Secretary of State for War
The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state position within 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.
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 the 1960s, John Profumo was filling this post at the time of the Profumo affair.
History[edit]
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. 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.
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.
Principal political leaders of the English/British Armed Forces: | ||||
The Royal Navy | The Army | The RAF | Co-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) |
Secretaries of State for War, 1794–1801[edit]
Name | Portrait | Term of office | Time in office | Political party | Prime Minister | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Henry Dundas (also President of the Board of Control) |
11 July 1794 | 17 March 1801 | 6 years, 8 months and 6 days | Tory | William Pitt the Younger |
For 1801–1854 see Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
Secretaries of State for War, 1854–1964[edit]
Name | Portrait | Term of office | Time in office | Political party | Prime Minister | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Duke of Newcastle | 12 June 1854 | 30 January 1855 | 7 months and 18 days | Peelite | Earl of Aberdeen (Coalition) | ||||
The Lord Panmure | 8 February 1855 | 21 February 1858 | 3 years and 13 days | Whig | Earl of Derby | ||||
Jonathan Peel | 26 February 1858 | 11 June 1859 | 1 year, 3 months and 16 days | Conservative | |||||
Sidney Herbert | 18 June 1859 | 22 July 1861 | 2 years, 1 month and 4 days | Liberal | Viscount Palmerston | ||||
Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Bt | 23 July 1861 | 13 April 1863 | 1 year, 8 months and 21 days | Liberal | |||||
The Earl de Grey and Ripon | 28 April 1863 | 16 February 1866 | 2 years, 9 months and 19 days | Liberal | |||||
Earl Russell | |||||||||
Marquess of Hartington | 16 February 1866 | 26 June 1866 | 4 months and 10 days | Liberal | |||||
Jonathan Peel | 6 July 1866 | 8 March 1867 | 8 months and 2 days | Conservative | 14th Earl of Derby | ||||
Sir John Pakington, Bt | 8 March 1867 | 1 December 1868 | 1 year, 8 months and 23 days | Conservative | |||||
Benjamin Disraeli | |||||||||
Edward Cardwell | 9 December 1868 | 17 February 1874 | 5 years, 2 months and 8 days | Liberal | William Ewart Gladstone | ||||
Gathorne Hardy | 21 February 1874 | 2 April 1878 | 4 years, 1 month and 12 days | Conservative | Benjamin Disraeli | ||||
Frederick Stanley | 2 April 1878 | 21 April 1880 | 2 years and 19 days | Conservative | |||||
Hugh Childers | 28 April 1880 | 16 December 1882 | 2 years, 7 months and 18 days | Liberal | William Ewart Gladstone | ||||
Marquess of Hartington | 16 December 1882 | 9 June 1885 | 2 years, 5 months and 24 days | Liberal | |||||
W. H. Smith | 24 June 1885 | 21 January 1886 | 6 months and 28 days | Conservative | Marquess of Salisbury | ||||
The Viscount Cranbrook | 21 January 1886 | 6 February 1886 | 16 days | Conservative | |||||
Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 6 February 1886 | 20 July 1886 | 5 months and 14 days | Liberal | William Ewart Gladstone | ||||
W. H. Smith | 3 August 1886 | 14 January 1887 | 5 months and 11 days | Conservative | Marquess of Salisbury | ||||
Edward Stanhope | 14 January 1887 | 11 August 1892 | 5 years, 6 months and 28 days | Conservative | |||||
Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 18 August 1892 | 21 June 1895 | 2 years, 10 months and 3 days | Liberal | William Ewart Gladstone | ||||
Earl of Rosebery | |||||||||
The Marquess of Lansdowne | 4 July 1895 | 12 November 1900 | 5 years, 4 months and 8 days | Liberal Unionist | Marquess of Salisbury (Unionist Coalition) | ||||
St John Brodrick | 12 November 1900 | 6 October 1903 | 2 years, 10 months and 24 days | Irish Unionist | |||||
Arthur Balfour (Unionist Coalition) | |||||||||
H. O. Arnold-Forster | 6 October 1903 | 4 December 1905 | 2 years, 1 month and 28 days | Liberal Unionist | |||||
Richard Haldane (Viscount Haldane from 1911) |
10 December 1905 | 12 June 1912 | 6 years, 6 months and 2 days | Liberal | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman | ||||
H. H. Asquith | |||||||||
J. E. B. Seely | 12 June 1912 | 30 March 1914 | 1 year, 9 months and 18 days | Liberal | |||||
H. H. Asquith (while Prime Minister) |
30 March 1914 | 5 August 1914 | 4 months and 6 days | Liberal | |||||
The Earl Kitchener | 5 August 1914 | 5 June 1916 | 1 year and 10 months | none | |||||
H. H. Asquith (Coalition) | |||||||||
David Lloyd George | 6 July[1] 1916 | 5 December 1916 | 4 months and 29 days | Liberal | |||||
The Earl of Derby | 10 December 1916 | 18 April 1918 | 1 year, 4 months and 8 days | Conservative | David Lloyd George (Coalition) | ||||
The Viscount Milner | 18 April 1918 | 10 January 1919 | 8 months and 23 days | Conservative | |||||
Winston Churchill | 10 January 1919 | 13 February 1921 | 2 years, 1 month and 3 days | Liberal | |||||
Sir Laming Worthington-Evans, Bt | 13 February 1921 | 19 October 1922 | 1 year, 8 months and 6 days | Conservative | |||||
The Earl of Derby | 24 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | 1 year, 2 months and 29 days | Conservative | Bonar Law | ||||
Stanley Baldwin | |||||||||
Stephen Walsh | 22 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 | 9 months and 12 days | Labour | Ramsay MacDonald | ||||
Sir Laming Worthington-Evans, Bt | 6 November 1924 | 4 June 1929 | 4 years, 6 months and 29 days | Conservative | Stanley Baldwin | ||||
Thomas Shaw | 7 June 1929 | 24 August 1931 | 2 years, 2 months and 17 days | Labour | Ramsay MacDonald | ||||
The Marquess of Crewe | 25 August 1931 | 5 November 1931 | 2 months and 11 days | Liberal | Ramsay MacDonald (1st National Min.) | ||||
The Viscount Hailsham | 5 November 1931 | 7 June 1935 | 3 years, 7 months and 2 days | Conservative | Ramsay MacDonald (2nd National Min.) | ||||
The Viscount Halifax | 7 June 1935 | 22 November 1935 | 5 months and 15 days | Conservative | Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.) | ||||
Duff Cooper | 22 November 1935 | 28 May 1937 | 1 year, 6 months and 6 days | Conservative | |||||
Leslie Hore-Belisha | 28 May 1937 | 5 January 1940 | 2 years, 7 months and 8 days | National Liberal | Neville Chamberlain (4th National Min.; War Coalition) | ||||
Oliver Stanley | 5 January 1940 | 11 May 1940 | 4 months and 6 days | Conservative | |||||
Anthony Eden | 11 May 1940 | 22 December 1940 | 7 months and 11 days | Conservative | P.M. | Min.Defence | |||
Winston Churchill (War Coalition) | |||||||||
David Margesson | 22 December 1940 | 22 February 1942 | 1 year and 2 months | Conservative | |||||
Sir P. J. Grigg | 22 February 1942 | 26 July 1945 | 3 years, 5 months and 4 days | National | |||||
Jack Lawson | 3 August 1945 | 4 October 1946 | 1 year, 2 months and 1 day | Labour | Attlee | Attlee | |||
Frederick Bellenger | 4 October 1946 | 7 October 1947 | 1 year and 3 days | Labour | A.V. Alexander | ||||
Emanuel Shinwell | 7 October 1947 | 28 February 1950 | 2 years, 4 months and 21 days | Labour | |||||
John Strachey | 28 February 1950 | 26 October 1951 | 1 year, 7 months and 28 days | Labour | Shinwell | ||||
Antony Head | 31 October 1951 | 18 October 1956 | 4 years, 11 months and 18 days | Conservative | Churchill | Churchill | |||
H. Alexander | |||||||||
Macmillan | |||||||||
Eden | Lloyd | ||||||||
Monckton | |||||||||
John Hare | 18 October 1956 | 6 January 1958 | 1 year, 2 months and 19 days | Conservative | Head | ||||
Macmillan | Sandys | ||||||||
Christopher Soames | 6 January 1958 | 27 July 1960 | 2 years, 6 months and 21 days | Conservative | |||||
Watkinson | |||||||||
John Profumo | 27 July 1960 | 5 June 1963 | 2 years, 10 months and 9 days | Conservative | |||||
Thorneycroft | |||||||||
Joseph Godber | 27 June 1963 | 21 October 1963 | 3 months and 24 days | Conservative | |||||
James Ramsden | 21 October 1963 | 1 April 1964 | 5 months and 11 days | Conservative | Douglas-Home |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Times, 7 July 1916
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Secretaries of State for War of the United Kingdom. |