Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
| Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs | |
|---|---|
| Appointer | Leader of the Opposition |
| Inaugural holder | Alfred Robens |
| Formation | 14 December 1955 |
| Website | The Shadow Cabinet |
In UK politics, the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs is a position within the opposition's shadow cabinet that deals mainly with issues surrounding the Foreign Office. If elected, the person serving as shadow foreign secretary may be designated to serve as the new Foreign Secretary.
The current shadow secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs is MP David Lammy. The Shadow Secretary (usually with one or more junior shadow ministers) holds the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and other FCDO ministers to account in Parliament.
Although DFID and the role of International Development Secretary was abolished by the second Johnson government in 2020, the Shadow Secretary of State did not have responsibility for development until Lammy was appointed in November 2021. His predecessor, Lisa Nandy, served alongside the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, Preet Gill. This however is no longer the case after the November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle.
List of shadow foreign secretaries[]
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Political party | Leader of the Opposition | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred Robens | 
|
14 December 1955 | 6 November 1956 | Labour | Hugh Gaitskell | |
| Aneurin Bevan | 
|
6 November 1956 | 11 October 1959 | Labour | ||
| Denis Healey | 
|
11 October 1959 | 2 November 1961 | Labour | ||
| Harold Wilson | 
|
2 November 1961 | 14 February 1963 | Labour | ||
| Patrick Gordon Walker | 14 February 1963 | 15 October 1964 | Labour | Harold Wilson | ||
| R. A. Butler | 
|
15 October 1964 | 16 February 1965[1] | Conservative | Sir Alec Douglas-Home | |
| Reginald Maudling | 16 February 1965[1] | 11 November 1965 | Conservative | Edward Heath | ||
| Christopher Soames | 
|
11 November 1965 | 13 April 1966 | Conservative | ||
| Alec Douglas-Home | 
|
13 April 1966 | 18 June 1970 | Conservative | ||
| Denis Healey |
|
20 June 1970 | 19 April 1972 | Labour | Harold Wilson | |
| James Callaghan | 
|
19 April 1972 | 4 March 1974 | Labour | ||
| Geoffrey Rippon | 
|
4 March 1974 | 11 February 1975 | Conservative | Edward Heath | |
| Reginald Maudling | 11 February 1975 | 11 April 1976 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher | ||
| John Davies | 11 April 1976 | 6 November 1978 | Conservative | |||
| Francis Pym[a] | 
|
6 November 1978 | 4 May 1979 | Conservative | ||
| David Owen | 
|
4 May 1979 | 14 July 1979 | Labour | James Callaghan | |
| Peter Shore | 14 July 1979 | 8 December 1980 | Labour | |||
| Denis Healey |
|
8 December 1980 | 13 June 1987 | Labour | Michael Foot | |
| Neil Kinnock | ||||||
| Gerald Kaufman | 
|
13 June 1987 | 24 July 1992 | Labour | ||
| Jack Cunningham | 
|
24 July 1992 | 20 October 1994 | Labour | John Smith QC | |
| Robin Cook | 
|
20 October 1994 | 2 May 1997 | Labour | Tony Blair | |
| John Major | 
|
7 May 1997 | 11 June 1997 | Conservative | John Major | |
| Michael Howard | 
|
11 June 1997 | 15 June 1999 | Conservative | William Hague | |
| John Maples | 15 June 1999 | 2 February 2000 | Conservative | |||
| Francis Maude | 
|
2 February 2000 | 18 September 2001 | Conservative | ||
| Michael Ancram | 
|
18 September 2001 | 10 May 2005 | Conservative | Iain Duncan Smith | |
| Michael Howard | ||||||
| Liam Fox | 
|
10 May 2005 | 6 December 2005 | Conservative | ||
| William Hague | 
|
6 December 2005 | 11 May 2010 | Conservative | David Cameron | |
| David Miliband | 
|
11 May 2010 | 8 October 2010 | Labour | Harriet Harman QC | |
| Yvette Cooper | 
|
8 October 2010 | 20 January 2011 | Labour | Ed Miliband | |
| Douglas Alexander | 
|
20 January 2011 | 11 May 2015 | Labour | ||
| Hilary Benn | 
|
11 May 2015 | 26 June 2016 | Labour | Harriet Harman QC | |
| Jeremy Corbyn | ||||||
| Emily Thornberry | 
|
27 June 2016 | 5 April 2020 | Labour | ||
| Lisa Nandy | 
|
5 April 2020 | 29 November 2021 | Labour | Keir Starmer | |
| David Lammy | 
|
29 November 2021 | Incumbent | Labour | ||
Notes[]
- ^ Following Davies' resignation, it was announced that Pym would lead the two-day debate on Rhodesia for the Conservatives.[2] By approximately 20 November, Norman St John-Stevas had replaced him as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, and Pym continued as Shadow Foreign Secretary through the end of the Parliament in 1979.
References[]
- ^ a b Baston, Lewis (2004). Reggie: The Life of Reginald Maudling. Sutton Publishing. p. 246. ISBN 0-7509-2924-3.
- ^ Geoffrey Parkhouse (7 November 1978). "Pym favourite for top Thatcher post". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1.
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