First Secretary of State

First Secretary of State

Incumbent
George Osborne
since 8 May 2015
Style The Right Honourable
Appointer Elizabeth II
Inaugural holder Rab Butler
Formation 13 July 1962
United Kingdom
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First Secretary of State is an honorific title occasionally used within the Government of the United Kingdom. The title, which implies seniority over all other Secretaries of State,[1] has no specific powers or authority attached to it beyond that of any other Secretary of State.

The title is not always in use, and there have been lengthy periods between successive holders of the title.

Current holder

The current First Secretary of State is George Osborne, who first received the title from Prime Minister David Cameron in addition to his reappointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer[2] immediately following the 2015 General Election.

List of First Secretaries of State

Colour key
(for political parties)
Name Portrait Concurrent office(s) Tenure Political party
(Party position)		 Prime Minister
Rab Butler[3] Deputy Prime Minister 13 July 1962 – 18 October 1963 Conservative Harold Macmillan
Office not in use 1963–1964 Alec Douglas-Home
George Brown Economic Secretary 16 October 1964 – 11 August 1966 Labour
(Deputy Leader)		 Harold Wilson
Michael Stewart Economic Secretary (until August 1967)
Foreign Secretary (from March 1968)		 11 August 1966 – 6 April 1968 Labour
Barbara Castle Employment and Productivity Secretary 6 April 1968 – 19 June 1970 Labour
Office not in use 1970–1995 Edward Heath
Harold Wilson
James Callaghan
Margaret Thatcher
John Major
Michael Heseltine Deputy Prime Minister 20 July 1995 – 2 May 1997 Conservative
Office not in use 1997–2001 Tony Blair
John Prescott Deputy Prime Minister (from May 1997) 8 June 2001 – 27 June 2007 Labour
(Deputy Leader)
Office not in use 2007–2009 Gordon Brown
Peter Mandelson, Baron Mandelson Business Secretary
Lord President of the Council		 5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010 Labour
William Hague Foreign Secretary (until July 2014)
Leader of the House of Commons (from July 2014)		 12 May 2010 – 8 May 2015 Conservative David Cameron
(Coalition)
George Osborne Chancellor of the Exchequer 8 May 2015 – present Conservative David Cameron
(II)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nicholas Watt (8 May 2015). "George Osborne made first secretary of state in cabinet reshuffle". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "First Secretary of State". www.gov.uk.
  3. ↑ Howard, Anthony (February 7, 2013). "RAB: The Life of R.A. Butler". A&C Black.
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