Secretary of State for the Home Department

Name 	Entered office 	Left office 	Party 	Notes
The Earl of Shelburne 	27 March 1782 	10 July 1782 	Whig 	
Thomas Townshend later The Lord Sydney 	10 July 1782 	2 April 1783 	Whig 	
Lord North 	2 April 1783 	19 December 1783 	Tory 	
The Earl Temple 	19 December 1783 	23 December 1783 	Pittite 	
The Lord Sydney 	23 December 1783 	5 June 1789 	Pittite/Tory 	
William Wyndham Grenville later The Lord Grenville 	5 June 1789 	8 June 1791 	Tory 	
Henry Dundas 	8 June 1791 	11 July 1794 	Tory 	
The Duke of Portland 	11 July 1794 	30 July 1801 	Portlandite Whig/Tory	
The Lord Pelham 	30 July 1801 	17 August 1803 	Tory 	
Charles Philip Yorke 	17 August 1803 	12 May 1804 	Tory 	
The Lord Hawkesbury 	12 May 1804 	5 February 1806 	Tory 	
The Earl Spencer 	5 February 1806 	25 March 1807 	Whig 	
The Lord Hawkesbury laterThe Earl of Liverpool 	25 March 1807 	1 November 1809 	Tory 	
Richard Ryder 	1 November 1809 	8 June 1812 	Tory 	
The Viscount Sidmouth 	11 June 1812 	17 January 1822 	Tory 	
Robert Peel 	17 January 1822 	10 April 1827 	Tory 	
William Sturges Bourne 	30 April 1827 	16 July 1827 	Tory 	
The Marquess of Lansdowne 	16 July 1827 	22 January 1828 	Whig 	
Robert Peel later Sir Robert Peel, Bt. 	26 January 1828 	22 November 1830 	Tory 	
The Viscount Melbourne 	22 November 1830 	16 July 1834 	Whig 	
Viscount Duncannon 	19 July 1834 	15 November 1834 	Whig 	
The Duke of Wellington 	15 November 1834 	15 December 1834 	Conservative 	Wellington served as caretaker Secretary of State
Henry Goulburn 	15 December 1834 	18 April 1835 	Conservative 	
Lord John Russell 	18 April 1835 	30 August 1839 	Whig 	
The Marquess of Normanby 	30 August 1839 	30 August 1841 	Whig 	
Sir James Robert George Graham, Bt. 	6 September 1841 	30 June 1846 	Conservative 	
Sir George Grey, Bt. 	6 July 1846 	23 February 1852 	Whig 	
Spencer Horatio Walpole 	27 February 1852 	19 December 1852 	Conservative 	
The Viscount Palmerston 	28 December 1852 	6 February 1855 	Whig 	
Sir George Grey, Bt. 	8 February 1855 	26 February 1858 	Whig 	
Spencer Walpole 	26 February 1858 	3 March 1859 	Conservative 	
Thomas Henry Sutton Sotheron Estcourt 	3 March 1859 	18 June 1859 	Conservative 	
Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Bt. 	18 June 1859 	25 July 1861 	Liberal 	
Sir George Grey, Bt. 	25 July 1861 	28 June 1866 	Liberal 	
Spencer Horatio Walpole 	6 July 1866 	17 May 1867 	Conservative 	
Gathorne Hardy 	17 May 1867 	3 December 1868 	Conservative 	
Henry Austin Bruce 	9 December 1868 	9 August 1873 	Liberal 	
Robert Lowe 	9 August 1873 	20 February 1874 	Liberal 	
Richard Assheton Cross 	21 February 1874 	23 April 1880 	Conservative 	
Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt	28 April 1880 	23 June 1885 	Liberal 	
Sir Richard Assheton Cross 	24 June 1885 	1 February 1886 	Conservative 	
Hugh Culling Eardley Childers 	6 February 1886 	25 July 1886 	Liberal 	
Henry Matthews 	3 August 1886 	15 August 1892 	Conservative 	
Herbert Henry Asquith 	18 August 1892 	25 June 1895 	Liberal 	
Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt. 	29 June 1895 	12 November 1900 	Conservative 	
Charles Thomson Ritchie 	12 November 1900 	12 July 1902 	Conservative/Unionist	
Aretas Akers-Douglas 	12 July 1902 	5 December 1905 	Unionist 	
Herbert John Gladstone 	11 December 1905 	19 February 1910 	Liberal 	
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill 	19 February 1910 	24 October 1911 	Liberal 	
Reginald McKenna 	24 October 1911 	27 May 1915 	Liberal 	
Sir John Allsebrook Simon 	27 May 1915 	12 January 1916 	Liberal 	
Herbert Louis Samuel 	12 January 1916 	7 December 1916 	Liberal 	
Sir George Cave later The Viscount Cave 	11 December 1916 	14 January 1919 	Unionist 	
Edward Shortt 	14 January 1919 	23 October 1922 	Liberal 	
William Clive Bridgeman 	25 October 1922 	22 January 1924 	Conservative 	
Arthur Henderson 	23 January 1924 	4 November 1924 	Labour 	
Sir William Joynson-Hicks 	7 November 1924 	5 June 1929 	Conservative 	
John Robert Clynes 	8 June 1929 	26 August 1931 	Labour 	
Sir Herbert Louis Samuel 	26 August 1931 	1 October 1932 	Liberal 	
Sir John Gilmour, Bt. 	1 October 1932 	7 June 1935 	Conservative 	
Sir John Allsebrook Simon 	7 June 1935 	28 May 1937 	National Liberal 	
Sir Samuel John Gurney Hoare, Bt. 	28 May 1937 	3 September 1939 	Conservative 	
Sir John Anderson 	4 September 1939 	4 October 1940 	Non-party 	
Herbert Stanley Morrison 	4 October 1940 	23 May 1945 	Labour 	
Sir Donald Bradley Somervell 	25 May 1945 	26 July 1945 	Conservative 	
James Chuter Ede 	3 August 1945 	26 October 1951 	Labour 	
Sir David Patrick Maxwell-Fyfe 	27 October 1951 	19 October 1954 	Conservative 	
Gwilym Lloyd George 	19 October 1954 	14 January 1957 	Conservative 	
Richard Austen Butler 	14 January 1957 	13 July 1962 	Conservative 	
Henry Brooke 	13 July 1962 	16 October 1964 	Conservative 	
Sir Frank Soskice 	18 October 1964 	23 December 1965 	Labour 	
Roy Harris Jenkins 	23 December 1965 	30 November 1967 	Labour 	
James Callaghan 	30 November 1967 	19 June 1970 	Labour 	
Reginald Maudling 	20 June 1970 	18 July 1972 	Conservative 	
Robert Carr 	18 July 1972 	5 March 1974 	Conservative 	
Roy Harris Jenkins 	5 March 1974 	10 September 1976	Labour 	
Merlyn Rees 	10 September 1976	4 May 1979 	Labour 	
William Whitelaw 	5 May 1979 	11 June 1983 	Conservative 	
Leon Brittan 	11 June 1983 	2 September 1985 	Conservative 	
Douglas Hurd 	2 September 1985 	26 October 1989 	Conservative 	
David Waddington 	26 October 1989 	28 November 1990 	Conservative 	
Kenneth Baker 	28 November 1990 	10 April 1992 	Conservative 	
Kenneth Clarke 	10 April 1992 	27 May 1993 	Conservative 	
Michael Howard 	27 May 1993 	2 May 1997 	Conservative 	
Jack Straw 	2 May 1997 	8 June 2001 	Labour 	
David Blunkett 	8 June 2001 	15 December 2004 	Labour 	
Charles Clarke 	15 December 2004 	5 May 2006 	Labour 	
John Reid 	5 May 2006 	27 June 2007 	Labour 	
Jacqui Smith 	28 June 2007 	5 June 2009 	Labour 	
Alan Johnson 	5 June 2009 	11 May 2010 	Labour 	
Theresa May 	11 May 2010 	 	Conservative