# Secretary of State for the Colonies

The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire.
The colonial secretary never had responsibility for the provinces and princely states of India, which had its own secretary of state.
From 1768 until 1966, the secretary of state was supported by an under-secretary of state for the colonies (at times an under-secretary of state for war and the colonies), and latterly by a minister of state.

## History

Colonial responsibilities were previously held jointly by the lords of trade and plantations (board) and the secretary of state for the Southern Department, who was responsible for Ireland, the American colonies, and relations with the Catholic and Muslim states of Europe, as well as being jointly responsible for domestic affairs with the Secretary of State for the Northern Department.

### Colonial Secretary 1768–1782

The Colonial Secretary position was first created in 1768 to deal with the increasingly troublesome North American colonies, following passage of the Townsend Acts. Joint responsibility between the secretary and board first continued at this time, but subsequent diminution of the board's status led it to became an adjunct to the new secretary's department.
Following the loss of the American colonies, both the board and the short-lived secretaryship were dismissed by the king on 2 May 1782; both were abolished later by the Civil List and Secret Service Money Act 1782 (22 Geo. 3, c 82). Following this, colonial duties were given to the Home Secretary, then Lord Sydney.

### 1782–1854

Responsibility for the Colonies in the years between 1782 and 1854 included:
* Home Secretary 1782–1801
* Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1801–1854
* Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1854
Following the Treaty of Paris 1783, a new board, named the Committee of Council on Trade and Plantations (later known as 'the First Committee') was established under William Pitt the Younger, by an Order in Council in 1784. In 1794, a new office was created for Henry Dundas – the secretary of state for war, which now took responsibility for the Colonies. The office was renamed the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1801.

### 1854–present

In 1854, military reforms led to the colonial and military responsibilities of this secretary of state being split into two separate offices, with Sir George Grey becoming the first secretary of state for the colonies under the new arrangement.
In the latter part of the nineteenth century, Britain gained control over a number of territories with the status of "protectorate". The ministerial responsibility for these territories was initially held by the Foreign Secretary.
By the early years of the twentieth century the responsibility for each of the protectorate territories had been transferred to the colonial secretary as well. The League of Nations mandated territories acquired as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 became a further responsibility of the Colonial Office in the aftermath of the First World War.
In 1925, part of the Colonial Office was separated out as the Dominions Office, with its own secretary of state. The new office was responsible for dealing with the Dominions together with a small number of other territories (most notably Southern Rhodesia).
In the twenty years following the end of the Second World War, much of the British Empire was dismantled as its various territories gained independence. In consequence, the Colonial Office was merged in 1966 with the Commonwealth Relations Office (which until 1947 had been the Dominions Office) to form the Commonwealth Office, while ministerial responsibility was transferred to the secretary of state for Commonwealth affairs (previously known as the secretary of state for Commonwealth relations). In 1968, the Commonwealth Office was subsumed into the Foreign Office, which was renamed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

## List of secretaries of state for the colonies
### Secretaries of State for the Colonies (1768–1782)

Sometimes referred to as Secretary of State for the American Colonies.
Secretary of State for the Colonies :
| Secretary | Term of office | Term of office | Ministry | Monarch (Reign) |
| Wills Hill 1st Earl of Hillsborough | 27 February 1768 | 27 August 1772 | Grafton | George III (1760–1820) |
| Wills Hill 1st Earl of Hillsborough | 27 February 1768 | 27 August 1772 | North | George III (1760–1820) |
| William Legge 2nd Earl of Dartmouth | 27 August 1772 | 10 November 1775 | North | George III (1760–1820) |
| Lord George Germain MP for East Grinstead | 10 November 1775 | February 1782 | North | George III (1760–1820) |
| Welbore Ellis MP for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis | February 1782 | 8 March 1782 | North | George III (1760–1820) |
Office abolished in 1782 after the loss of the American Colonies.

### Secretaries of State for the Colonies (1854–1966)

| Secretary of State for the Colonies | Term of office | Term of office | Party | Ministry | Monarch (Reign) |
| Sir George Grey, Bt. MP for Morpeth | 12 June 1854 | 8 February 1855 | Whig | Aberdeen (Peelite–Whig) | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Sidney Herbert MP for South Wiltshire | 8 February 1855 | 23 February 1855 | Whig | Palmerston I | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Lord John Russell MP for City of London | 23 February 1855 | 21 July 1855 | Whig | Palmerston I | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Sir William Molesworth, Bt. MP for Southwark | 21 July 1855 | 21 November 1855 | Radical | Palmerston I | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Henry Labouchere MP for Taunton | 21 November 1855 | 21 February 1858 | Whig | Palmerston I | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Edward Stanley Lord Stanley MP for King's Lynn | 26 February 1858 | 5 June 1858 | Conservative | Derby–Disraeli II | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton MP for Hertfordshire | 5 June 1858 | 11 June 1859 | Conservative | Derby–Disraeli II | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Henry Pelham-Clinton 5th Duke of Newcastle (1811–1864) | 18 June 1859 | 7 April 1864 | Liberal | Palmerston II | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Edward Cardwell MP for Oxford | 7 April 1864 | 26 June 1866 | Liberal | Palmerston II | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Edward Cardwell MP for Oxford | 7 April 1864 | 26 June 1866 | Liberal | Russell II | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Henry Herbert 4th Earl of Carnarvon (1831–1890) | 6 July 1866 | 8 March 1867 | Conservative | Derby–Disraeli III | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Richard Temple-Grenville 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (1823–1889) | 8 March 1867 | 1 December 1868 | Conservative | Derby–Disraeli III | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville (1815–1891) | 9 December 1868 | 6 July 1870 | Liberal | Gladstone I | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| John Wodehouse 1st Earl of Kimberley (1826–1902) | 6 July 1870 | 17 February 1874 | Liberal | Gladstone I | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Henry Herbert 4th Earl of Carnarvon | 21 February 1874 | 4 February 1878 | Conservative | Disraeli II | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt. MP for Gloucestershire East | 4 February 1878 | 21 April 1880 | Conservative | Disraeli II | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| John Wodehouse 1st Earl of Kimberley (1826–1902) | 21 April 1880 | 16 December 1882 | Liberal | Gladstone II | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Edward Stanley 15th Earl of Derby (1826–1893) | 16 December 1882 | 9 June 1885 | Liberal | Gladstone II | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Frederick Stanley MP for Blackpool | 24 June 1885 | 28 January 1886 | Conservative | Salisbury I | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville (1815–1891) | 6 February 1886 | 20 July 1886 | Liberal | Gladstone III | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Edward Stanhope MP for Horncastle | 3 August 1886 | 14 January 1887 | Conservative | Salisbury II | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Henry Holland 1st Baron Knutsford | 14 January 1887 | 11 August 1892 | Conservative | Salisbury II | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| George Robinson 1st Marquess of Ripon (1827–1909) | 18 August 1892 | 21 June 1895 | Liberal | Gladstone IV | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| George Robinson 1st Marquess of Ripon (1827–1909) | 18 August 1892 | 21 June 1895 | Liberal | Rosebery | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Joseph Chamberlain MP for Birmingham West | 29 June 1895 | 16 September 1903 | Liberal Unionist | Salisbury (III & IV) (Con.–Lib.U.) | Victoria (1837–1901) |
| Joseph Chamberlain MP for Birmingham West | 29 June 1895 | 16 September 1903 | Liberal Unionist | Salisbury (III & IV) (Con.–Lib.U.) | Edward VII (1901–1910) |
| Joseph Chamberlain MP for Birmingham West | 29 June 1895 | 16 September 1903 | Liberal Unionist | Balfour (Con.–Lib.U.) | Edward VII (1901–1910) |
| Alfred Lyttelton MP for Warwick and Leamington | 11 October 1903 | 4 December 1905 | Liberal Unionist | Balfour (Con.–Lib.U.) | Edward VII (1901–1910) |
| Victor Bruce 9th Earl of Elgin (1849–1917) | 10 December 1905 | 12 April 1908 | Liberal | Campbell-Bannerman | Edward VII (1901–1910) |
| Robert Crewe-Milnes 1st Marquess of Crewe (1858–1945) | 12 April 1908 | 3 November 1910 | Liberal | Asquith (I–III) | Edward VII (1901–1910) |
| Robert Crewe-Milnes 1st Marquess of Crewe (1858–1945) | 12 April 1908 | 3 November 1910 | Liberal | Asquith (I–III) | George V (1910–1936) |
| Lewis Vernon Harcourt MP for Rossendale | 3 November 1910 | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | Asquith (I–III) | George V (1910–1936) |
| Bonar Law MP for Bootle | 25 May 1915 | 10 December 1916 | Conservative | Asquith Coalition (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) | George V (1910–1936) |
| Walter Long MP for Westminster St George's (1854–1924) | 10 December 1916 | 10 January 1919 | Conservative | Lloyd George (I & II) (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) | George V (1910–1936) |
| Alfred Milner 1st Viscount Milner (1854–1925) | 10 January 1919 | 13 February 1921 | Liberal | Lloyd George (I & II) (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) | George V (1910–1936) |
| Winston Churchill MP for Dundee | 13 February 1921 | 19 October 1922 | Liberal | Lloyd George (I & II) (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) | George V (1910–1936) |
| Victor Cavendish 9th Duke of Devonshire (1868–1938) | 24 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | Law | George V (1910–1936) |
| Victor Cavendish 9th Duke of Devonshire (1868–1938) | 24 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | Baldwin I | George V (1910–1936) |
| James Henry Thomas MP for Derby | 22 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 | Labour | MacDonald I | George V (1910–1936) |
| Leo Amery MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook | 6 November 1924 | 4 June 1929 | Conservative | Baldwin II | George V (1910–1936) |
| Sidney Webb 1st Baron Passfield (1859–1947) | 7 June 1929 | 24 August 1931 | Labour | MacDonald II | George V (1910–1936) |
| James Henry Thomas MP for Derby | 25 August 1931 | 5 November 1931 | National Labour | National I (N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N.–Lib.) | George V (1910–1936) |
| Philip Cunliffe-Lister MP for Hendon | 5 November 1931 | 7 June 1935 | Conservative | National II (N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N.–Lib.) | George V (1910–1936) |
| Malcolm MacDonald MP for Bassetlaw | 7 June 1935 | 22 November 1935 | National Labour | National III (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) | George V (1910–1936) |
| James Henry Thomas MP for Derby | 22 November 1935 | 22 May 1936 | National Labour | National III (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) | George V (1910–1936) |
| James Henry Thomas MP for Derby | 22 November 1935 | 22 May 1936 | National Labour | National III (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) | Edward VIII (1936) |
| William Ormsby-Gore MP for Stafford | 28 May 1936 | 16 May 1938 | Conservative | National III (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) | Edward VIII (1936) |
| William Ormsby-Gore MP for Stafford | 28 May 1936 | 16 May 1938 | Conservative | National III (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) | George VI (1936–1952) |
| William Ormsby-Gore MP for Stafford | 28 May 1936 | 16 May 1938 | Conservative | National IV (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) | George VI (1936–1952) |
| Malcolm MacDonald MP for Ross and Cromarty | 16 May 1938 | 12 May 1940 | National Labour | National IV (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) | George VI (1936–1952) |
| Malcolm MacDonald MP for Ross and Cromarty | 16 May 1938 | 12 May 1940 | National Labour | Chamberlain War (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) | George VI (1936–1952) |
| George Lloyd 1st Baron Lloyd (1879–1941) | 12 May 1940 | 4 February 1941 | Conservative | Churchill War (All parties) | George VI (1936–1952) |
| Walter Guinness 1st Baron Moyne (1880–1944) | 8 February 1941 | 22 February 1942 | Conservative | Churchill War (All parties) | George VI (1936–1952) |
| Robert Gascoyne-Cecil Viscount Cranborne MP for South Dorset | 22 February 1942 | 22 November 1942 | Conservative | Churchill War (All parties) | George VI (1936–1952) |
| Oliver Stanley MP for Westmorland | 22 November 1942 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | Churchill War (All parties) | George VI (1936–1952) |
| Oliver Stanley MP for Westmorland | 22 November 1942 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | Churchill Caretaker (Con.–N.Lib.) | George VI (1936–1952) |
| George Henry Hall MP for Aberdare | 3 August 1945 | 4 October 1946 | Labour | Attlee (I & II) | George VI (1936–1952) |
| Arthur Creech Jones MP for Shipley | 4 October 1946 | 28 February 1950 | Labour | Attlee (I & II) | George VI (1936–1952) |
| Jim Griffiths MP for Llanelli | 28 February 1950 | 26 October 1951 | Labour | Attlee (I & II) | George VI (1936–1952) |
| Oliver Lyttelton MP for Aldershot | 28 October 1951 | 28 July 1954 | Conservative | Churchill III | George VI (1936–1952) |
| Oliver Lyttelton MP for Aldershot | 28 October 1951 | 28 July 1954 | Conservative | Churchill III | Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
| Alan Lennox-Boyd MP for Mid Bedfordshire | 28 July 1954 | 14 October 1959 | Conservative | Churchill III | Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
| Alan Lennox-Boyd MP for Mid Bedfordshire | 28 July 1954 | 14 October 1959 | Conservative | Eden | Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
| Alan Lennox-Boyd MP for Mid Bedfordshire | 28 July 1954 | 14 October 1959 | Conservative | Macmillan (I & II) | Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
| Iain Macleod MP for Enfield West | 14 October 1959 | 9 October 1961 | Conservative | Macmillan (I & II) | Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
| Reginald Maudling MP for Barnet | 9 October 1961 | 13 July 1962 | Conservative | Macmillan (I & II) | Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
| Duncan Sandys MP for Streatham | 13 July 1962 | 16 October 1964 | Conservative | Macmillan (I & II) | Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
| Duncan Sandys MP for Streatham | 13 July 1962 | 16 October 1964 | Conservative | Douglas-Home | Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
| Anthony Greenwood MP for Rossendale | 18 October 1964 | 23 December 1965 | Labour | Wilson (I & II) | Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
| Frank Pakenham 7th Earl of Longford (1905–2001) | 23 December 1965 | 6 April 1966 | Labour | Wilson (I & II) | Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
| Frederick Lee MP for Newton | 6 April 1966 | 1 August 1966 | Labour | Wilson (I & II) | Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
Responsibility for the colonies held by:
* Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs 1966–1968
* Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 1968–present
Following the British Nationality Act 1981, the term "colony" ceased to be used; Britain's rule over Hong Kong, the last significant colony, ceased in 1997. Britain retains certain overseas territories.

#### Notes

* ↑ MP for Strand until 1918; thereafter MP for Westminster St George's.

## Secretaries from the Colonies

A few title holders were born in colonies under their portfolio and some beyond:
* Bonar Law – born in pre-Canada colony of New Brunswick and later moved to the United Kingdom
* Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin – born in Canada during his father's, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, term as Governor General of Canada and a British appointee
* Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner – born in Grand Duchy of Hesse (now in Germany) to Charles Milner (who had English roots from his father)
* Leo Amery – born in British India to an English father serving in India