List of British War Ministers
The office of Secretary of State for War was a cabinet post of the British government from 1794 to 1964. In 1801 the office was expanded to include responsibility for the British colonies ( Secretary of State for War and the Colonies ) before an independent post of colonial minister was reintroduced in 1854. The office of Secretary at War , which had existed independently since 1661, was abolished in 1863. In 1964 the duties of the Secretary of War as well as the First Lord of the Admiralty and the Minister of Aviation were assigned to the Secretary of Defense and the office was abolished.
| Surname | Term of office | in cabinet (s) |
|---|---|---|
| Secretary of State for War (1796-1801) | ||
| Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville | July 11, 1794 - March 17, 1801 | Pitt |
|
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies (1801-1854) see Secretary of State for War and the Colonies |
||
| Secretary of State for War (1854-1964) | ||
| Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne | June 12, 1854 - January 30, 1855 | Aberdeen |
| Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie | February 8, 1855 - February 21, 1858 | Palmerston |
| Jonathan Peel | February 26, 1858 - June 11, 1859 | Derby |
| Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea | June 18, 1859 - July 22, 1861 | Palmerston |
| George Cornewall Lewis | July 23, 1861 - April 13, 1863 | |
| George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon | April 28, 1863 - February 16, 1866 | Palmerston , Russell |
| Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire | February 16, 1866 - June 26, 1866 | Russell |
| Jonathan Peel | July 6, 1866 - March 8, 1867 | Derby |
| Sir John Pakington | March 8, 1867 - December 1, 1868 | Derby , Disraeli |
| Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell | December 9, 1868 - February 17, 1874 | Gladstone |
| Gathorne Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook | February 21, 1874 - April 2, 1878 | Disraeli |
| Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby | April 2, 1878 - April 21, 1880 | |
| Hugh Childers | April 28, 1880 - December 16, 1882 | Gladstone |
| Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire | December 16, 1882 - June 9, 1885 | |
| William Henry Smith | June 24, 1885 - January 21, 1886 | Salisbury |
| Gathorne Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook | January 21, 1886 - February 6, 1886 | |
| Henry Campbell-Bannerman | February 6, 1886 - July 20, 1886 | Gladstone |
| William Henry Smith | August 3, 1886 - January 14, 1887 | Salisbury |
| Edward Stanhope | January 14, 1887 - August 11, 1892 | |
| Henry Campbell-Bannerman | August 18, 1892 - June 21, 1895 | Gladstone , Rosebery |
| Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne | July 4, 1895 - November 12, 1900 | Salisbury |
| William St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton | November 12, 1900 - October 6, 1903 | Salisbury , Balfour |
| Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster | October 6, 1903 - December 4, 1905 | Balfour |
| Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane | December 10, 1905 - June 12, 1912 | Campbell-Bannerman , Asquith |
| JEB Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone | June 12, 1912 - March 30, 1914 | Asquith |
| Herbert Henry Asquith | March 30, 1914 - August 5, 1914 | |
| Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum | August 5, 1914 - June 5, 1916 | |
| David Lloyd George | July 6, 1916 - December 5, 1916 | |
| Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby | December 10, 1916 - April 18, 1918 | Lloyd George |
| Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner | April 18, 1918 - January 10, 1919 | |
| Winston Churchill | January 10, 1919 - February 13, 1921 | |
| Laming Worthington-Evans | February 13, 1921 - October 19, 1922 | |
| Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby | October 24, 1922 - January 22, 1924 | Bonar Law , Baldwin |
| Stephen Walsh | January 22, 1924 - November 3, 1924 | MacDonald |
| Laming Worthington-Evans | November 6, 1924 - June 4, 1929 | Baldwin |
| Thomas Shaw | June 7, 1929 - August 24, 1931 | MacDonald |
| Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe | August 25, 1931 - November 5, 1931 | |
| Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham | November 5, 1931 - June 7, 1935 | |
| Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax | June 7, 1935 - November 22, 1935 | Baldwin |
| Alfred Cooper | November 22, 1935 - May 28, 1937 | |
| Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha | May 28, 1937 - January 5, 1940 | Chamberlain |
| Oliver Stanley | January 5, 1940 - May 11, 1940 | |
| Anthony Eden | May 11, 1940 - December 22, 1940 | Churchill |
| David Margesson, 1st Viscount Margesson | December 22, 1940 - February 22, 1942 | |
| Percy James Grigg | February 22, 1942 - July 26, 1945 | |
| Jack Lawson | August 3, 1945 - October 4, 1946 | Attlee |
| Frederick Bellenger | October 4, 1946 - October 7, 1947 | |
| Emanuel Shinwell | October 7, 1947 - February 28, 1950 | |
| John Strachey | February 28, 1950 - October 26, 1951 | |
| Antony Head, 1st Viscount Head | October 31, 1951 - October 18, 1956 | Churchill , Eden |
| John Hare, 1st Viscount Blakenham | October 18, 1956 - January 6, 1958 | Eden , Macmillan |
| Christopher Soames | January 6, 1958 - July 27, 1960 | Macmillan |
| John Profumo | July 27, 1960 - June 5, 1963 | |
| Joseph Godber | June 27, 1963 - October 21, 1963 | |
| James Ramsden | October 21, 1963 - April 1, 1964 | Douglas Home |
See also
Web links
Commons : British Secretary of War - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
