Shadow Foreign Secretary

Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
since 4 November 2024
Shadow Cabinet
AppointerLeader of the Opposition
Inaugural holderAlfred Robens
Formation14 December 1955

The shadow secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, commonly called the shadow foreign secretary, is a position within the UK official opposition 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 of foreign, commonwealth and development affairs is Priti Patel. 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 were 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 Shadow Cabinet
Alfred Robens 14 December 1955 6 November 1956 Labour 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 Wilson I
R. A. Butler 15 October 1964 16 February 1965[1] Conservative Douglas-Home
Reginald Maudling 16 February 1965[1] 11 November 1965 Conservative Heath I
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 Wilson II
James Callaghan 19 April 1972 4 March 1974 Labour
Geoffrey Rippon 4 March 1974 11 February 1975 Conservative Heath II
Reginald Maudling 11 February 1975 11 April 1976 Conservative 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 Callaghan
Peter Shore 14 July 1979 8 December 1980 Labour
Denis Healey 8 December 1980 13 June 1987 Labour Foot
Kinnock
Gerald Kaufman 13 June 1987 24 July 1992 Labour
Jack Cunningham 24 July 1992 20 October 1994 Labour Smith
Beckett
Robin Cook 20 October 1994 2 May 1997 Labour Blair
John Major 7 May 1997 11 June 1997 Conservative Major
Michael Howard 11 June 1997 15 June 1999 Conservative 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 Duncan Smith
Howard
Liam Fox 10 May 2005 6 December 2005 Conservative
William Hague 6 December 2005 11 May 2010 Conservative Cameron
David Miliband 11 May 2010 8 October 2010 Labour Harman I
Yvette Cooper 8 October 2010 20 January 2011 Labour Miliband
Douglas Alexander 20 January 2011 11 May 2015 Labour
Hilary Benn 11 May 2015 26 June 2016 Labour Harman II
Corbyn
Emily Thornberry 27 June 2016 5 April 2020 Labour
Lisa Nandy 5 April 2020 29 November 2021 Labour Starmer
David Lammy 29 November 2021 5 July 2024 Labour
Andrew Mitchell 8 July 2024 4 November 2024 Conservative Sunak
Dame Priti Patel 4 November 2024 Incumbent Conservative Badenoch

Notes

  1. ^ 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

  1. ^ a b Baston, Lewis (2004). Reggie: The Life of Reginald Maudling. Sutton Publishing. p. 246. ISBN 0-7509-2924-3.
  2. ^ Geoffrey Parkhouse (7 November 1978). "Pym favourite for top Thatcher post". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1.


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