Secretary of State for International Development


The Secretary of State for International Development, also referred to as the International Development Secretary, is a senior Minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of the Department for International Development. The office forms part of the British Cabinet.
The current Secretary of State for International Development is Anne-Marie Trevelyan, MP since her appointment by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in February 2020

Responsibilities

Corresponding to what is generally known as an international development minister in many other countries, the International Development Secretary's remit includes:
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 re-incorporated into the FCO on 15 October 1970. Wilson again established the Ministry in 1974, but later merged it into the FCO once again: 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. The current post was created in 1997 when the Department for International Development was made independent of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
In June 2020, it was announced the Department for International Development would be dissolved, and its operations would be merged into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The process is believed to be completed by September 2020, with Anne-Marie Trevelyan remaining in place as International Development Secretary until that time.

List of Ministers and Secretaries of State

Ministers of Overseas Development (1964–1970)

Ministers for Overseas Development (1970–1997)

Secretaries of State for International Development (1997–present)