Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs

From British Offices and Honours

Name	Entered office	Left office	Party	Notes
Charles James Fox	27 March 1782	5 July 1782	Whig
The Lord Grantham	13 July 1782	2 April 1783	Whig
Charles James Fox	2 April 1783	19 December 1783	Whig
The Earl Temple	19 December 1783	23 December 1783	Pittite
Marquess of Carmarthen from 1789, the Duke of Leeds	23 December 1783	May 1791	Pittite/Tory
The Lord Grenville	8 June 1791	20 February 1801	Tory
Lord Hawkesbury from 1803, the Lord Hawkesbury	20 February 1801	14 May 1804	Tory
The Lord Harrowby	14 May 1804	11 January 1805	Tory
The Lord Mulgrave	11 January 1805	7 February 1806	Tory
Charles James Fox	7 February 1806	13 September 1806	Whig
Viscount Howick	24 September 1806	25 March 1807	Whig
George Canning	25 March 1807	11 October 1809	Tory
The Earl Bathurst	11 October 1809	6 December 1809	Tory
The Marquess Wellesley	6 December 1809	4 March 1812	Tory
Viscount Castlereagh from 1821, the Marquess of Londonderry	4 March 1812	12 August 1822	Tory
George Canning	16 September 1822	30 April 1827	Tory
The Viscount Dudley and Ward from 1827, the Earl of Dudley	30 April 1827	2 June 1828	Tory
The Earl of Aberdeen	2 June 1828	22 November 1830	Tory
The Viscount Palmerston	22 November 1830	15 November 1834	Canningite/Whig
The Duke of Wellington	15 November 1834	18 April 1835	Conservative
The Viscount Palmerston	18 April 1835	2 September 1841	Whig
The Earl of Aberdeen	2 September 1841	6 July 1846	Conservative
The Viscount Palmerston	6 July 1846	26 December 1851	Whig
The Earl Granville	26 December 1851	27 February 1852	Whig
The Earl of Malmesbury	27 February 1852	28 December 1852	Conservative
Lord John Russell	28 December 1852	21 February 1853	Liberal
The Earl of Clarendon	21 February 1853	26 February 1858	Liberal
The Earl of Malmesbury	26 February 1858	18 June 1859	Conservative
Lord John Russell from 1861, the Earl Russell	18 June 1859	3 November 1865	Liberal
The Earl of Clarendon	3 November 1865	6 July 1866	Liberal
Lord Stanley	6 July 1866	9 December 1868	Conservative
The Earl of Clarendon	9 December 1868	6 July 1870	Liberal
The Earl Granville	6 July 1870	21 February 1874	Liberal
The Earl of Derby	21 February 1874	2 April 1878	Conservative	previously foreign secretary as Lord Stanley
The Marquess of Salisbury	2 April 1878	28 April 1880	Conservative
The Earl Granville	28 April 1880	24 June 1885	Liberal
The Marquess of Salisbury	24 June 1885	6 February 1886	Conservative	also Prime Minister
The Earl of Rosebery	6 February 1886	3 August 1886	Liberal
The Earl of Iddesleigh	3 August 1886	12 January 1887	Conservative
The Marquess of Salisbury	14 January 1887	11 August 1892	Conservative	also Prime Minister
The Earl of Rosebery	18 August 1892	11 March 1894	Liberal
The Earl of Kimberley	11 March 1894	21 June 1895	Liberal
The Marquess of Salisbury	29 June 1895	12 November 1900	Conservative	also Prime Minister
The Marquess of Lansdowne	12 November 1900	4 December 1905	Liberal Unionist
Sir Edward Grey from 1916, the Viscount Grey of Fallodon	10 December 1905	10 December 1916	Liberal
Arthur Balfour	10 December 1916	23 October 1919	Conservative
The Earl Curzon of Kedleston from 1921, the Marquess Curzon of Kedleston	23 October 1919	22 January 1924	Conservative
Ramsay MacDonald	22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour	also Prime Minister
Austen Chamberlain from 1925, Sir Austen Chamberlain	6 November 1924	4 June 1929	Conservative
Arthur Henderson	7 June 1929	24 August 1931	Labour
The Marquess of Reading	25 August 1931	5 November 1931	Liberal
Sir John Simon	5 November 1931	7 June 1935	Liberal/National Liberal
Sir Samuel Hoare	7 June 1935	18 December 1935	Conservative
Anthony Eden	22 December 1935	20 February 1938	Conservative
The Viscount Halifax	21 February 1938	22 December 1940	Conservative
Anthony Eden	22 December 1940	26 July 1945	Conservative
Ernest Bevin	27 July 1945	9 March 1951	Labour
Herbert Morrison	9 March 1951	26 October 1951	Labour
Anthony Eden from 1954, Sir Anthony Eden	28 October 1951	7 April 1955	Conservative
Harold Macmillan	7 April 1955	20 December 1955	Conservative
Selwyn Lloyd	20 December 1955	27 July 1960	Conservative
The Earl of Home	27 July 1960	20 October 1963	Conservative
Rab Butler	20 October 1963	16 October 1964	Conservative
Patrick Gordon Walker	16 October 1964	22 January 1965	Labour
Michael Stewart	22 January 1965	11 August 1966	Labour
George Brown	11 August 1966	16 March 1968	Labour
Michael Stewart	16 March 1968	17 October 1968	Labour	became Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs