Secretary of State for Health

Secretary of State for Health
Arms of Her Majesty's Government Department of Health
Incumbent Andrew Lansley since 12 May 2010
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	David Cameron as Prime Minister
Inaugural holder	Sir Benjamin Hall
Formation	14 October 1854
Website	Department of Health

United Kingdom

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Secretary of State for Health is a UK cabinet position responsible for the Department of Health.

The first Boards of Health were created by Orders in Council dated 21 June, 14 November, and 21 November 1831. In 1848 a General Board of Health was created with the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests as its President. In 1854 this Board was reconstituted and the President appointed separately. However, the Board was abolished and its duties transferred the Privy Council by the Public Health Act 1858. From 1871 the Health powers were moved to the President of the Local Government Board.

The Ministry of Health was created in 1919 as a reconstruction of the Local Government Board. Local government functions were eventually transferred to the Minister of Housing and Local Government, leaving the Health Ministry in charge of Health proper.

From 1968 it was amalgamated with the Ministry of Social Security under the Secretary of State for Social Services, until a demerger of the Department of Health and Social Security on 25 July 1988.

President of the Board of Health (1854–1858)

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Sir Benjamin Hall, Bt		14 October 1854	13 August 1855	Whig (Coalition)	The Earl of Aberdeen
	William Cowper		13 August 1855	9 February 1857	Whig	The Viscount Palmerston
	William Monsell		9 February 1857	24 September 1857	Whig
	William Cowper		24 September 1857	21 February 1858	Whig
	Charles Adderley		8 March 1858	1 September 1858	Conservative	The Earl of Derby

Minister of Health (1919–1968)

Christopher Addison
Minister of Health 1919–1921

Neville Chamberlain
Minister of Health 1923, 1924–1929, 1931

Aneurin Bevan
Minister of Health 1945–1951

Enoch Powell
Minister of Health 1960–1963

Name		Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Christopher Addison	24 June 1919	1 April 1921	Liberal	David Lloyd George
	Sir Alfred Mond, Bt	1 April 1921	19 October 1922	Liberal
	Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen	24 October 1922	7 March 1923 (Lost seat 1922)	Conservative	Andrew Bonar Law
	Neville Chamberlain	7 March 1923	27 August 1923	Conservative
					Stanley Baldwin
	Sir William Joynson-Hicks, Bt	27 August 1923	22 January 1924	Conservative
	John Wheatley	22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour	Ramsay MacDonald
	Neville Chamberlain	6 November 1924	4 June 1929	Conservative	Stanley Baldwin
	Arthur Greenwood	7 June 1929	24 August 1931	Labour	Ramsay MacDonald
	Neville Chamberlain	25 August 1931	5 November 1931	Conservative (National Govt)	Ramsay MacDonald
	Sir Hilton Young	5 November 1931	7 June 1935	Conservative (National Govt)
	Kingsley Wood	7 June 1935	16 May 1938	Conservative (National Govt)	Stanley Baldwin
					Neville Chamberlain
	Walter Elliot	16 May 1938	13 May 1940	Unionist (National Govt; War Govt)
	Malcolm MacDonald	13 May 1940	8 February 1941	National Labour (Coalition)	Winston Churchill
	Ernest Brown	8 February 1941	11 November 1943	National Liberal (Coalition)
	Henry Willink	11 November 1943	26 July 1945	Conservative (Coalition)
	Aneurin Bevan	3 August 1945	17 January 1951	Labour	Clement Attlee
	Hilary Marquand	17 January 1951	26 October 1951	Labour
	Harry Crookshank	30 October 1951	7 May 1952	Conservative	Sir Winston Churchill
	Iain Macleod	7 May 1952	20 December 1955	Conservative
	Robin Turton	20 December 1955	16 January 1957	Conservative
					Sir Anthony Eden
	Dennis Vosper	16 January 1957	17 September 1957	Conservative	Harold Macmillan
	Derek Walker-Smith	17 September 1957	27 July 1960	Conservative
	Enoch Powell	27 July 1960	20 October 1963	Conservative
	Anthony Barber	20 October 1963	16 October 1964	Conservative	Sir Alec Douglas-Home
	Kenneth Robinson	18 October 1964	1 November 1968	Labour	Harold Wilson

Secretary of State for Health (1988–present)

Name		Portrait	Took Office	Left Office	Party	Prime Minister
	Kenneth Clarke		25 July 1988	2 November 1990	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	William Waldegrave		2 November 1990	28 November 1990	Conservative
	William Waldegrave		28 November 1990	10 April 1992	Conservative	John Major
	Virginia Bottomley		10 April 1992	5 July 1995	Conservative
	Stephen Dorrell		5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative
	Frank Dobson		3 May 1997	11 October 1999	Labour	Tony Blair
	Alan Milburn		11 October 1999	13 June 2003	Labour
	John Reid		13 June 2003	6 May 2005	Labour
	Patricia Hewitt		6 May 2005	27 June 2007	Labour
	Alan Johnson		28 June 2007	5 June 2009	Labour	Gordon Brown
	Andy Burnham		5 June 2009	11 May 2010	Labour
	Andrew Lansley		11 May 2010	Incumbent	Conservative	David Cameron