Secretary of State for Education

Secretary of State for Education
Royal Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent Nadhim Zahawi since 15 September 2021
Department for Education
Style	Education Secretary (informal) The Right Honourable (UK and the Commonwealth)
Status	Secretary of state Minister of the Crown
Member of	Cabinet Privy Council
Reports to	The Prime Minister
Seat	Westminster
Appointer	The Crown on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	At Her Majesty's pleasure
Formation	10 April 1992
First holder	William Cowper-Temple as Committee of the Council on Education (5 February 1857) John Patten s Secretary of State for Education
Website	www.gov.uk

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The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education.^[1] The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, 14th in the ministerial ranking.^[2]

The office holder works alongside the other Education ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, and the work of the Secretary of State is also scrutinised by the Education Select Committee.

Responsibilities[]

Corresponding to what is generally known as an education minister in many other countries, the education secretary's remit is concerned primarily with England. This includes:

• Early years
• Children’s social care
• Teacher recruitment and retention
• The national curriculum
• School improvement
• Academies and free schools
• Further education
• Apprenticeships and skills
• Higher education
• Oversight of the departmental coronavirus (COVID-19) response
• Oversight of school infrastructure improvement^[3]

History[]

A committee of the Privy Council was appointed in 1839 to supervise the distribution of certain government grants in the education field.^[4] The members of the committee were the Lord President of the Council, the Secretaries of State, the First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. From 1857 a vice-president was appointed who took responsibility for policy.

On 1 April 1900, the Board of Education Act 1899 abolished the committee and instituted a new board, headed by a president. The members were initially very similar to the old committee and the president of the board was the Lord President of the council; however, from 1902 this ceased to be the case and the president of the board was appointed separately (although the Marquess of Londonderry happened to hold both jobs from 1903 to 1905).

The Education Act 1944 replaced the Board of Education with a new Ministry of Education.

The position of Secretary of State for Education and Science was created in 1964 with the merger of the offices of Minister of Education and the Minister of Science. The postholder oversaw the Department of Education and Science.

From June 1970 to March 1974, this post was held by future prime minister Margaret Thatcher.^[5]

In 1992, the responsibility for science was transferred to Cabinet Office's Office of Public Service, and the department was renamed Department of Education. In 1995 the department merged with the Department of Employment to become the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) and in 2001 the employment functions were transferred to a newly created Department for Work and Pensions, with the DfEE becoming the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). In 2007 under Gordon Brown's new premiership, the DfES was split into two new departments; the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and a Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, under two new secretaries of state.

The ministerial office of the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills was, in late 2009, amalgamated into the new ministerial office of the resurgent politician Peter Mandelson, made a peer and given the title Lord Mandelson as the newly created Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills – itself an amalgamation of the responsibilities of the Secretaries of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Innovation, Universities and Skills. The Secretary of State has remit over higher education policy as well as British business and enterprise.

From 14 July 2016 to 8 January 2018 the post was held by Justine Greening, as her predecessor, Nicky Morgan, was sacked by Theresa May. Greening resigned after rejecting a reshuffle to the Department for Work and Pensions.^[6]

List of office holders[]

Vice-President of the Committee of the Council on Education (1857–1902)[]

Colour key (for political parties):
  Whig   Conservative   Liberal

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Length of term	Party	Prime Minister
	William Cowper		5 February 1857	21 February 1858	1 year and 16 days	Whig		The Viscount Palmerston
	Charles Adderley		12 March 1858	11 June 1859	1 year, 2 months and 30 days	Conservative		The Earl of Derby
	Robert Lowe		24 June 1859	26 April 1864 (resigned)	4 years, 10 months and 2 days	Liberal		The Viscount Palmerston
	Henry Bruce		26 April 1864	26 June 1866	2 years and 2 months	Liberal
								The Earl Russell
	Henry Lowry-Corry		26 June 1866	19 March 1867	8 months and 21 days	Conservative		The Earl of Derby
	Lord Robert Montagu		19 March 1867	1 December 1868	1 year, 8 months and 12 days	Conservative
								Benjamin Disraeli
	William Edward Forster		9 December 1868	17 February 1874	5 years, 2 months and 8 days	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
	Viscount Sandon		2 March 1874	4 April 1878	4 years, 1 month and 2 days	Conservative		Benjamin Disraeli
	Lord George Hamilton		4 April 1878	21 April 1880	2 years and 17 days	Conservative
	A. J. Mundella		3 May 1880	9 June 1885	5 years, 1 month and 6 days	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
	Edward Stanhope		24 June 1885	17 September 1885	2 months and 24 days	Conservative		The Marquess of Salisbury
	Sir Henry Holland, Bt		17 September 1885	28 January 1886	4 months and 11 days	Conservative
	Sir Lyon Playfair		13 February 1886	20 July 1886	5 months and 7 days	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
	Sir Henry Holland, Bt		3 August 1886	25 January 1887	5 months and 22 days	Conservative		The Marquess of Salisbury
	Sir William Hart Dyke, Bt		25 January 1887	11 August 1892	5 years, 6 months and 17 days	Conservative
	Arthur Dyke Acland		25 August 1892	21 June 1895	2 years, 9 months and 27 days	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
								The Earl of Rosebery
	Sir John Eldon Gorst		4 July 1895	8 August 1902	7 years, 1 month and 4 days	Conservative		The Marquess of Salisbury (Unionist Coalition)

President of the Board of Education (1900–1944)[]

Colour key (for political parties):
  Liberal Unionist   Conservative   Liberal   Labour   National Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Length of term	Party	Prime Minister
	The Duke of Devonshire (also Lord President of the Council)		3 March 1900[7]	8 August 1902	2 years, 5 months and 5 days	Liberal Unionist		The Marquess of Salisbury (Unionist Coalition)
	The Marquess of Londonderry (also Lord President of the Council)		11 August 1902	4 December 1905	3 years, 3 months and 23 days	Conservative		Arthur Balfour (Unionist Coalition)
	Augustine Birrell		10 December 1905	23 January 1907	1 year, 1 month and 13 days	Liberal		Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
	Reginald McKenna		23 January 1907	12 April 1908	1 year, 2 months and 20 days	Liberal
	Walter Runciman		12 April 1908	23 October 1911	3 years, 6 months and 11 days	Liberal		H. H. Asquith
	Jack Pease		23 October 1911	25 May 1915	3 years, 7 months and 2 days	Liberal
	Arthur Henderson		25 May 1915	18 August 1916	1 year, 2 months and 24 days	Labour		H. H. Asquith (Coalition)
	The Marquess of Crewe		18 August 1916	10 December 1916	3 months and 22 days	Liberal
	Herbert Fisher		10 December 1916	19 October 1922	5 years, 10 months and 9 days	Liberal		David Lloyd George (Coalition)
	Edward Wood (subsequently Lord Irwin and Viscount Halifax)		24 October 1922	22 January 1924	1 year, 2 months and 29 days	Conservative		Bonar Law
								Stanley Baldwin
	Charles Trevelyan		22 January 1924	3 November 1924	9 months and 12 days	Labour		Ramsay MacDonald
	Lord Eustace Percy		6 November 1924	4 June 1929	4 years, 6 months and 29 days	Conservative		Stanley Baldwin
	Sir Charles Trevelyan		7 June 1929	2 March 1931 (resigned)	1 year, 8 months and 23 days	Labour		Ramsay MacDonald
	Hastings Lees-Smith		2 March 1931	24 August 1931	5 months and 22 days	Labour
	Sir Donald Maclean		25 August 1931	15 June 1932 (died in office)	9 months and 21 days	Liberal		Ramsay MacDonald (1st & 2nd National Min.)
	The Lord Irwin (Viscount Halifax from 1934)		15 June 1932	7 June 1935	2 years, 11 months and 23 days	Conservative
	Oliver Stanley		7 June 1935	28 May 1937	1 year, 11 months and 21 days	Conservative		Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.)
	The Earl Stanhope		28 May 1937	27 October 1938	1 year, 4 months and 29 days	Conservative		Neville Chamberlain (4th National Min; War Coalition)
	The Earl De La Warr		27 October 1938	3 April 1940	1 year, 5 months and 7 days	National Labour
	Herwald Ramsbotham		3 April 1940	20 July 1941	1 year, 3 months and 17 days	Conservative		Winston Churchill (War Coalition)
	R. A. Butler		20 July 1941	3 August 1944	3 years and 14 days (Cont. below)	Conservative

Minister of Education (1944–1964)[]

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Length of term	Party	Prime Minister
	R. A. Butler		3 August 1944	25 May 1945	9 months and 22 days (Cont. from above)	Conservative		Winston Churchill (War Coalition)
	Richard Law		25 May 1945	26 July 1945	2 months and 1 day	Conservative		Winston Churchill (Caretaker Min.)
	Ellen Wilkinson		3 August 1945	6 February 1947 (died in office)	1 year, 6 months and 3 days	Labour		Clement Attlee
	George Tomlinson		10 February 1947	26 October 1951	4 years, 8 months and 16 days	Labour
	Florence Horsbrugh		2 November 1951	18 October 1954	2 years, 11 months and 16 days	Conservative		Sir Winston Churchill
	David Eccles		18 October 1954	13 January 1957	2 years, 2 months and 26 days	Conservative
								Sir Anthony Eden
	The Viscount Hailsham		13 January 1957	17 September 1957	8 months and 4 days	Conservative		Harold Macmillan
	Geoffrey Lloyd		17 September 1957	14 October 1959	2 years and 27 days	Conservative
	David Eccles		14 October 1959	13 July 1962	2 years, 8 months and 29 days	Conservative
	Sir Edward Boyle, Bt		13 July 1962	1 April 1964	1 year, 8 months and 19 days	Conservative
								Sir Alec Douglas-Home

Secretary of State for Education and Science (1964–1992)[]

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Length of term	Party	Prime Minister
	Quintin Hogg (formerly Viscount Hailsham)		1 April 1964	16 October 1964	6 months and 15 days	Conservative		Sir Alec Douglas-Home
	Michael Stewart		18 October 1964	22 January 1965	3 months and 4 days	Labour		Harold Wilson
	Anthony Crosland		22 January 1965	29 August 1967	2 years, 7 months and 7 days	Labour
	Patrick Gordon Walker		29 August 1967	6 April 1968	7 months and 8 days	Labour
	Edward Short		6 April 1968	19 June 1970	2 years, 2 months and 13 days	Labour
	Margaret Thatcher[8][5]		20 June 1970	4 March 1974	3 years, 8 months and 12 days	Conservative		Edward Heath
	Reginald Prentice[9]		5 March 1974	9 June 1975	1 year, 3 months and 4 days	Labour		Harold Wilson
	Fred Mulley[10]		10 June 1975	9 September 1976	1 year, 2 months and 30 days	Labour
								James Callaghan
	Shirley Williams[11]		10 September 1976	4 May 1979	2 years, 7 months and 24 days	Labour
	Mark Carlisle		5 May 1979	14 September 1981	2 years, 4 months and 9 days	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher
	Sir Keith Joseph, Bt[12]		14 September 1981	20 May 1986	4 years, 8 months and 6 days	Conservative
	Kenneth Baker[13]		21 May 1986	23 July 1989	3 years, 2 months and 2 days	Conservative
	John MacGregor[14]		24 July 1989	1 November 1990	1 year, 3 months and 8 days	Conservative
	Kenneth Clarke[15]		2 November 1990	9 April 1992	1 year, 5 months and 7 days	Conservative
								John Major

Secretary of State for Education (1992–1995)[]

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Length of term	Party	Prime Minister
	John Patten[16]		10 April 1992	20 July 1994	2 years, 3 months and 10 days	Conservative		John Major
	Gillian Shephard[17]		20 July 1994	5 July 1995	11 months and 15 days (Cont. below)	Conservative

Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1995–2001)[]

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Length of term	Party	Prime Minister
	Gillian Shephard[17]		5 July 1995	1 May 1997	1 year, 9 months and 26 days (Cont. from above)	Conservative		John Major
	David Blunkett[18]		1 May 1997	8 June 2001	4 years, 1 month and 7 days	Labour		Tony Blair

Secretary of State for Education and Skills (2001–2007)[]

Colour key (for political parties):
  Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Length of term	Party	Prime Minister
	Estelle Morris[19]		8 June 2001	24 October 2002 (resigned)	1 year, 4 months and 16 days	Labour		Tony Blair
	Charles Clarke[20]		24 October 2002	15 December 2004	2 years, 1 month and 21 days	Labour
	Ruth Kelly[21]		15 December 2004	5 May 2006	1 year, 4 months and 20 days	Labour
	Alan Johnson[22]		5 May 2006	28 June 2007	1 year, 1 month and 23 days	Labour

Secretaries of State for Children, Schools and Families (2007–10); and Innovation, Universities and Skills (2007–09)[]

In 2007, the education portfolio was divided between the Department for Children, Schools and Families (responsible for infant, primary and secondary education), and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (responsible for further, higher and adult education). In 2009, the latter department was merged into the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families[]

Colour key (for political parties):
  Labour   Labour Co-op

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Length of term	Political party	Prime Minister
	Ed Balls[23]		28 June 2007	6 May 2010	2 years, 10 months and 8 days	Labour Co-op		Gordon Brown

Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills[]

Colour key (for political parties):
  Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Length of term	Political party	Prime Minister
	John Denham[24]		28 June 2007	5 June 2009	1 year, 11 months and 8 days	Labour		Gordon Brown

Secretary of State for Education (2010–present)[]

The Department for Education and the post of Secretary of State for Education were recreated in 2010.

Responsibility for higher and adult education remained with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable 2010–2015, Sajid Javid 2015–2016), until reunited with the Department for Education in 2016.

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Length of term	Party	Prime Minister
	Michael Gove[25] (tenure)		12 May 2010	15 July 2014	4 years, 2 months and 3 days	Conservative		David Cameron (Coalition)
	Nicky Morgan[26]		15 July 2014	13 July 2016	1 year, 11 months and 28 days	Conservative
								David Cameron (II)
	Justine Greening[27]		14 July 2016	8 January 2018	1 year, 5 months and 25 days	Conservative		Theresa May (I)
								Theresa May (II)
	Damian Hinds[28]		8 January 2018	24 July 2019	1 year, 6 months and 16 days	Conservative
	Gavin Williamson[29]		24 July 2019	15 September 2021	2 years, 1 month and 22 days	Conservative		Boris Johnson (I)
								Boris Johnson II)
	Nadhim Zahawi[30]		15 September 2021	Incumbent	3 months and 13 days*	Conservative

* Incumbent's length of term last updated: 28 December 2021.

References[]

External links[]

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