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{{Short description|Former position in the government of the United Kingdom (1794–1801, 1854–1964)}}{{Distinguish|Secretary at War|Secretary of War (disambiguation)}}{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

factoids

| termlength = No fixed term| constituting_instrument = | precursor = | formation = 11 July 1794| first = Henry DundasJames Ramsden (politician)>James Ramsden| abolished = 1 April 1964| succession = | deputy = Under-Secretary of State for War| salary = }} 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.

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

{| class=“wikitable” style="text-align:center“! colspan=3 | Secretary! colspan=2 | Term of office! Political party! colspan=2 | Prime Minister style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Tories (British political party)}}” |75px)Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville>Henry Dundas{{Small|(also President of the Board of Control)}}| 11 July 1794| 17 March 1801Tory (British political party)>ToryWilliam Pitt the YoungerFor 1801–1854 see Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.

Secretaries of State for War, 1854–1964

{| class=“wikitable” style="text-align:center“! colspan=2 | Name! width=60|Portrait! colspan=2 | Term of office! Political party! colspan=3 | Prime Minister style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Peelite}}” |75px)| Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle| 12 June 1854| 30 January 1855| PeeliteGeorge Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen{{SmallAberdeen ministry>Coalition)}} style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Whigs (British political party)}}” |75px)Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie>Fox Maule-Ramsay, 2nd Baron Panmure| 8 February 1855| 21 February 1858Whig (British political faction)>WhigEdward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Jonathan Peel| 26 February 1858| 11 June 1859Conservative Party (UK)>Conservative style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” |75px)Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea>Sidney Herbert| 18 June 1859| 22 July 1861Liberal Party (UK)>LiberalHenry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Sir George Cornewall Lewis, 2nd Baronet| 23 July 1861| 13 April 1863Liberal Party (UK)>Liberal style="height:1em“! rowspan=2 style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” | (File:George Robinson 1st Marquess of Ripon.jpg|75px) George Robinson, 3rd Earl de Grey and 2nd Earl of Ripon 28 April 1863 16 February 1866 Liberal style="height:1em”John Russell, 1st Earl Russell style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” |75px)Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire>Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington| 16 February 1866| 26 June 1866Liberal Party (UK)>Liberal style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Jonathan Peel| 6 July 1866| 8 March 1867Conservative Party (UK)>Conservative14th Earl of Derby style="height:1em“! height=15 style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” | (File:John Pakington 1st Baron Hampton (cropped).jpg|75px) John Pakington, 1st Baron Hampton 8 March 1867 1 December 1868 Conservative style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |Benjamin Disraeli style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” |75px)Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell>Edward Cardwell| 9 December 1868| 17 February 1874Liberal Party (UK)>LiberalWilliam Ewart Gladstone style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook>Gathorne Hardy| 21 February 1874| 2 April 1878Conservative Party (UK)>ConservativeBenjamin Disraeli style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby>Frederick Stanley| 2 April 1878| 21 April 1880Conservative Party (UK)>Conservative style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Hugh Childers| 28 April 1880| 16 December 1882Liberal Party (UK)>LiberalWilliam Ewart Gladstone style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” |75px)Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire>Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington| 16 December 1882| 9 June 1885Liberal Party (UK)>Liberal style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)William Henry Smith (1825–1891)>W. H. Smith| 24 June 1885| 21 January 1886Conservative Party (UK)>ConservativeRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook| 21 January 1886| 6 February 1886Conservative Party (UK)>Conservative style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Henry Campbell-Bannerman| 6 February 1886| 20 July 1886Liberal Party (UK)>LiberalWilliam Ewart Gladstone style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)William Henry Smith (1825–1891)>W. H. Smith| 3 August 1886| 14 January 1887Conservative Party (UK)>ConservativeRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Edward Stanhope| 14 January 1887| 11 August 1892Conservative Party (UK)>Conservative style="height:1em“! rowspan=2 style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” | (File:Picture of Henry Campbell-Bannerman.jpg|75px) Henry Campbell-Bannerman 18 August 1892 21 June 1895 LiberalWilliam Ewart Gladstone style="height:1em”Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Unionist Party}}” |75px)| Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne| 4 July 1895| 12 November 1900Liberal Unionist Party>Liberal UnionistRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury{{SmallUnionist Government 1895–1905>Unionist Coalition)}} style="height:1em“! rowspan=2 style="background-color:{{Party color|Irish Unionist Alliance}}” | (File:St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, circa 1910s.jpg|75px) St John Brodrick 12 November 1900 6 October 1903 Irish Unionist style="height:1em”Arthur Balfour{{SmallUnionist Government 1895–1905>Unionist Coalition)}} style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Unionist Party}}” |75px)| H. O. Arnold-Forster| 6 October 1903| 4 December 1905Liberal Unionist Party>Liberal Unionist style="height:1em“! rowspan=2 style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” | (File:Portrait of Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane.jpg|75px) Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane{{Small>(Viscount Haldane from 1911)}} 10 December 1905 12 June 1912 LiberalHenry Campbell-Bannerman style="height:1em”H. H. Asquith style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” |75px)J. E. B. Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone>J. E. B. Seely| 12 June 1912| 30 March 1914Liberal Party (UK)>Liberal style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” |75px)H. H. Asquith{{Small>(while Prime Minister)}}| 30 March 1914| 5 August 1914Liberal Party (UK)>Liberal style="height:1em“! rowspan=2 style="background-color:{{Party color|Independent (politician)}}” | (File:Lord Kitchener AWM A03547.jpg|75px) Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener 5 August 1914 5 June 1916 none style="height:1em”H. H. Asquith{{SmallAsquith coalition ministry>Coalition)}} style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” |75px)| David Lloyd George| 6 JulyTimes, 7 July 1916 1916| 5 December 1916Liberal Party (UK)>Liberal style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby| 10 December 1916| 18 April 1918Conservative Party (UK)>ConservativeDavid Lloyd George{{SmallLloyd George ministry>Coalition)}} style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner| 18 April 1918| 10 January 1919Conservative Party (UK)>Conservative style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Winston Churchill| 10 January 1919| 13 February 1921Liberal Party (UK)>Liberal style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)Sir Laming Worthington-Evans, 1st Baronet>Laming Worthington-Evans| 13 February 1921| 19 October 1922Conservative Party (UK)>Conservative style="height:1em“! rowspan=2 style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” | (File:17th Earl of Derby.jpg|75px) Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby 24 October 1922 22 January 1924 ConservativeBonar Law style="height:1em”Stanley Baldwin style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}” |75px)Stephen Walsh (MP)>Stephen Walsh| 22 January 1924| 3 November 1924Labour Party (UK)>LabourRamsay MacDonald style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)Sir Laming Worthington-Evans, 1st Baronet>Laming Worthington-Evans| 6 November 1924| 4 June 1929Conservative Party (UK)>ConservativeStanley Baldwin style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}” |75px)Tom Shaw (politician)>Thomas Shaw| 7 June 1929| 24 August 1931Labour Party (UK)>LabourRamsay MacDonald style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe| 25 August 1931| 5 November 1931Liberal Party (UK)>LiberalRamsay MacDonald{{SmallFirst National ministry>1st National Min.)}} style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham| 5 November 1931| 7 June 1935Conservative Party (UK)>Conservative Ramsay MacDonald{{SmallSecond National ministry>2nd National Min.)}} style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)| E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax| 7 June 1935| 22 November 1935Conservative Party (UK)>ConservativeStanley Baldwin{{SmallThird National ministry>3rd National Min.)}} style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Duff Cooper| 22 November 1935| 28 May 1937Conservative Party (UK)>Conservative style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}” |75px)Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha>Leslie Hore-Belisha| 28 May 1937| 5 January 1940National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)>National LiberalNeville Chamberlain{{SmallFourth National ministry>4th National Min.;War Coalition)}} style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Oliver Stanley| 5 January 1940| 11 May 1940Conservative Party (UK)>Conservative style="height:1em“! rowspan=2 style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” | (File:Anthony Eden (retouched).jpg|75px) Anthony Eden 11 May 1940 22 December 1940 Conservative! colspan=2 | P.M.! Min.Defence style="height:1em”Winston Churchill{{SmallChurchill war ministry>War Coalition)}} style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)David Margesson, 1st Viscount Margesson>David Margesson| 22 December 1940| 22 February 1942Conservative Party (UK)>Conservative style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|National Government (United Kingdom)}}” |75px)| P. J. Grigg| 22 February 1942| 26 July 1945National Government (United Kingdom)>National style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Jack Lawson| 3 August 1945| 4 October 1946Labour Party (UK)>LabourAttleeClement Attlee>Attlee style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Frederick Bellenger| 4 October 1946| 7 October 1947Labour Party (UK)>Labour A.V. Alexander style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}” |75px)Manny Shinwell>Emanuel Shinwell| 7 October 1947| 28 February 1950Labour Party (UK)>Labour style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}” |75px)John Strachey (politician)>John Strachey| 28 February 1950| 26 October 1951Labour Party (UK)>LabourManny Shinwell, Baron Shinwell>Shinwell style="height:1em“! rowspan=5 style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” | (File:Blank.png|60px) Antony Head 31 October 1951 18 October 1956 ConservativeChurchillWinston Churchill>ChurchillHarold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis>H. AlexanderHarold Macmillan>Macmillan style="height:1em”EdenSelwyn Lloyd>LloydWalter Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley>Monckton style="height:1em“! rowspan=2 style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” | (File:John Hare 1929.jpg|75px) John Hare 18 October 1956 6 January 1958 ConservativeAntony Head, 1st Viscount Head>Head style="height:1em”Macmillan Sandys style="height:1em“! rowspan=2 style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” | (File:Christopher Soames.jpg|75px) Christopher Soames 6 January 1958 27 July 1960 Conservative Watkinson style="height:1em“! rowspan=2 style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” | (File:John Profumo.jpg|75px) John Profumo 27 July 1960 5 June 1963 Conservative Thorneycroft style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)| Joseph Godber| 27 June 1963| 21 October 1963Conservative Party (UK)>Conservative style="height:1em“! style="background-color:{{Party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}” |75px)James Ramsden (politician)>James Ramsden| 21 October 1963| 1 April 1964Conservative Party (UK)>ConservativeAlec Douglas-Home>Douglas-Home

See also

• Secretary at War

{{Principal political leaders of the British Armed Forces}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category|Secretaries of State for War of the United Kingdom}}