Secretary of State for the Colonies

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

The colonial secretary never had responsibility for the provinces and princely states of India, which had its own secretary of state.

From 1768 until 1966, the secretary of state was supported by an under-secretary of state for the colonies (at times an under-secretary of state for war and the colonies), and latterly by a minister of state.

History

Colonial responsibilities were previously held jointly by the lords of trade and plantations (board) and the secretary of state for the Southern Department,

who was responsible for Ireland, the American colonies, and relations with the Catholic and Muslim states of Europe, as well as being jointly responsible for domestic affairs with the Secretary of State for the Northern Department.

Colonial Secretary 1768–1782

The Colonial Secretary position was first created in 1768 to deal with the increasingly troublesome North American colonies, following passage of the Townsend Acts.

Joint responsibility between the secretary and board first continued at this time, but subsequent diminution of the board's status led it to became an adjunct to the new secretary's department.

Following the loss of the American colonies, both the board and the short-lived secretaryship were dismissed by the king on 2 May 1782; both were abolished later by the Civil List and Secret Service Money Act 1782 (22 Geo. 3, c 82).

Following this, colonial duties were given to the Home Secretary, then Lord Sydney.

1782–1854

Responsibility for the Colonies in the years between 1782 and 1854 included:

Home Secretary 1782–1801
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1801–1854
Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1854

Following the Treaty of Paris 1783, a new board, named the Committee of Council on Trade and Plantations (later known as 'the First Committee') was established under William Pitt the Younger, by an Order in Council in 1784.]]

By the early years of the twentieth century the responsibility for each of the protectorate territories had been transferred to the colonial secretary as well. The League of Nations mandated territories acquired as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 became a further responsibility of the Colonial Office in the aftermath of the First World War.

In 1925, part of the Colonial Office was separated out as the Dominions Office, with its own secretary of state. The new office was responsible for dealing with the Dominions together with a small number of other territories (most notably Southern Rhodesia).

In the twenty years following the end of the Second World War, much of the British Empire was dismantled as its various territories gained independence. In consequence, the Colonial Office was merged in 1966 with the Commonwealth Relations Office (which until 1947 had been the Dominions Office) to form the Commonwealth Office, while ministerial responsibility was transferred to the secretary of state for Commonwealth affairs (previously known as the secretary of state for Commonwealth relations). In 1968, the Commonwealth Office was subsumed into the Foreign Office, which was renamed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

List of secretaries of state for the colonies

Secretaries of state for the colonies (1768–1782)

Sometimes referred to as Secretary of State for the American Colonies.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ Secretary of State for the Colonies

! colspan=3 | Secretary

! colspan=2 | Term of office

! Ministry

! Monarch

| rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | Wills Hill

| rowspan=2 | 1768

| rowspan=2 | 1772

| |   Grafton

| rowspan=5 style="background:#EAECF0" | George III 60px

| rowspan=4 | North

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| William Legge

| 1772

| 1775

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Lord George Germain

| 1775

| 1782

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Welbore Ellis

| 1782

Office abolished in 1782 after the loss of the American Colonies.

Secretaries of state for the colonies (1854–1966)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! colspan=3 | Secretary of State for the Colonies

! colspan=2 | Term of office

! Party

! Ministry

! Monarch

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Sir George Grey, Bt.

| 1854

| 1855

| | Whig

| | Aberdeen

| rowspan=25 style="background:#EAECF0" | Victoria 60px

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Sidney Herbert

| 1855

| | Whig

| rowspan=4 | Palmerston I

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Lord John Russell

| 1855

| | Whig

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Sir William Molesworth, Bt.

| 1855

| | Radical

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Henry Labouchere

| 1855

| 1858

| | Whig

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Edward Stanley Lord Stanley

| 1858

| | Conservative

| rowspan=2 | Derby–Disraeli II

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton

| 1858

| 1859

| | Conservative

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Henry Pelham-Clinton 5th Duke of Newcastle

| 1859

| 1864

| | Liberal

| rowspan=2 | Palmerston II

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | Edward Cardwell

| rowspan=2 | 1864

| rowspan=2 | 1866

| rowspan=2 | Liberal

|- style="height:1em"

| | Russell II

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Henry Herbert 4th Earl of Carnarvon

| 1866

| 1867

| | Conservative

| rowspan=2 | Derby–Disraeli III

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| style="white-space: nowrap;" | Richard Temple-Grenville 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos

| 1867

| 1868

| | Conservative

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville

| 1868

| 1870

| | Liberal

| rowspan=2 | Gladstone I

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| John Wodehouse 1st Earl of Kimberley

| 1870

| 1874

| | Liberal

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Henry Herbert 4th Earl of Carnarvon

| 1874

| 1878

| | Conservative

| rowspan=2 | Disraeli II

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt.

| 1878

| 1880

| | Conservative

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| John Wodehouse 1st Earl of Kimberley

| 1880

| 1882

| | Liberal

| rowspan=2 | Gladstone II

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Edward Stanley 15th Earl of Derby

| 1882

| 1885

| | Liberal

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Frederick Stanley

| 1885

| 1886

| | Conservative

| | Salisbury I

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville

| 1886

| | Liberal

| | Gladstone III

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Edward Stanhope

| 1886

| 1887

| | Conservative

| rowspan=2 | Salisbury II

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Henry Holland 1st Baron Knutsford

| 1887

| 1892

| | Conservative

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | George Robinson 1st Marquess of Ripon

| rowspan=2 | 1892

| rowspan=2 | 1895

| rowspan=2 | Liberal

| | Gladstone IV

|- style="height:1em"

| | Rosebery

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=3 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=3 | 75px

| rowspan=3 | Joseph Chamberlain

| rowspan=3 | 1895

| rowspan=3 | 1903

| rowspan=3 | Liberal Unionist

| rowspan=2 | Salisbury

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=5 style="background:#EAECF0" | Edward VII 60px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 | Balfour

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Alfred Lyttelton

| 1903

| 1905

| | Liberal Unionist

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Victor Bruce 9th Earl of Elgin

| 1905

| 1908

| | Liberal

| | Campbell-Bannerman

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | Robert Crewe-Milnes 1st Marquess of Crewe

| rowspan=2 | 1908

| rowspan=2 | 1910

| rowspan=2 | Liberal

| rowspan=3 | Asquith

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=15 style="background:#EAECF0" | George V 60px

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Lewis Vernon Harcourt

| 1910

| 1915

| | Liberal

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Bonar Law

| 1915

| 1916

| | Conservative

| | Asquith Coalition

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Walter Long

| 1916

| 1919

| | Conservative

| rowspan=3 | Lloyd George

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Alfred Milner 1st Viscount Milner

| 1919

| 1921

| | Liberal

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Winston Churchill

| 1921

| 1922

| | Liberal

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | Victor Cavendish 9th Duke of Devonshire

| rowspan=2 | 1922

| rowspan=2 | 1924

| rowspan=2 | Conservative

| | Law

|- style="height:1em"

| | Baldwin I

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| James Henry Thomas

| 1924

| | Labour

| | MacDonald I

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Leo Amery

| 1924

| 1929

| | Conservative

| | Baldwin II

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Sidney Webb 1st Baron Passfield

| 1929

| 1931

| | Labour

| | MacDonald II

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| James Henry Thomas

| 1931

| | National Labour

| | National I

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Philip Cunliffe-Lister

| 1931

| 1935

| | Conservative

| | National II

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Malcolm MacDonald

| 1935

| | National Labour

| rowspan=5 | National III )

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | James Henry Thomas

| rowspan=2 | 1935

| rowspan=2 | 1936

| rowspan=2 | National Labour

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background:#EAECF0" | Edward VIII 60px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=3 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=3 | 75px

| rowspan=3 | William Ormsby-Gore

| rowspan=3 | 1936

| rowspan=3 | 1938

| rowspan=3 | Conservative

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=13 style="background:#EAECF0" | George VI 60px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 | National IV )

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | Malcolm MacDonald

| rowspan=2 | 1938

| rowspan=2 | 1940

| rowspan=2 | National Labour

|- style="height:1em"

| | Chamberlain War )

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| George Lloyd 1st Baron Lloyd

| 1940

| 1941

| | Conservative

| rowspan=4 | Churchill War

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Walter Guinness 1st Baron Moyne

| 1941

| 1942

| | Conservative

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Robert Gascoyne-Cecil Viscount Cranborne

| 1942

| | Conservative

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan =2 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | Oliver Stanley

| rowspan=2 | 1942

| rowspan=2 | 1945

| rowspan=2 | Conservative

|- style="height:1em"

| | Churchill Caretaker

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| George Henry Hall

| 1945

| 1946

| | Labour

| rowspan=3 | Attlee

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Arthur Creech Jones

| 1946

| 1950

| | Labour

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Jim Griffiths

| 1950

| 1951

| | Labour

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | Oliver Lyttelton

| rowspan=2 | 1951

| rowspan=2 | 1954

| rowspan=2 | Conservative

| rowspan=3 | Churchill III

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=11 style="background:#EAECF0" | Elizabeth II 60x60px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=3 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=3 | 75px

| rowspan=3 | Alan Lennox-Boyd

| rowspan=3 | 1954

| rowspan=3 | 1959

| rowspan=3 | Conservative

|- style="height:1em"

| | Eden

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=4 | Macmillan

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Iain Macleod

| 1959

| 1961

| | Conservative

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 100x100px

| Reginald Maudling

| 1961

| 1962

| | Conservative

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | Duncan Sandys

| rowspan=2 | 1962

| rowspan=2 | 1964

| rowspan=2 | Conservative

|- style="height:1em"

| | Douglas-Home

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Anthony Greenwood

| 1964

| 1965

| | Labour

| rowspan=3 | Wilson

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Frank Pakenham 7th Earl of Longford

| 1965

| 1966

| | Labour

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background-color: " |

| 75px

| Frederick Lee

| 1966

| | Labour

Responsibility for the colonies held by:

Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs 1966–1968
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 1968–present

Following the British Nationality Act 1981, the term "colony" ceased to be used; Britain's rule over Hong Kong, the last significant colony, ceased in 1997. Britain retains certain overseas territories.

;Notes:

Secretaries from the colonies

A few title holders were born in colonies under their portfolio and some beyond:

Bonar Law – born in pre-Canada colony of New Brunswick and later moved to the United Kingdom
Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin – born in Canada during his father's, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, term as Governor General of Canada and a British appointee
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner – born in Grand Duchy of Hesse (now in Germany) to Charles Milner (who had English roots from his father)
Leo Amery – born in British India to an English father serving in India

Secretary of State for the Colonies

History

Colonial Secretary 1768–1782

1782–1854

List of secretaries of state for the colonies

Secretaries of state for the colonies (1768–1782)

Secretaries of state for the colonies (1854–1966)

Secretaries from the colonies

See also

References