Chief Secretary for Ireland

File:Chiefsecoffice.jpg

The Chief Secretary's office in Dublin Castle.
The Chief Secretary's residence was the Chief Secretary's Lodge in the Phoenix Park, next to the Viceregal Lodge.

The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant",<ref>The National Archives. "Irish administration". Template:Webarchive Last retrieved 12 November 2015.</ref> from the early 19th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland, roughly equivalent to the role of a Secretary of State, such as the similar role of Secretary of State for Scotland. Usually it was the Chief Secretary, rather than the Lord Lieutenant, who sat in the British Cabinet.<ref name="Quinlan">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Chief Secretary was ex officio President of the Local Government Board for Ireland from its creation in 1872.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

British rule over much of Ireland came to an end as the result of the Irish War of Independence, which culminated in the establishment of the Irish Free State. In consequence the office of Chief Secretary was abolished, as well as that of Lord Lieutenant. Executive responsibility within the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland was effectively transferred to the President of the Executive Council (i.e. the prime minister) and the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland respectively.

History of the office

File:Chief Secretary's Lodge now Deerfield, Phoenix Park, Dublin. - Flickr - National Library of Ireland on The Commons.jpg

Chief Sectretary's Lodge, Phoenix Park, now the Deerfield Residence of the U.S. Ambassador

The dominant position of the Lord Lieutenant at Dublin Castle had been central to the British administration of the Kingdom of Ireland for much of its history. Poynings' Law in particular meant that the Parliament of Ireland lacked an independent power of legislation, and the Crown kept control of executive authority in the hands of the Lord Lieutenant and its own appointees, rather than in the hands of ministers responsible to the Irish parliament.

In 1560, Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland ordered the Lord Lieutenant, the Earl of Sussex, to appoint John Challoner of Dublin as Secretary of State for Ireland "because at this present there is none appointed to be Clerk of our Council there, and considering how more meet it were, that in our realm there were for our honour one to be our Secretary there for the affairs of our Realm".<ref>Herbert Wood, The Offices of Secretary of State for Ireland and Keeper of the Royal Privy Seal, in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section C: Archaeology, Celtic Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature (1928), p. 51</ref> The appointment of a Secretary was intended to both improve Irish administration, and to keep the Lord Lieutenant in line.Template:Citation needed The role of Secretary of State for Ireland and Chief Secretary of Ireland were originally distinct positions, Thomas Pelham being the first individual appointed to both offices concurrently in 1796.<ref>Herbert Wood, The Offices of Secretary of State for Ireland and Keeper of the Royal Privy Seal, in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section C: Archaeology, Celtic Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature (1928), p. 55</ref>

Over time, the post of Chief Secretary gradually increased in importance, particularly because of his role as manager of legislative business for the Government in the Irish House of Commons, in which he sat as an MP. While the Irish administration was not responsible to the parliament, it nevertheless needed to manage and influence it in order to ensure the passage of legislation.

Chief Secretary Viscount Castlereagh played a key role in the enactment of the Act of Union which passed in the Irish Parliament on its second attempt in 1800 through the exercise of patronage and direct bribery.Template:Citation needed Upon the Union on 1 January 1801, the Kingdom of Ireland was merged into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Irish parliament ceased to exist. However, the existing system of administration in Ireland continued broadly in place, with the offices of Lord Lieutenant and Chief Secretary retaining their respective roles.

The last Chief Secretary to represent an Irish constituency while in office was Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue, MP for County Louth, who served from 1868 to 1871.

The last Chief Secretary was Sir Hamar Greenwood, who left office in October 1922. The Irish Free State, comprising the greater part of Ireland, would become independent on 6 December 1922. In Northern Ireland, a new Government of Northern Ireland was established, with a Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. This government was suspended in 1972, and the position of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was created as a position in the British cabinet.

List of chief secretaries for Ireland

This list includes holders of a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually it was the Chief Secretary, rather than the Lord Lieutenant, who sat in the British Cabinet.<ref name="Quinlan" /> Exceptions were the periods from 29 June 1895 to 8 August 1902, when the Lord Lieutenant Lord Cadogan sat in the Cabinet and the Chief Secretaries Gerald Balfour until 9 November 1900 did not sit there and George Wyndham from that date also sat there,<ref>Chris Cook and Brendan Keith, British Historical Facts 1830–1900, Macmillan, 1975, pages 45–46</ref> and from 28 October 1918 to 2 April 1921, when both the Lord Lieutenant Lord French and the Chief Secretaries Edward Shortt, Ian Macpherson and Sir Hamar Greenwood sat in the Cabinet.<ref>British Political Facts 1900–1994, by David Butler and Gareth Butler (Macmillan Press, 7th edition 1994) Page7.</ref>

Kingdom of Ireland

1566–1660
Name	Portrait	Term of office		Served under
Edward Waterhouse<ref name=EW>Handbook of British Chronology calls him 'Sir Edward Waterhouse', but he was not knighted until 1584</ref>	File:No image.svg	20 January 1566	9 October 1567	Sir Henry Sidney
Edward Waterhouse (second time)<ref name=EW/>	File:No image.svg	28 October 1568		Sir Henry Sidney
Edmund Tremayne	File:No image.svg	15 July 1569	31 March 1571	Sir Henry Sidney
Philip Williams	File:No image.svg	post March 1571	17 September 1575	Sir William Fitzwilliam
Edmund Molyneux	File:No image.svg	18 September 1575		Sir Henry Sidney
Edmund Spenser	File:Edmund Spenser oil painting.JPG	7 September 1580	30 August 1582	The Lord Grey de Wilton
Philip Williams	File:No image.svg	21 June 1584	10 August 1594	Sir John Perrot Sir William FitzWilliam
Richard Cooke<ref>Handbook of British Chronology calls him 'Sir Richard Cooke', but he was not knighted until 1603 – see History of Parliament – Member Biographies Template:Webarchive</ref>	File:No image.svg	11 August 1594	21 May 1597	Sir William Russell
Philip Williams	File:No image.svg	22 May 1597	13 October 1597	The Lord Burgh
Henry Wotton	File:SirHenryWotton.jpg	15 April 1599	4 September 1599	The Earl of Essex
Francis Mitchell	File:No image.svg	28 February 1600	March 1600	The Lord Mountjoy
George Cranmer	File:No image.svg	March 1600	Died 16 July 1600	The Lord Mountjoy
Fynes Moryson	File:No image.svg	14 November 1600	31 May 1603	The Lord Mountjoy
John Bingley	File:No image.svg	1 June 1603	2 February 1605	Sir George Carey
Henry Piers	File:No image.svg	3 February 1605	10 February 1616	Sir Arthur Chichester
Henry Holcroft<ref>knighted 1 May 1622 – see History of Parliament – Member Biographies Template:Webarchive</ref>	File:No image.svg	30 August 1616	3 May 1622	Sir Oliver St John
Sir John Veele	File:No image.svg	8 September 1622	25 October 1629	The Viscount Falkland
George Lane	File:No image.svg	21 January 1644	April 1646	The Marquess of Ormonde
1660–1701
Name	Portrait	Term of office		Served under
Matthew Locke	File:No image.svg	1660	1660	The Lord Robartes
Sir Thomas Page	File:No image.svg	1662	1669	The Duke of Ormonde: The Earl of Ossory
Henry Ford	File:No image.svg	1669	1670	The Lord Robartes
Sir Ellis Leighton	File:No image.svg	1670	1672	The Lord Berkeley of Stratton
Sir Henry Ford	File:No image.svg	1672	1673	The Earl of Essex
William Harbord	File:No image.svg	1673	1676	The Earl of Essex
Sir Cyril Wyche	File:Sir Cyril Wyche (c.1632–1707).jpg	1677	1682	The Duke of Ormonde
Sir William Ellis	File:No image.svg	1682	1685	The Duke of Ormonde
Sir Paul Rycaut	File:Sir Paul Rycaut by Sir Peter Lely.jpg	1686	1687	The Earl of Clarendon
Thomas Sheridan	File:No image.svg	1687	1688<ref>'removed from his offices on 20 January 1688' John Miller, ‘Sheridan, Thomas (1646–1712)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oct 2006, accessed 3 Aug 2014 Template:Webarchive</ref>	The Earl of Tyrconnell
Bishop Patrick Tyrrell	File:No image.svg	1688	1689	The Earl of Tyrconnell
John Davis	File:No image.svg	1690	1692
Sir Cyril Wyche	File:Sir Cyril Wyche by Unknown artist.jpg	1692	1693<ref>'Following Sidney's removal as lord lieutenant in 1693 Wyche was appointed one of three lords justices to take over the chief governorship of Ireland.'C. I. McGrath, ‘Wyche, Sir Cyril (c.1632–1707)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 3 Aug 2014 Template:Webarchive</ref>	The Viscount Sydney
Sir Richard Aldworth	File:No image.svg	1693	1696	The Lord Capell
William Palmer	File:No image.svg	1696	1697
Matthew Prior	File:Matthew Prior by Thomas Hudson.jpg	1697	1699
Humphrey May	File:No image.svg	1699	1701
1701–1750
Name	Portrait	Term of office		Served under
Francis Gwyn	File:No image.svg	1701	1703	The Earl of Rochester
Edward Southwell	File:Edward Southwell.jpg	1703	1707	The Duke of Ormonde
George Dodington	File:No image.svg	1707	1708	The Earl of Pembroke
Joseph Addison	File:Joseph Addison by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg	1708	1710	The Earl of Wharton
Edward Southwell	File:Edward Southwell.jpg	1710	1713	The Duke of Ormonde
Sir John Stanley, Bt	File:No image.svg	1713	1714	The Duke of Shrewsbury
Joseph Addison	File:Joseph Addison by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg	1714	1715	The Earl of Sunderland
Martin Bladen and Charles Delafaye	File:No image.svg	1715	1717
Edward Webster	File:No image.svg	1717	1720	The Duke of Bolton
Horatio Walpole	File:Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton by Christian Friedrich Zincke.jpg	1720	1721	The Duke of Grafton
Edward Hopkins	File:Portrait of Edward Hopkins Esqr (4670902).jpg	1721	1724	The Duke of Grafton
Thomas Clutterbuck	File:No image.svg	1724	1730	The Lord Carteret
Walter Cary (also spelt 'Carey')	File:No image.svg	1730	1737	The Duke of Dorset
Sir Edward Walpole	File:Thomas Hudson Portrait of Sir Edward Walpole.jpg	1737	1739	The Duke of Devonshire
Thomas Townshend	File:No image.svg	1739	1739	The Duke of Devonshire
Hon. Henry Bilson Legge	File:HenryBilsonLegge.jpg	1739	1741	The Duke of Devonshire
Viscount Duncannon	File:Joshua Reynolds, Portrait of William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough (c. 1760).jpg	1741	1745	The Duke of Devonshire
Richard Liddell	File:No image.svg	1745	1746	The Earl of Chesterfield
Sewallis Shirley	File:No image.svg	1746	1746	The Earl of Chesterfield
Edward Weston		1746	1750	The Earl of Harrington
1750–1801
Name	Portrait	Term of office		Served under
Lord George SackvilleTemplate:Refn	File:MarshGeorge1800George Germain.jpg	1750	1755	The Duke of Dorset
Hon. Henry Seymour Conway	File:Henryseymour.jpg	1755	1757	The Duke of Devonshire
Richard Rigby	File:No image.svg	1757	1761	The Duke of Bedford
William Gerard Hamilton	File:Right Honourable William Gerard Hamilton, one of his Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council and chancellor of the Exchequer, in Ireland.jpg	1761	1764	The Earl of Halifax; The Earl of Northumberland
The Earl of Drogheda	File:Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda.jpg	1764	1765	The Earl of Northumberland
Sir Charles Bunbury	File:Sir-Thomas-Charles-Bunbury-6th-Bt.jpg	1765	1765	The Viscount Weymouth
Viscount Conway	File:Francis Seymour Conway, 2nd Marquess of Hertford NPG D9798.jpg	1765	1766	The Earl of Hertford
Hon. Augustus Hervey	File:Augustus John Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol by Sir Joshua Reynolds.jpg	1766	1767<ref>In July 1767 he resigned, having quarrelled with his brother over his own continuing attachment to George Grenville. Ruddock Mackay, ‘Hervey, Augustus John, third earl of Bristol (1724–1779)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Sept 2010, accessed 3 Aug 2014 Template:Webarchive</ref>	The Earl of Bristol
Theophilus Jones	File:No image.svg	1767	1767	The Earl of Bristol
Lord Frederick CampbellTemplate:Refn	File:Lord Frederick Campbell (1729–1816) by Henry Raeburn.jpg	1767	1768	The Viscount Townshend
Sir George Macartney	File:George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney by Lemuel Francis Abbott.jpg	1769	1772	The Viscount Townshend
Sir John Blaquiere	File:1stLordDeBlaquiere.jpg	1772	1776	The Earl Harcourt
Sir Richard Heron	File:No image.svg	1776	1780	The Earl of Buckinghamshire
William Eden	File:Sir Thomas Lawrence - William Eden, First Lord Auckland, M. P. - 2005.201 - Museum of Fine Arts.jpg	1780	1782	The Earl of Carlisle
Hon. Richard FitzPatrick	File:No image.svg	1782	1782	The Duke of Portland
William Grenville	File:1st Baron Grenville-cropped.jpg	1782	1783	The Earl Temple
William Windham	File:WilliamWindham.jpg	1783	1783	The Earl of Northington
Hon. Thomas Pelham	File:2ndEarlOfChichester.jpg	1783	1784	The Earl of Northington
Thomas Orde	File:Thomas Orde-Powlett 1st Baron Bolton.jpg	1784	1787	The Duke of Rutland
Alleyne FitzHerbert	File:Alleyne FitzHerbert04738.jpg	1787	1789	The Marquess of Buckingham
Hon. Robert Hobart	File:4thEarlOfBuckinghamshire.jpg	1789	1793	The Marquess of Buckingham; The Earl of Westmorland
Sylvester Douglas	File:1stLordGlenbervie.jpg	1793	1794	The Earl of Westmorland
Viscount Milton	File:Thomas Beach - George Damer, Viscount Milton 8607.jpg	1794	1795	The Earl FitzWilliam
Hon. Thomas Pelham	File:2ndEarlOfChichester.jpg	1795	1798	The Earl Camden
Viscount Castlereagh	File:Lord Castlereagh Marquess of Londonderry.jpg	1798	1801	The Marquess Cornwallis

United Kingdom

1801–1852
Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Charles Abbot Template:Small	File:Charles Abbot, 1st Baron Colchester by John Hoppner.jpg	1801	1802	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	William Wickham Template:Small	File:William Wickham (1761-1840) Chief Secretary Ireland.jpg	1802	1804	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir Evan Nepean, Bt Template:Small	File:SirEvanNepean.JPG	1804	1805	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Nicholas Vansittart Template:Small	File:Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley.jpg	1805	1805	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Charles Long Template:Small	File:1stLordFarnborough.jpg	1805	1806	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	William Elliot Template:Small	File:No image.svg	1806	1807	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir Arthur Wellesley Template:Small Template:Small Template:Small	File:Lord Arthur Wellesley the Duke of Wellington.jpg	1807	1809	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Robert Dundas Template:Small	File:Robert Saunders Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville.jpg	1809	1809	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	William Wellesley-Pole Template:Small	File:William Wellesley-Pole, later 1st Baron Maryborough, by Thomas Lawrence.jpg	1809	1812	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Robert Peel Template:Small Template:Small	File:Robert Peel by RR Scanlan detail.jpg	1812	1818	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Charles Grant Template:Small	File:Lord-glenelg.jpg	1818	1821	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Henry Goulburn Template:Small Template:Small	File:HenryGoulburn.jpg	29 December 1821	29 April 1827	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	William Lamb Template:Small	File:William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, painted by John Partridge.jpg	29 April 1827	21 June 1828	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Lord Francis Leveson-GowerTemplate:Refn Template:Small	File:Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere by Edwin Longsden Long.jpg	21 June 1828	30 July 1830	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir Henry Hardinge Template:Small	File:Henryhardinge.jpg	30 July 1830	15 November 1830	Tory
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Edward Smith-Stanley Template:Small Template:Small	File:14th Earl of Derby.jpg	29 November 1830	29 March 1833	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir John Hobhouse, Bt Template:Small	File:John Cam Hobhouse.jpg	29 March 1833	May 1833	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Edward Littleton Template:Small	File:Edward John Littleton, 1st Baron Hatherton by Sir George Hayter.jpg	May 1833	14 November 1834	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir Henry Hardinge Template:Small	File:Henryhardinge.jpg	16 December 1834	8 April 1835	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Viscount Morpeth Template:Small	File:7th Earl of Carlisle.jpg	22 April 1835	30 August 1841	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Lord Eliot Template:SmallTemplate:Refn	File:No image.svg	6 February 1841	1 February 1845	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir Thomas Fremantle, Bt Template:Small	File:1st Baron Cottesloe.png	1 February 1845	14 February 1846	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	The Earl of Lincoln Template:Small	File:5thDukeOfNewcastle.jpg	14 February 1846	June 1846	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Henry Labouchere Template:Small	File:Charles Baugniet00a.jpg	6 July 1846	22 July 1847	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir William Somerville, Bt Template:Small	File:No image.svg	22 July 1847	21 February 1852	Whig
1852–1900
Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Lord NaasTemplate:Refn Template:Small	File:6th Earl of Mayo.jpg	1 March 1852	17 December 1852	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir John Young, Bt Template:Small	File:John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar.png	6 January 1853	30 January 1855	Peelite
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Edward Horsman Template:Small	File:Horsman, Edward (1807-1876), by Southwell Brothers, c.1862-4.jpg	1 March 1855	27 May 1857	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Henry Arthur Herbert Template:Small	File:Henry Arthur Herbert sr.PNG	27 May 1857	21 February 1858	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Lord NaasTemplate:Refn Template:Small	File:6th Earl of Mayo.jpg	4 March 1858	11 June 1859	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Edward Cardwell Template:Small	File:1stViscountCardwell.jpg	24 June 1859	29 July 1861	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir Robert Peel, Bt Template:Small	File:Peel, Sir Robert, third baronet (1822-1895), by Camille Silvy.jpg	29 July 1861	7 December 1865	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue Template:Small	File:1st Baron Carlingford.jpg	7 December 1865	26 June 1866	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	The Earl of Mayo Template:SmallTemplate:Refn	File:6th Earl of Mayo.jpg	10 July 1866	29 September 1868	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	John Wilson-Patten Template:Small	File:John Wilson-Patten.jpg	29 September 1868	1 December 1868	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue Template:Small	File:1st Baron Carlingford.jpg	16 December 1868	12 January 1871	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Marquess of Hartington Template:Small	File:Picture of Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire.jpg	12 January 1871	17 February 1874	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Bt Template:Small	File:St Aldwyn Michael Edward Hicks-Beach (1st Earl).jpg	27 February 1874	15 February 1878	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	James Lowther Template:Small	File:James Lowther Vanity Fair 8 December 1877.jpg	15 February 1878	21 April 1880	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	William Edward Forster Template:Small	File:William Edward Forster - Project Gutenberg eText 13789.jpg	30 April 1880	6 May 1882	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Lord Frederick CavendishTemplate:Refn Template:Small	File:Cavendish, Lord Frederick Charles (1836-1882), by John D. Miller, pubd 1883 (after Sir William Blake Richmond, exh. RA 1874).jpg	6 May 1882	6 May 1882	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	George Trevelyan Template:Small	File:George Otto Trevelyan portrait early career.jpg	9 May 1882	23 October 1884	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Henry Campbell-Bannerman Template:Small	File:Sir-Henry-Campbell-Bannerman.jpg	23 October 1884	9 June 1885	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir William Hart Dyke, Bt Template:Small	File:William Hart Dyke by George W Baldry.jpg	25 June 1885	23 January 1886	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	William Henry Smith Template:Small	File:William Henry Smith (1825–1891).jpg	23 January 1886	28 January 1886	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	John Morley Template:Small	File:John Morley 2.jpg	6 February 1886	20 July 1886	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt Template:Small	File:St Aldwyn Michael Edward Hicks-Beach (1st Earl).jpg	5 August 1886	7 March 1887	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Arthur Balfour Template:Small	File:A.J. Balfour LCCN2014682753 (cropped).jpg	7 March 1887	9 November 1891	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	William Jackson Template:Small	File:William Lawies Jackson.JPG	9 November 1891	11 August 1892	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	John Morley Template:Small	File:John Morley 2.jpg	22 August 1892	21 June 1895	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Gerald Balfour Template:Small	File:GeraldBalfour.jpg	1895	1900	Conservative
1900–1922
Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	George Wyndham Template:Small	File:George Wyndham.jpg	9 November 1900	12 March 1905	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Walter Long Template:Small	File:Walter Hume Long, 1st Viscount Long portrait.jpg	12 March 1905	4 December 1905	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	James Bryce Template:Small	File:1st Viscount Bryce 1902b.jpg	10 December 1905	23 January 1907	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Augustine Birrell Template:Small	File:Augustine Birrell.jpg	23 January 1907	3 May 1916	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Henry Duke Template:Small	File:1stLordMerrivale.jpg	31 July 1916	5 May 1918	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Edward Shortt Template:Small	File:Edward Shortt.jpg	5 May 1918	10 January 1919	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Ian Macpherson Template:Small	File:1923 Ian Macpherson.jpg	10 January 1919	2 April 1920	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir Hamar Greenwood, Bt Template:Small	File:Hamar Greenwood (Bain Collection).jpg	2 April 1920	19 October 1922	Liberal

See also

• Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, similar position in the British cabinet from 1972.

Bibliography

• British Historical Facts 1760–1830, by Chris Cook and John Stevenson (The Macmillan Press 1980) Template:ISBN (includes list of Chief Secretaries on page 31)
• British Historical Facts 1830–1900, by Chris Cook and Brendan Keith (The Macmillan Press 1975) Template:ISBN (includes list of Chief Secretaries on pages 52–53)
• Twentieth-Century British Political Facts 1900–2000, by David Butler and Gareth Butler (Macmillan Press, Eighth edition 2000) Template:ISBN paperback (includes list of Chief Secretaries on page 61)