# Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State rank) in the Government of the United Kingdom, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland. The post is also known as Deputy Secretary of State for Scotland.

## History

The post was first established as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health for Scotland in 1919, before becoming the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland in 1926. Additional Parliamentary Under-Secretary posts were added in 1940 and 1951, and a Minister of State post was established in 1951. In 1969–70, one of the Under-Secretary posts was replaced by an additional Minister of State. From 1974 to 1979, there were two Ministers of State and three Under-Secretaries, reverting to one Minister of State in 1979. In 1997, the second Minister of State post was reinstated, and a fourth Under-Secretary post was briefly added from August 1998.
Following devolution in 1999, the number of ministers was reduced. There are currently two Under-Secretaries to support the Secretary of State, and there is no Minister of State.

## List of office holders
### Under-Secretary for Health for Scotland (1919–1926)

| Name | Party | Term start | Prime Minister |
| John Pratt MP for Glasgow Cathcart | Liberal Party | 8 August 1919 | David Lloyd George |
| James Kidd MP for Linlithgowshire | Unionist Party | 31 October 1922 | Bonar Law |
| Walter Elliot MP for Lanark | Unionist Party | 15 January 1923 | Stanley Baldwin |
| James Stewart MP for Glasgow St Rollox | Labour Party | 23 January 1924 | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Walter Elliot MP for Glasgow Kelvingrove | Unionist Party | 11 November 1924 | Stanley Baldwin |

### Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (1926–)

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland :
| Name | Portrait | Party | Term start | Term end | Prime Minister |
| Walter Elliott MP for Glasgow Kelvingrove | | Unionist Party | 26 July 1926 | 7 June 1929 | |
| Thomas Johnston MP for Dundee | | Labour Party | 7 June 1929 | 25 March 1931 | |
| Joseph Westwood MP for Stirling and Falkirk | | Labour Party | 25 March 1931 | August 1931 | |
| Noel Skelton MP for Combined Scottish Universities | | Unionist Party | 3 September 1931 | 22 November 1935 (Died in office) | |
| John Colville MP for Midlothian and Peebles Northern | | Unionist Party | 28 November 1935 | 29 October 1936 | |
| Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn MP for West Renfrewshire | | Unionist Party | 29 October 1936 | 6 September 1939 | |
| Captain Sir John McEwen MP for Berwick and Haddington | | Unionist Party | 6 September 1939 | 17 May 1940 | |
| Joseph Westwood MP for Stirling and Falkirk | | Labour Party | 17 May 1940 | 23 May 1945 | |
| Captain Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn MP for West Renfrewshire | | Unionist Party | 8 February 1941 | 4 March 1942 | |
| Allan Chapman MP for Rutherglen | | Unionist Party | 4 March 1942 | 26 July 1945 | |
| Thomas Galbraith MP for Glasgow Pollok | | Unionist Party | 26 May 1945 | 26 July 1945 | |
| George Buchanan MP for Glasgow Gorbals | | Labour Party | 4 August 1945 | 7 October 1947 | |
| Tom Fraser MP for Hamilton | | Labour Party | 4 August 1945 | 26 October 1951 | |
| John Robertson MP for Berwick | | Labour Party | 7 October 1947 | 26 October 1951 | |
| Margaret Herbison MP for North Lanarkshire | | Labour Party | 2 March 1950 | 26 October 1951 | |
| Thomas Galbraith MP for Glasgow Pollok | | Unionist Party | 2 November 1951 | 5 April 1955 | |
| Sir William McNair Snadden MP for Kinross and Western Perthshire | | Unionist Party | 2 November 1951 | 3 June 1955 | |
| Sir James Henderson Stewart MP for East Fife | | Liberal National | 4 February 1952 | 9 January 1957 | Harold Macmillan |
| Jack Nixon Browne MP for Glasgow Craigton | | Scottish Conservative Party | 7 April 1955 | 9 January 1957 | Harold Macmillan |
| Niall Macpherson MP for Dumfriesshire | | Liberal National | 13 June 1955 | 9 January 1957 | Harold Macmillan |
| Jack Nixon Browne MP for Glasgow Craigton | | Conservative Party | 18 January 1957 | 22 October 1959 | Harold Macmillan |
| Major Lord John Hope MP for Edinburgh Pentlands | | Unionist Party | 18 January 1957 | 22 October 1959 | Harold Macmillan |
| Niall Macpherson MP for Dumfriesshire | | Liberal National | 19 January 1957 | 28 October 1960 | Harold Macmillan |
| Thomas Galbraith 1st Baron Strathclyde | | Unionist Party | 22 October 1959 | 8 November 1962 | Harold Macmillan |
| Gilmour Leburn MP for Kinross and West Perthshire | | Conservative Party | 22 October 1959 | 15 August 1963 | Harold Macmillan |
| Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Brooman-White MP for Rutherglen | | Conservative Party | 28 October 1960 | 12 December 1963 | Harold Macmillan |
| The Lady Tweedsmuir MP for Aberdeen South | | Unionist Party | 3 December 1962 | 16 October 1964 | Harold Macmillan |
| Anthony Stodart MP for Edinburgh West | | Conservative Party | 19 August 1963 | 16 October 1964 | Sir Alec Douglas-Home |
| Gordon Campbell MP for Moray and Nairn | | Conservative Party | 12 December 1963 | 16 October 1964 | Sir Alec Douglas-Home |
| Dickson Mabon MP for Greenock | | Labour and Co-operative Party | 20 October 1964 | 7 January 1967 | Harold Wilson |
| William Hughes Baron Hughes | | Labour Party | 21 October 1964 | 13 October 1969 | Harold Wilson |
| Bruce Millan MP for Glasgow Craigton | | Labour Party | 6 April 1966 | 19 June 1970 | Harold Wilson |
| Norman Buchan MP for West Renfrewshire | | Labour Party | 7 January 1967 | 19 June 1970 | Harold Wilson |
| Alick Buchanan-Smith MP for North Angus and Mearns | | Conservative Party | 24 June 1970 | 4 March 1974 | Edward Heath |
| George Younger MP for Ayr | | Conservative Party | 24 June 1970 | 8 January 1974 | Edward Heath |
| Sir Teddy Taylor MP for Glasgow Cathcart | | Conservative Party | 24 June 1970 | 28 July 1971 | Edward Heath |
| Hector Monro MP for Dumfries | | Conservative Party | 28 July 1971 | 4 March 1974 | Edward Heath |
| Sir Teddy Taylor MP for Glasgow Cathcart | | Conservative Party | 8 January 1974 | 4 March 1974 | Edward Heath |
| Robert Hughes MP for Aberdeen North | | Labour Party | 11 March 1974 | 22 July 1975 | Harold Wilson |
| Hugh Brown MP for Glasgow Provan | | Labour Party | 28 June 1974 | 4 May 1979 | Harold Wilson |
| Harry Ewing MP for Stirling, Falkirk and Grangemouth | | Labour Party | 18 October 1974 | 4 May 1979 | Harold Wilson |
| Frank McElhone MP for Glasgow Queen's Park | | Labour Party | 12 September 1975 | 4 May 1979 | Harold Wilson |
| Frank McElhone MP for Glasgow Queen's Park | | Labour Party | 12 September 1975 | 4 May 1979 | James Callaghan |
| Alex Fletcher MP for Edinburgh North | | Conservative Party | 7 May 1979 | 14 June 1983 | Margaret Thatcher |
| Russell Fairgrieve MP for Aberdeenshire West | | Conservative Party | 7 May 1979 | 15 September 1981 | Margaret Thatcher |
| Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP for Edinburgh Pentlands | | Conservative Party | 7 May 1979 | 6 April 1982 | Margaret Thatcher |
| Allan Stewart MP for East Renfrewshire (until 1983) MP for Eastwood (1983–1997) | | Conservative Party | 15 September 1981 | 10 September 1986 | Margaret Thatcher |
| John MacKay MP for Argyll (until 1983) MP for Argyll and Bute (1983–1987) | | Conservative Party | 6 April 1982 | 14 June 1987 | Margaret Thatcher |
| Michael Ancram MP for Edinburgh South | | Conservative Party | 13 June 1983 | 14 June 1987 | Margaret Thatcher |
| Ian Lang MP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale | | Conservative Party | 10 September 1986 | 13 June 1987 | Margaret Thatcher |
| James Douglas-Hamilton MP for Edinburgh West | | Conservative Party | 13 June 1987 | 6 July 1995 | Margaret Thatcher |
| Michael Forsyth MP for Stirling | | Conservative Party | 13 June 1987 | 7 September 1990 | Margaret Thatcher |
| Thomas Galbraith 2nd Baron Strathclyde | | Conservative Party | 7 September 1990 | 14 April 1992 | Margaret Thatcher |
| Allan Stewart MP for Eastwood | | Conservative Party | 28 November 1990 | 8 February 1995 | John Major |
| Hector Monro MP for Dumfries | | Conservative Party | 14 April 1992 | 6 July 1995 | John Major |
| George Kynoch MP for Kincardine and Deeside | | Conservative Party | 8 February 1995 | 2 May 1997 | John Major |
| James Lindsay-Bethune 16th Earl of Lindsay | | Conservative Party | 6 July 1995 | 2 May 1997 | John Major |
| Raymond Robertson MP for Aberdeen South | | Conservative Party | 6 July 1995 | 2 May 1997 | John Major |
| Sam Galbraith MP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden | | Labour Party | 6 May 1997 | 29 July 1999 | Tony Blair |
| John Sewel Baron Sewel | | Labour Party | 6 May 1997 | 29 July 1999 | Tony Blair |
| Malcolm Chisholm MP for Edinburgh North and Leith | | Labour Party | 6 May 1997 | 10 December 1997 | Tony Blair |
| Calum MacDonald MP for Western Isles | | Labour Party | 11 December 1997 | 29 July 1999 | Tony Blair |
| Gus Macdonald Baron Macdonald of Tradeston | | Labour Party | 3 August 1998 | 29 July 1999 | Tony Blair |
| Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | 29 July 1999 | 29 May 2002 | Tony Blair |
| Anne McGuire MP for Stirling | | Labour Party | 29 May 2002 | 11 May 2005 | Tony Blair |
| David Cairns MP for Inverclyde | | Labour Party | 11 May 2005 | 28 June 2007 | Tony Blair |
| Ann McKechin MP for Glasgow North | | Labour Party | 16 September 2008 | 11 May 2010 | Gordon Brown |
| David Mundell MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | | Conservative Party | 14 May 2010 | 11 May 2015 | David Cameron |
| Andrew Dunlop Baron Dunlop | | Conservative Party | 14 May 2015 | 10 June 2017 | David Cameron |
| Ian Duncan Baron Duncan of Springbank | | Conservative Party | 15 June 2017 | 27 July 2019 | Theresa May |
| Robin Walker MP for Worcester | | Conservative Party | 27 July 2019 | 16 December 2019 | Boris Johnson |
| Colin Clark MP for Gordon | | Conservative Party | 27 July 2019 | 16 December 2019 | Boris Johnson |
| Douglas Ross MP for Moray | | Conservative Party | 16 December 2019 | 26 May 2020 | Boris Johnson |
| David Duguid MP for Banff and Buchan | | Conservative Party | 2 June 2020 | 16 September 2021 | Boris Johnson |
| Iain Stewart MP for Milton Keynes South | | Conservative Party | 2 June 2020 | 8 September 2022 | Boris Johnson |
| David Duguid MP for Banff and Buchan | | Conservative Party | 20 September 2022 | 27 October 2022 | Liz Truss |
| Malcolm Offord Baron Offord of Garvel | | Conservative Party | 4 October 2021 | 9 February 2024 | Liz Truss |
| Malcolm Offord Baron Offord of Garvel | | Conservative Party | 4 October 2021 | 9 February 2024 | Rishi Sunak |
| John Lamont MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk | | Conservative Party | 27 October 2022 | 5 July 2024 | Rishi Sunak |
| Donald Cameron Baron Cameron of Lochiel | | Conservative Party | 9 February 2024 | 5 July 2024 | Rishi Sunak |
| Kirsty McNeill MP for Midlothian | | Labour Party | 9 July 2024 | Incumbent | Sir Keir Starmer |

### Minister of State for Scotland (1951–2008)

* 2 November 1951: The Earl of Home
* 7 April 1955: Thomas Galbraith
* 23 October 1958: The Lord Forbes
* 22 October 1959: Jack Nixon Browne
* 20 October 1964: George Willis
* 7 January 1967: Dickson Mabon (to 19 June 1970)
* 13 October 1969: The Lord Hughes (to 19 June 1970)
* 23 June 1970: The Lady Tweedsmuir
* 7 April 1972: The Lord Polwarth
* 8 March 1974: Bruce Millan (to 8 April 1976)
* 8 March 1974: The Lord Hughes (to 8 August 1975)
* 8 August 1975: The Lord Kirkhill (to 15 December 1978)
* 14 April 1976: Gregor Mackenzie (to 4 May 1979)
* 7 May 1979: The Earl of Mansfield
* 13 June 1983: The Lord Gray of Contin
* 10 September 1986: The Lord Glenarthur
* 13 June 1987: Ian Lang (to 28 November 1990)
* 13 June 1987: The Lord Sanderson of Bowden (to 7 September 1990)
* 7 September 1990: Michael Forsyth
* 14 April 1992: The Lord Fraser of Carmyllie
* 6 July 1995: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
* 6 May 1997: Henry McLeish (to 29 June 1999)
* 6 May 1997: Brian Wilson (to 28 July 1998)
* 28 July 1998: Helen Liddell (to 17 May 1999)
* 29 July 1999: Brian Wilson
* 26 January 2001: George Foulkes (to 29 May 2002)
* July 2007: David Cairns (16 September 2008)