish ArmyRoyal Air ForceCo-ordination
1628 First Lord of the Admiralty
(1628–1964)
1794 Secretary of State for War
(1794–1801)
1801 Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
(1801–1854)
1854 Secretary of State for War
(1854–1964)
1919 Secretary of State for Air
(1919–1964)
1936 Minister for Co-ordination of Defence
(1936–1940)
1940 Minister of Defence (1940–1964)
1964 Secretary of State for Defence (1964–present)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretary of State for the Colonies</span> British Cabinet minister

The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's minister in charge of managing the British Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Addington</span> Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804

Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, was a British Tory statesman who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville</span> Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807

William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, was a British Pittite Tory politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807, but was a supporter of the Whigs for the duration of the Napoleonic Wars. As prime minister, his most significant achievement was the abolition of the slave trade in 1807. However, his government failed to either make peace with France or to accomplish Catholic emancipation and it was dismissed in the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool</span> Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. He also held many other important cabinet offices such as Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. He was also a member of the House of Lords and served as leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War Office</span> British Government department, 1857 to 1964

The War Office has referred to several British government organisations in history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). It was at that time, equivalent to the Admiralty, responsible for the Royal Navy (RN), and the Air Ministry, which oversaw the Royal Air Force (RAF). The name 'War Office' is also given to the former home of the department, located at the junction of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall in central London. The landmark building was sold on 1 March 2016 by HM Government for more than £350 million, on a 250 year lease for conversion into a luxury hotel and residential apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretary of State for Defence</span> Member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom

The Secretary of State for Defence, also known as the Defence Secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

A war cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war to efficiently and effectively conduct that war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers, although it is quite common for a war cabinet to have senior military officers and opposition politicians as members.

In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords acting as whips in the House of Commons to whom this title is usually applied.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chamberlain war ministry</span> Government of the United Kingdom September 1939 – May 1940

Neville Chamberlain formed the Chamberlain war ministry in 1939 after declaring war on Germany. Chamberlain led the country for the first eight months of the Second World War, until the Norway Debate in Parliament led Chamberlain to resign and Winston Churchill to form a new ministry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Gladstone ministry</span>

The third Gladstone ministry was one of the shortest-lived ministries in British history. It was led by William Gladstone of the Liberal Party upon his reappointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by Queen Victoria. It lasted five months until July 1886.

The position of Under-Secretary of State for War was a British government position, first applied to Evan Nepean. In 1801 the offices for War and the Colonies were merged and the post became that of Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854 and remained until 1947, when it was combined with that of Financial Secretary to the War Office. In 1964 the War Office, Admiralty and Air Ministry were merged to form the Ministry of Defence, and the post was abolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Baldwin ministry</span> Government of the United Kingdom

Stanley Baldwin of the Conservative Party formed the second Baldwin ministry upon his reappointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George V after the 1924 general election. His second ministry ended following the so-called "Flapper Election" of May 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Churchill ministry</span> UK government, 1951–1955

Winston Churchill formed the third Churchill ministry in the United Kingdom following the 1951 general election. He was reappointed as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George VI and oversaw the accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 and her coronation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservative government, 1957–1964</span>

The Conservative government of the United Kingdom that began in 1957 and ended in 1964 consisted of three ministries: the first Macmillan ministry, second Macmillan ministry, and then the Douglas-Home ministry. They were respectively led by Harold Macmillan and Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who were appointed by Queen Elizabeth II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minister of Defence (United Kingdom)</span>

The post of Minister of Defence was responsible for co-ordination of defence and security from its creation in 1940 until its abolition in 1964. The post was a Cabinet-level post and generally ranked above the three service ministers, some of whom, however, continued to also serve in Cabinet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churchill war ministry</span> UK government during World War II

The Churchill war ministry was the United Kingdom's coalition government for most of the Second World War from 10 May 1940 to 23 May 1945. It was led by Winston Churchill, who was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George VI following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain in the aftermath of the Norway Debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Lord of the Admiralty</span> Political head of the Royal Navy (1628–1964)

The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the direction and control of the Admiralty, and also of general administration of the Naval Service of the Kingdom of England, Great Britain in the 18th century, and then the United Kingdom, including the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, and other services. It was one of the earliest known permanent government posts. Apart from being the political head of the Naval Service the post holder was simultaneously the pre-eminent member of the Board of Admiralty. The office of First Lord of the Admiralty existed from 1628 until it was abolished when the Admiralty, Air Ministry, Ministry of Defence and War Office were all merged to form the new Ministry of Defence in 1964. Its modern-day equivalent is the Secretary of State for Defence.

References

  1. Times, 7 July 1916