Secretary of State for War

File:1stViscountCardwell.jpg

Edward Cardwell, later Viscount Cardwell, Secretary of State for War from 1868 to 1874; architect of the Cardwell Reforms

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			Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:1stViscountMelville2.jpg	Henry Dundas Template:Small	11 July 1794	17 March 1801	Tory	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	William Pitt the Younger

For 1801–1854 see Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.

Secretaries of state for war, 1854–1964

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:5thDukeOfNewcastle.jpg	Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle	12 June 1854	30 January 1855	Peelite	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen Template:Small
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Thomas duncan.jpg	Fox Maule-Ramsay, 2nd Baron Panmure	8 February 1855	21 February 1858	Whig	rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Jonathan Peel.JPG	Jonathan Peel	26 February 1858	11 June 1859	Conservative
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea.jpg	Sidney Herbert	18 June 1859	22 July 1861	Liberal	rowspan=3 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Sir George Cornewall Lewis, 2nd Bt.jpg	Sir George Cornewall Lewis, 2nd Baronet	23 July 1861	13 April 1863	Liberal
rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:George Robinson 1st Marquess of Ripon.jpg	George Robinson, 3rd Earl de Grey and 2nd Earl of Ripon	28 April 1863	16 February 1866	Liberal
rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |						John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Picture of Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire.jpg	Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington	16 February 1866	26 June 1866	Liberal
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Jonathan Peel.JPG	Jonathan Peel	6 July 1866	8 March 1867	Conservative	rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	14th Earl of Derby
height=15 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:John Pakington 1st Baron Hampton (cropped).jpg	John Pakington, 1st Baron Hampton	8 March 1867	1 December 1868	Conservative
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |						style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Benjamin Disraeli
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:1stViscountCardwell.jpg	Edward Cardwell	9 December 1868	17 February 1874	Liberal	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	William Ewart Gladstone
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:1st Earl of Cranbrook.jpg	Gathorne Hardy	21 February 1874	2 April 1878	Conservative	rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Benjamin Disraeli
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Frederick Arthur Stanley.jpg	Frederick Stanley	2 April 1878	21 April 1880	Conservative
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Hugh Childers, Lock & Whitfield woodburytype, 1876-83 crop.jpg	Hugh Childers	28 April 1880	16 December 1882	Liberal	rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	William Ewart Gladstone
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Picture of Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire.jpg	Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington	16 December 1882	9 June 1885	Liberal
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:William Henry Smith (1825–1891).jpg	W. H. Smith	24 June 1885	21 January 1886	Conservative	rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:1st Earl of Cranbrook.jpg	Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook	21 January 1886	6 February 1886	Conservative
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Picture of Henry Campbell-Bannerman.jpg	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	6 February 1886	20 July 1886	Liberal	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	William Ewart Gladstone
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:William Henry Smith (1825–1891).jpg	W. H. Smith	3 August 1886	14 January 1887	Conservative	rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Edward Stanhope.jpg	Edward Stanhope	14 January 1887	11 August 1892	Conservative
rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Picture of Henry Campbell-Bannerman.jpg	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	18 August 1892	21 June 1895	Liberal	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	William Ewart Gladstone
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |						Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Marquess of Lansdowne crop.jpg	Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne	4 July 1895	12 November 1900	Liberal Unionist	rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury Template:Small
rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, circa 1910s.jpg	St John Brodrick	12 November 1900	6 October 1903	Irish Unionist
rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |						Arthur Balfour Template:Small
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Portrait of H. O. Arnold-Forster.jpg	H. O. Arnold-Forster	6 October 1903	4 December 1905	Liberal Unionist
rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Portrait of Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane.jpg	Richard Haldane Template:Small	10 December 1905	12 June 1912	Liberal	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Henry Campbell-Bannerman
rowspan=4 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |						H. H. Asquith
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:JEB Seely 1909.jpg	J. E. B. Seely	12 June 1912	30 March 1914	Liberal
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:H H Asquith 1908.jpg	H. H. Asquith Template:Small	30 March 1914	5 August 1914	Liberal
rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Lord Kitchener AWM A03547.jpg	Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener	5 August 1914	5 June 1916	none
rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |						H. H. Asquith Template:Small
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:PMLloydGeorge--nsillustratedwar03londuoft.jpg	David Lloyd George	6 July<ref>Times, 7 July 1916</ref> 1916	5 December 1916	Liberal
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:17th Earl of Derby.jpg	Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby	10 December 1916	18 April 1918	Conservative	rowspan=4 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	David Lloyd George Template:Small
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Lord Milner.jpg	Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner	18 April 1918	10 January 1919	Conservative
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Churchill 1904 Q 42037.jpg	Winston Churchill	10 January 1919	13 February 1921	Liberal
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Worthington-Evans MP.jpg	Laming Worthington-Evans	13 February 1921	19 October 1922	Conservative
rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:17th Earl of Derby.jpg	Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby	24 October 1922	22 January 1924	Conservative	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Bonar Law
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |						Stanley Baldwin
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Stephen Walsh MP.png	Stephen Walsh	22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Ramsay MacDonald
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Worthington-Evans MP.jpg	Laming Worthington-Evans	6 November 1924	4 June 1929	Conservative	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Stanley Baldwin
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Tom Shaw - politician.jpg	Thomas Shaw	7 June 1929	24 August 1931	Labour	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Ramsay MacDonald
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Portrait of Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe.jpg	Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe	25 August 1931	5 November 1931	Liberal	rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Ramsay MacDonald Template:Small
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Hailsham1.JPG	Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham	5 November 1931	7 June 1935	Conservative	Ramsay MacDonald Template:Small
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Lord Halifax 1937.jpg	E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax	7 June 1935	22 November 1935	Conservative	rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Stanley Baldwin Template:Small
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Duff Cooper 1941.jpg	Duff Cooper	22 November 1935	28 May 1937	Conservative
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Leslie Hore-Belisha 1951.jpg	Leslie Hore-Belisha	28 May 1937	5 January 1940	National Liberal	rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Neville Chamberlain Template:Small
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Oliver Stanley.png	Oliver Stanley	5 January 1940	11 May 1940	Conservative
rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Anthony Eden (retouched).jpg	Anthony Eden	11 May 1940	22 December 1940	Conservative	P.M.		Min.Defence
rowspan=3 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |						Winston Churchill Template:Small
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:David Margesson.jpg	David Margesson	22 December 1940	22 February 1942	Conservative
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Percy James Grigg.jpg	P. J. Grigg	22 February 1942	26 July 1945	National
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Lord Lawson of Beamish.jpg	Jack Lawson	3 August 1945	4 October 1946	Labour	rowspan=4 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Attlee	Attlee
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Frederick Bellenger.jpg	Frederick Bellenger	4 October 1946	7 October 1947	Labour	A.V. Alexander
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Emanuel Shinwel HU 059765 (crop).jpg	Emanuel Shinwell	7 October 1947	28 February 1950	Labour
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:John Strachey.jpg	John Strachey	28 February 1950	26 October 1951	Labour	Shinwell
rowspan=5 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Blank.png	Antony Head	31 October 1951	18 October 1956	Conservative	rowspan=3 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Churchill	Churchill
H. Alexander
Macmillan
rowspan=3 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |						Eden	Lloyd
Monckton
rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:John Hare 1929.jpg	John Hare	18 October 1956	6 January 1958	Conservative		Head
rowspan=6 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |						Macmillan	Sandys
rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Christopher Soames.jpg	Christopher Soames	6 January 1958	27 July 1960	Conservative
Watkinson
	rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:John Profumo.jpg	John Profumo	27 July 1960	5 June 1963		Conservative
Thorneycroft
	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:Blank.png	Joseph Godber	27 June 1963	21 October 1963		Conservative
	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	File:No image.svg	James Ramsden	21 October 1963	1 April 1964	Conservative	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Douglas-Home

See also

• Secretary at War