Secretary of State for International Development

Secretary of State for International Development
Arms of Her Majesty's Government Department for International Development
Incumbent Andrew Mitchell since 12 May 2010
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	David Cameron as Prime Minister
Inaugural holder	Barbara Castle
Formation	18 October 1964
Website	DFID

United Kingdom

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the United Kingdom

Government Sovereign Queen Elizabeth II The Crown Royal Prerogative Privy Council Cabinet Prime Minister David Cameron MP Full list of members Her Majesty's Civil Service Departments Executive agencies Non-departmental public bodies Parliament State Opening of Parliament Act of Parliament Statutory Instruments House of Lords Lord Speaker The Baroness Hayman House of Commons Speaker John Bercow MP Prime Minister's Questions Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband MP Judiciary Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Courts of the United Kingdom Courts of England and Wales Courts of Northern Ireland Courts of Scotland Constitution Human rights UK countries England Greater London Authority London Assembly Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Executive Northern Ireland Assembly Scotland Scottish Government Scottish Parliament Wales Welsh Government National Assembly for Wales Reserved matters Elections Elections in the United Kingdom Parliament constituencies Political parties Last election Next election Foreign policy Foreign relations Politics of the European Union

Other countries · Atlas Politics portal view · talk · edit

In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for the Department for International Development and for promoting development overseas, particularly in the third world. The post was created in 1997 when the Department for International Development was made independent of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

A separate Ministry of Overseas Development was established by Harold Wilson when he came to office in 1964. The first three holders of the office served in the Cabinet, but from 29 August 1967 the office was demoted. Under Edward Heath, the Ministry was incorporated with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 15 October 1970. From 10 June 1975 to 8 October 1979 the Foreign Secretary served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Minister for Overseas Development in the cabinet, while the Minister for Overseas Development held the rank of Minister of State within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Minister of State had day-to-day responsibility. Under the Labour government of the 1970s, Reg Prentice sat in the Cabinet during his term.^[1]

The current Secretary of State for International Development is Andrew Mitchell, who was appointed to the post on 12 May 2010.^[2]

Ministers and Secretaries of State

Minister of Overseas Development (1964–1970)
Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Barbara Castle		18 October 1964	23 December 1965	Labour	Harold Wilson
	Anthony Greenwood		23 December 1965	11 August 1966	Labour
	Arthur Bottomley		11 August 1966	29 August 1967	Labour
	Reginald Prentice		29 August 1967	6 October 1969	Labour
	Judith Hart		6 October 1969	19 June 1970	Labour
	Richard Wood		23 June 1970	15 October 1970	Conservative	Edward Heath
Minister for Overseas Development (1970–1997) at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Richard Wood		15 October 1970	4 March 1974	Conservative	Edward Heath
	Judith Hart		7 March 1974	10 June 1975	Labour	Harold Wilson
	Reginald Prentice		10 June 1975	21 December 1976 (resigned)	Labour
						James Callaghan
	Frank Judd		21 December 1976	21 February 1977	Labour
	Judith Hart		21 February 1977	4 May 1979	Labour
	Neil Marten		6 May 1979	6 January 1983	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Tim Raison		6 January 1983	10 September 1986	Conservative
	Chris Patten		10 September 1986	24 July 1989	Conservative
	Lynda Chalker (Baroness Chalker from 1992)		24 July 1989	2 May 1997	Conservative
Secretary of State for International Development (1997– )
Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Clare Short		3 May 1997	12 May 2003 (resigned)	Labour	Tony Blair
	Valerie Amos Baroness Amos		12 May 2003	6 October 2003	Labour
	Hilary Benn		6 October 2003	27 June 2007	Labour
	Douglas Alexander		28 June 2007	11 May 2010	Labour	Gordon Brown
	Andrew Mitchell		12 May 2010	Incumbent	Conservative	David Cameron

References

1. ^ http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-DFID/History1/
2. ^ http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-DFID/Our-organisation1/Ministers/Andrew-Mitchell/