# Secretary of State for War

The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Office and was assisted by a parliamentary under-secretary of state for war, a parliamentary private secretary who was also a member of parliament (MP), and a military Secretary, who was a general.

## History

The position of secretary of state for war was first held by Henry Dundas who was appointed in 1794. In 1801, the post became that of secretary of state for war and the colonies. The position of secretary of state for war was re-instated in 1854 when the secretary of state for the colonies was created as a separate position.
In the nineteenth century, the post was twice held by future prime minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman. At the outset of the First World War, prime minister H. H. Asquith was filling the role, but he quickly appointed Lord Kitchener, who became famous while in this position for Lord Kitchener Wants You. He was replaced by David Lloyd George, who went on to become prime minister. Between the World Wars, the post was held by future prime minister Winston Churchill for two years.
In 1946, the three posts of secretary of state for war, first lord of the admiralty, and secretary of state for air became formally subordinated to that of minister of defence, which had itself been created in 1940 for the co-ordination of defence and security issues.
In the 1960s, John Profumo held this post at the time of the Profumo affair.
On 1 April 1964, with the creation of a new united Ministry of Defence headed by the secretary of state for defence, the three service ministries as well as the post of minister of defence as created in 1940 were abolished.

## List of secretaries of state
### Secretary of State for War, 1794–1801

| Secretary | Secretary | Secretary | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| | | Henry Dundas (also President of the Board of Control) | 11 July 1794 | 17 March 1801 | Tory | | William Pitt the Younger |
For 1801–1854 see Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.

### Secretaries of state for war, 1854–1964

| Portrait | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Prime Minister | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle | 12 June 1854 | 30 January 1855 | Peelite | | George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (Coalition) | George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (Coalition) |
| Fox Maule-Ramsay, 2nd Baron Panmure | 8 February 1855 | 21 February 1858 | Whig | | Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby | Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby |
| Jonathan Peel | 26 February 1858 | 11 June 1859 | Conservative | | Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby | Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby |
| Sidney Herbert | 18 June 1859 | 22 July 1861 | Liberal | | Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston | Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston |
| Sir George Cornewall Lewis, 2nd Baronet | 23 July 1861 | 13 April 1863 | Liberal | | Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston | Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston |
| George Robinson, 3rd Earl de Grey and 2nd Earl of Ripon | 28 April 1863 | 16 February 1866 | Liberal | | Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston | Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston |
| George Robinson, 3rd Earl de Grey and 2nd Earl of Ripon | 28 April 1863 | 16 February 1866 | Liberal | | John Russell, 1st Earl Russell | John Russell, 1st Earl Russell |
| Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington | 16 February 1866 | 26 June 1866 | Liberal | | John Russell, 1st Earl Russell | John Russell, 1st Earl Russell |
| Jonathan Peel | 6 July 1866 | 8 March 1867 | Conservative | | 14th Earl of Derby | 14th Earl of Derby |
| John Pakington, 1st Baron Hampton | 8 March 1867 | 1 December 1868 | Conservative | | 14th Earl of Derby | 14th Earl of Derby |
| John Pakington, 1st Baron Hampton | 8 March 1867 | 1 December 1868 | Conservative | | Benjamin Disraeli | Benjamin Disraeli |
| Edward Cardwell | 9 December 1868 | 17 February 1874 | Liberal | | William Ewart Gladstone | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Gathorne Hardy | 21 February 1874 | 2 April 1878 | Conservative | | Benjamin Disraeli | Benjamin Disraeli |
| Frederick Stanley | 2 April 1878 | 21 April 1880 | Conservative | | Benjamin Disraeli | Benjamin Disraeli |
| Hugh Childers | 28 April 1880 | 16 December 1882 | Liberal | | William Ewart Gladstone | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington | 16 December 1882 | 9 June 1885 | Liberal | | William Ewart Gladstone | William Ewart Gladstone |
| W. H. Smith | 24 June 1885 | 21 January 1886 | Conservative | | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury |
| Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook | 21 January 1886 | 6 February 1886 | Conservative | | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury |
| Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 6 February 1886 | 20 July 1886 | Liberal | | William Ewart Gladstone | William Ewart Gladstone |
| W. H. Smith | 3 August 1886 | 14 January 1887 | Conservative | | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury |
| Edward Stanhope | 14 January 1887 | 11 August 1892 | Conservative | | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury |
| Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 18 August 1892 | 21 June 1895 | Liberal | | William Ewart Gladstone | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 18 August 1892 | 21 June 1895 | Liberal | | Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery | Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery |
| Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne | 4 July 1895 | 12 November 1900 | Liberal Unionist | | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Unionist Coalition) | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Unionist Coalition) |
| St John Brodrick | 12 November 1900 | 6 October 1903 | Irish Unionist | | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Unionist Coalition) | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Unionist Coalition) |
| St John Brodrick | 12 November 1900 | 6 October 1903 | Irish Unionist | | Arthur Balfour (Unionist Coalition) | Arthur Balfour (Unionist Coalition) |
| H. O. Arnold-Forster | 6 October 1903 | 4 December 1905 | Liberal Unionist | | Arthur Balfour (Unionist Coalition) | Arthur Balfour (Unionist Coalition) |
| Richard Haldane (Viscount Haldane from 1911) | 10 December 1905 | 12 June 1912 | Liberal | | Henry Campbell-Bannerman | Henry Campbell-Bannerman |
| Richard Haldane (Viscount Haldane from 1911) | 10 December 1905 | 12 June 1912 | Liberal | | H. H. Asquith | H. H. Asquith |
| J. E. B. Seely | 12 June 1912 | 30 March 1914 | Liberal | | H. H. Asquith | H. H. Asquith |
| H. H. Asquith (while Prime Minister) | 30 March 1914 | 5 August 1914 | Liberal | | H. H. Asquith | H. H. Asquith |
| Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener | 5 August 1914 | 5 June 1916 | none | | H. H. Asquith | H. H. Asquith |
| Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener | 5 August 1914 | 5 June 1916 | none | | H. H. Asquith (Coalition) | H. H. Asquith (Coalition) |
| David Lloyd George | 6 July 1916 | 5 December 1916 | Liberal | | H. H. Asquith (Coalition) | H. H. Asquith (Coalition) |
| Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby | 10 December 1916 | 18 April 1918 | Conservative | | David Lloyd George (Coalition) | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner | 18 April 1918 | 10 January 1919 | Conservative | | David Lloyd George (Coalition) | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| Winston Churchill | 10 January 1919 | 13 February 1921 | Liberal | | David Lloyd George (Coalition) | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| Laming Worthington-Evans | 13 February 1921 | 19 October 1922 | Conservative | | David Lloyd George (Coalition) | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby | 24 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | | Bonar Law | Bonar Law |
| Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby | 24 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | | Stanley Baldwin | Stanley Baldwin |
| Stephen Walsh | 22 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 | Labour | | Ramsay MacDonald | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Laming Worthington-Evans | 6 November 1924 | 4 June 1929 | Conservative | | Stanley Baldwin | Stanley Baldwin |
| Thomas Shaw | 7 June 1929 | 24 August 1931 | Labour | | Ramsay MacDonald | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe | 25 August 1931 | 5 November 1931 | Liberal | | Ramsay MacDonald (1st National Min.) | Ramsay MacDonald (1st National Min.) |
| Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham | 5 November 1931 | 7 June 1935 | Conservative | | Ramsay MacDonald (2nd National Min.) | Ramsay MacDonald (2nd National Min.) |
| E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax | 7 June 1935 | 22 November 1935 | Conservative | | Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.) | Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.) |
| Duff Cooper | 22 November 1935 | 28 May 1937 | Conservative | | Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.) | Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.) |
| Leslie Hore-Belisha | 28 May 1937 | 5 January 1940 | National Liberal | | Neville Chamberlain (4th National Min.; War Coalition) | Neville Chamberlain (4th National Min.; War Coalition) |
| Oliver Stanley | 5 January 1940 | 11 May 1940 | Conservative | | Neville Chamberlain (4th National Min.; War Coalition) | Neville Chamberlain (4th National Min.; War Coalition) |
| Anthony Eden | 11 May 1940 | 22 December 1940 | Conservative | P.M. | P.M. | Min.Defence |
| Anthony Eden | 11 May 1940 | 22 December 1940 | Conservative | | Winston Churchill (War Coalition) | Winston Churchill (War Coalition) |
| David Margesson | 22 December 1940 | 22 February 1942 | Conservative | | Winston Churchill (War Coalition) | Winston Churchill (War Coalition) |
| P. J. Grigg | 22 February 1942 | 26 July 1945 | National | | Winston Churchill (War Coalition) | Winston Churchill (War Coalition) |
| Jack Lawson | 3 August 1945 | 4 October 1946 | Labour | | Attlee | Attlee |
| Frederick Bellenger | 4 October 1946 | 7 October 1947 | Labour | | Attlee | A.V. Alexander |
| Emanuel Shinwell | 7 October 1947 | 28 February 1950 | Labour | | Attlee | A.V. Alexander |
| John Strachey | 28 February 1950 | 26 October 1951 | Labour | | Attlee | Shinwell |
| Antony Head | 31 October 1951 | 18 October 1956 | Conservative | | Churchill | Churchill |
| Antony Head | 31 October 1951 | 18 October 1956 | Conservative | | Churchill | H. Alexander |
| Antony Head | 31 October 1951 | 18 October 1956 | Conservative | | Churchill | Macmillan |
| Antony Head | 31 October 1951 | 18 October 1956 | Conservative | | Eden | Lloyd |
| Antony Head | 31 October 1951 | 18 October 1956 | Conservative | | Eden | Monckton |
| John Hare | 18 October 1956 | 6 January 1958 | Conservative | | Eden | Head |
| John Hare | 18 October 1956 | 6 January 1958 | Conservative | | Macmillan | Sandys |
| Christopher Soames | 6 January 1958 | 27 July 1960 | Conservative | | Macmillan | Sandys |
| Christopher Soames | 6 January 1958 | 27 July 1960 | Conservative | | Macmillan | Watkinson |
| John Profumo | 27 July 1960 | 5 June 1963 | Conservative | | Macmillan | Watkinson |
| John Profumo | 27 July 1960 | 5 June 1963 | Conservative | | Macmillan | Thorneycroft |
| Joseph Godber | 27 June 1963 | 21 October 1963 | Conservative | | Macmillan | Thorneycroft |
| James Ramsden | 21 October 1963 | 1 April 1964 | Conservative | | Douglas-Home | Thorneycroft |