# Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889. In 1903, an Act was passed to transfer to the new styled Board of Agriculture and Fisheries certain powers and duties relating to the fishing industry, and the post was renamed President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries.
In 1919, it was renamed Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. In 1954, the separate position of Minister of Food was merged into the post and it was renamed Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
On 8 June 2001, the Ministry merged with Secretary of State for the Environment into the office of Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. However, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was not formally abolished until The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Dissolution) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/794) came into force on 27 March 2002.
Until the Dissolution Order also made the necessary amendments to the law when it did come into force, many statutory functions were still vested in the holder of the office of Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, rather in the Secretary of State at large. For that reason, in a final twist, Margaret Beckett had to be appointed formally as the last Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food as well as becoming the first Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

## List of Agriculture Ministers and Board Presidents
### Presidents of the Board of Agriculture (1889–1903)

Post created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889.
President of the Board of Agriculture :
| Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Party | Ministry |
| The Right Honourable Henry Chaplin MP for Sleaford (1840–1923) | 9 September 1889 | 11 August 1892 | Conservative | Salisbury II |
| The Right Honourable Herbert Gardner MP for Saffron Walden (1846–1921) | 25 August 1892 | 21 June 1895 | Liberal | Gladstone IV |
| The Right Honourable Herbert Gardner MP for Saffron Walden (1846–1921) | 25 August 1892 | 21 June 1895 | Liberal | Rosebery |
| The Right Honourable Walter Long MP for Liverpool West Derby (1854–1924) | 4 July 1895 | 16 November 1900 | Conservative | Salisbury (III & IV) (Con.–Lib.U.) |
| The Right Honourable Robert William Hanbury MP for Preston (1845–1903) | 16 November 1900 | 28 April 1903 | Conservative | Salisbury (III & IV) (Con.–Lib.U.) |
| The Right Honourable Robert William Hanbury MP for Preston (1845–1903) | 16 November 1900 | 28 April 1903 | Conservative | Balfour (Con.–Lib.U.) |

### Presidents of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries (1903–1919)

Board of Agriculture superseded by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries in 1903.
President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries :
| Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Party | Ministry |
| The Right Honourable William Onslow 4th Earl of Onslow GCMG PC DL (1853–1911) | 19 May 1903 | 12 March 1905 | Conservative | Balfour (Con.–Lib.U.) |
| The Right Honourable Ailwyn Fellowes MP for Ramsey (1855–1924) | 12 March 1905 | 4 December 1905 | Conservative | Balfour (Con.–Lib.U.) |
| The Right Honourable Charles Wynn-Carington 1st Earl Carrington KG GCMG PC JP DL (1843–1928) | 10 December 1905 | 23 October 1911 | Liberal | Campbell-Bannerman |
| The Right Honourable Charles Wynn-Carington 1st Earl Carrington KG GCMG PC JP DL (1843–1928) | 10 December 1905 | 23 October 1911 | Liberal | Asquith (I–III) |
| The Right Honourable Walter Runciman MP for Dewsbury (1870–1949) | 23 October 1911 | 6 August 1914 | Liberal | Asquith (I–III) |
| The Right Honourable Auberon Herbert 9th Baron Lucas PC (1876–1916) | 6 August 1914 | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | Asquith (I–III) |
| The Right Honourable William Palmer 2nd Earl of Selborne KG GCMG PC (1859–1942) | 25 May 1915 | 11 July 1916 | Conservative | Asquith Coalition (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) |
| The Right Honourable David Lindsay 27th Earl of Crawford PC FSA (1871–1940) | 11 July 1916 | 10 December 1916 | Conservative | Asquith Coalition (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) |
| The Right Honourable Rowland Prothero MVO MP for Oxford University (1851–1937) | 10 December 1916 | 15 August 1919 | Conservative | Lloyd George (I & II) (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) |

### Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries, (1919–1954)

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries :
| Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Party | Ministry |
| The Right Honourable Arthur Lee 1st Baron Lee of Fareham GBE KCB PC (1868–1947) | 15 August 1919 | 13 February 1921 | Conservative | Lloyd George (I & II) (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) |
| The Right Honourable Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen MP for Taunton (1865–1946) | 13 February 1921 | 24 October 1922 | Conservative | Lloyd George (I & II) (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) |
| The Right Honourable Sir Robert Sanders Bt MP for Bridgwater (1867–1940) | 24 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | Law |
| The Right Honourable Sir Robert Sanders Bt MP for Bridgwater (1867–1940) | 24 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | Baldwin I |
| The Right Honourable Noel Buxton MP for North Norfolk (1869–1948) | 22 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 | Labour | MacDonald I |
| The Right Honourable E. F. L. Wood MP for Ripon (1881–1959) | 6 November 1924 | 4 November 1925 | Conservative | Baldwin II |
| The Right Honourable Walter Guinness DSO MP for Bury St Edmunds (1880–1944) | 4 November 1925 | 4 June 1929 | Conservative | Baldwin II |
| The Right Honourable Noel Buxton MP for North Norfolk (1869–1948) | 7 June 1929 | 5 June 1930 | Labour | MacDonald II |
| The Right Honourable Christopher Addison FRCS MP for Swindon (1869–1951) | 5 June 1930 | 24 August 1931 | Labour | MacDonald II |
| The Right Honourable Sir John Gilmour Bt DSO TD JP DL MP for Glasgow Pollok (1876–1940) | 25 August 1931 | 28 September 1932 | Conservative | National I (N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N.–Lib.) |
| The Right Honourable Sir John Gilmour Bt DSO TD JP DL MP for Glasgow Pollok (1876–1940) | 25 August 1931 | 28 September 1932 | Conservative | National II (N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N.–Lib.) |
| The Right Honourable Walter Elliot MC FRSE MP for Glasgow Kelvingrove (1888–1958) | 28 September 1932 | 29 October 1936 | Conservative | National II (N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N.–Lib.) |
| The Right Honourable Walter Elliot MC FRSE MP for Glasgow Kelvingrove (1888–1958) | 28 September 1932 | 29 October 1936 | Conservative | National III (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) |
| The Right Honourable William Morrison MC QC MP for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (1893–1961) | 29 October 1936 | 29 January 1939 | Conservative | National III (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) |
| The Right Honourable William Morrison MC QC MP for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (1893–1961) | 29 October 1936 | 29 January 1939 | Conservative | National IV (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) |
| The Right Honourable Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith GBE MP for Petersfield (1899–1977) | 29 January 1939 | 14 May 1940 | Conservative | National IV (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) |
| The Right Honourable Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith GBE MP for Petersfield (1899–1977) | 29 January 1939 | 14 May 1940 | Conservative | Chamberlain War (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) |
| The Right Honourable Robert Hudson CH MP for Southport (1886–1957) | 14 May 1940 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | Churchill War (All parties) |
| The Right Honourable Robert Hudson CH MP for Southport (1886–1957) | 14 May 1940 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | Churchill Caretaker (Con.–N.Lib.) |
| The Right Honourable Tom Williams MP for Don Valley (1888–1967) | 3 August 1945 | 26 October 1951 | Labour | Attlee (I & II) |
| The Right Honourable Sir Thomas Dugdale Bt TD MP for Richmond (1897–1977) | 31 October 1951 | 20 July 1954 | Conservative | Churchill III |
| The Right Honourable Derick Heathcoat-Amory TD MP for Tiverton (1899–1981) | 28 July 1954 | 18 October 1954 | Conservative | Churchill III |

### Ministers of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1954–2001)

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food :
| Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Party | Ministry |
| The Right Honourable Derick Heathcoat-Amory TD MP for Tiverton (1899–1981) | 18 October 1954 | 6 January 1958 | Conservative | Churchill III |
| The Right Honourable Derick Heathcoat-Amory TD MP for Tiverton (1899–1981) | 18 October 1954 | 6 January 1958 | Conservative | Eden |
| The Right Honourable Derick Heathcoat-Amory TD MP for Tiverton (1899–1981) | 18 October 1954 | 6 January 1958 | Conservative | Macmillan (I & II) |
| The Right Honourable John Hare OBE MP for Sudbury and Woodbridge (1911–1982) | 6 January 1958 | 27 July 1960 | Conservative | Macmillan (I & II) |
| The Right Honourable Christopher Soames CBE MP for Bedford (1920–1987) | 27 July 1960 | 16 October 1964 | Conservative | Macmillan (I & II) |
| The Right Honourable Christopher Soames CBE MP for Bedford (1920–1987) | 27 July 1960 | 16 October 1964 | Conservative | Douglas-Home |
| The Right Honourable Fred Peart MP for Workington (1914–1988) | 16 October 1964 | 6 April 1968 | Labour | Wilson (I & II) |
| The Right Honourable Cledwyn Hughes MP for Anglesey (1916–2001) | 6 April 1968 | 19 June 1970 | Labour | Wilson (I & II) |
| The Right Honourable Jim Prior MP for Lowestoft (1927–2016) | 20 June 1970 | 5 November 1972 | Conservative | Heath |
| The Right Honourable Joseph Godber MP for Grantham (1914–1980) | 5 November 1972 | 4 March 1974 | Conservative | Heath |
| The Right Honourable Fred Peart MP for Workington (1914–1988) | 5 March 1974 | 10 September 1976 | Labour | Wilson (III & IV) |
| The Right Honourable Fred Peart MP for Workington (1914–1988) | 5 March 1974 | 10 September 1976 | Labour | Callaghan |
| The Right Honourable John Silkin MP for Lewisham Deptford (1923–1987) | 10 September 1976 | 4 May 1979 | Labour | Callaghan |
| The Right Honourable Peter Walker MBE MP for Worcester (1932–2010) | 5 May 1979 | 11 June 1983 | Conservative | Thatcher I |
| The Right Honourable Michael Jopling MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale (1930–) | 11 June 1983 | 13 June 1987 | Conservative | Thatcher II |
| The Right Honourable John MacGregor OBE MP for South Norfolk (1937–) | 13 June 1987 | 24 July 1989 | Conservative | Thatcher III |
| The Right Honourable John Gummer MP for Suffolk Coastal (1939–) | 24 July 1989 | 27 May 1993 | Conservative | Thatcher III |
| The Right Honourable John Gummer MP for Suffolk Coastal (1939–) | 24 July 1989 | 27 May 1993 | Conservative | Major I |
| The Right Honourable John Gummer MP for Suffolk Coastal (1939–) | 24 July 1989 | 27 May 1993 | Conservative | Major II |
| The Right Honourable Gillian Shephard MP for South West Norfolk (1940–) | 27 May 1993 | 20 July 1994 | Conservative | Major II |
| The Right Honourable William Waldegrave MP for Bristol West (1946–) | 20 July 1994 | 5 July 1995 | Conservative | Major II |
| The Right Honourable Douglas Hogg QC MP for Grantham (1945–) | 5 July 1995 | 2 May 1997 | Conservative | Major II |
| The Right Honourable Jack Cunningham DL MP for Copeland (1939–) | 3 May 1997 | 27 July 1998 | Labour | Blair I |
| The Right Honourable Nick Brown MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend (1950–) | 27 July 1998 | 8 June 2001 | Labour | Blair I |
| The Right Honourable Margaret Beckett MP for Derby South (1943–) | 8 June 2001 | 27 March 2002 | Labour | Blair II |
From 2002 the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was dissolved and ministerial responsibility formerly transferred to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.