Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

United Kingdom Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills President of the Board of Trade
Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Flag of the United Kingdom
Incumbent Sajid Javid since 11 May 2015
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Board of Trade
Style	The Right Honourable (Formal prefix) Business Secretary Minister Mr. Secretary
Appointer	Elizabeth II
Inaugural holder	The Earl of Shaftesbury (First Lord of Trade) The Lord Mandelson (Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, and Skills)
Formation	16 September 1672 (First Lord of Trade) 5 June 2009 (Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, and Skills)
Website	Business, Innovation and Skills

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Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, commonly known as the Business Secretary, is a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. The office is responsible for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (formerly the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and previous to that the Department of Trade and Industry). The secretary of state is also President of the Board of Trade.

History

The idea of a Board of Trade was first translated into action by Oliver Cromwell in 1655 when he appointed his son Richard Cromwell to head a body of Lords of the Privy Council, judges and merchants to consider measures to promote trade. Charles II established a Council of Trade on 7 November 1660 followed by a Council of Foreign Plantations on 1 December that year. The two were united on 16 September 1672 as the Board of Trade and Plantations.

After the Board was re-established in 1696, there were 15 (and later 16) members of the Board - the 7 (later 8) Great Officers of State, and 8 unofficial members, who did the majority of the work. The senior unofficial member of the board was the President of the Board, commonly known as the First Lord of Trade. The board was abolished on 11 July 1782, but a Committee of the Privy Council was established on 5 March 1784 for the same purposes. On 23 August 1786 a new Committee was set up, more strongly focused on commercial functions than the previous boards of trade. At first the President of the Board of Trade only occasionally sat in the Cabinet, but from the early 19th century it was usually a cabinet-level position.

During the government of Sir Alec Douglas-Home, the then President of the Board of Trade Edward Heath was given in addition the job of Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development. This title was not continued under Harold Wilson, but when Heath became Prime Minister in 1970 he decided to merge the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Technology to create the Department of Trade and Industry. The head of this department became known as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and President of the Board of Trade.

When Harold Wilson re-entered office in March 1974, the office was split into the Department of Trade, the Department of Industry and the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection. The title President of the Board of Trade became the secondary title of the Secretary of State for Trade. In 1979 the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection was abolished by the incoming Conservative government and its responsibilities were reintegrated into the Department of Trade. In 1983 the offices of trade and industry were remerged and the title of Secretary of State for Trade and Industry was recreated. When Michael Heseltine held this office, he preferred to be known by the older title of President of the Board of Trade, and this practice was also followed by Ian Lang and Margaret Beckett. Heseltine's decision to reuse the old title caused some comment and it was discovered that the Board of Trade had not in fact met since the mid-nineteenth century.

Under Gordon Brown's premiership there were two renamings of the role and three re-alignments of responsibility. In his first cabinet of 2007, he called the post Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. In this change, the Better Regulation Executive was added to the department but the Office of Science and Innovation was lost. In 2008, the title remained the same but responsibility for energy was lost. In 2009, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was merged into the existing department and the post became Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

First Lord of Trade (1672–1782)

	Took office	Left office
The Earl of Shaftesbury	16 September 1672	1676
The Earl of Bridgewater	16 December 1695	9 June 1699
The Earl of Stamford	9 June 1699	19 June 1702^[1]
The Viscount Weymouth	19 June 1702	1705
The Earl of Stamford	1705	12 June 1711
The Earl of Winchilsea	12 June 1711	15 September 1713
The Lord Guilford	15 September 1713	September 1714
The Lord Berkeley of Stratton	September 1714	12 May 1715
The Earl of Suffolk	12 May 1715	31 January 1718
The Earl of Holderness	31 January 1718	11 May 1719
The Earl of Westmorland	11 May 1719	May 1735
The Earl Fitzwalter	May 1735	June 1737
The Lord Monson	June 1737	1 November 1748
The Earl of Halifax	1 November 1748	21 March 1761
The Lord Sandys	21 March 1761	1 March 1763
Hon. Charles Townshend	1 March 1763	20 April 1763
The Earl of Shelburne	20 April 1763	9 September 1763
The Earl of Hillsborough	9 September 1763	20 July 1765
The Earl of Dartmouth	20 July 1765	16 August 1766
The Earl of Hillsborough	16 August 1766	December 1766
The Viscount Clare	19 January 1767	20 January 1768
The Earl of Hillsborough	20 January 1768	31 August 1772
The Earl of Dartmouth	31 August 1772	10 November 1775
Lord George Sackville-Germain	10 November 1775	6 November 1779
The Earl of Carlisle	6 November 1779	9 December 1780
The Lord Grantham	9 December 1780	11 July 1782

President of the Committee on Trade and Foreign Plantations (1784–1786)

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office
	The Lord Sydney		5 March 1784	23 August 1786

President of the Board of Trade (1786–1900)

	Took office	Left office1866
The Earl of Liverpool	23 August 1786	7 June 1804
The Duke of Montrose	7 June 1804	5 February 1806
The Lord Auckland	5 February 1806	31 March 1807
The Earl Bathurst	31 March 1807	29 September 1812
The Earl of Clancarty	29 September 1812	24 January 1818
Hon. F. J. Robinson	24 January 1818	21 February 1823
William Huskisson	21 February 1823	4 September 1827
Charles Grant	4 September 1827	11 June 1828
Hon. William Vesey-FitzGerald	11 June 1828	2 February 1830
John Charles Herries	2 February 1830	22 November 1830
The Lord Auckland	22 November 1830	5 June 1834
Charles Poulett Thomson	5 June 1834	14 November 1834
Alexander Baring	15 December 1834	8 April 1835
Charles Poulett Thomson	8 April 1835	29 August 1839
Henry Labouchere	29 August 1838	30 August 1841
The Earl of Ripon	3 September 1841	15 May 1843
William Ewart Gladstone	15 May 1843	5 February 1845
The Earl of Dalhousie	5 February 1845	27 June 1846
The Earl of Clarendon	6 July 1846	22 July 1847
Henry Labouchere	22 July 1847	21 February 1852
J. W. Henley	27 February 1852	17 December 1852
Edward Cardwell	28 December 1852	31 March 1855
The Lord Stanley of Alderley	31 March 1855	21 February 1858
J. W. Henley	26 February 1858	3 March 1859
The Earl of Donoughmore	3 March 1859	11 June 1859
Thomas Milner Gibson	6 July 1859	26 June 1866
Sir Henry Bruce, Bt	1866	1866
Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt	6 July 1866	8 March 1867
The Duke of Richmond	8 March 1867	1 December 1868
John Bright	9 December 1868	14 January 1871
Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue	14 January 1871	17 February 1874
Sir Charles Adderley	21 February 1874	4 April 1878
Viscount Sandon	4 April 1878	21 April 1880
Joseph Chamberlain	3 May 1880	9 June 1885
The Duke of Richmond	24 June 1885	19 August 1885
Hon. Edward Stanhope	19 August 1885	28 January 1886
A. J. Mundella	17 February 1886	20 July 1886
The Lord Stanley of Preston	3 August 1886	21 February 1888
Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt	21 February 1888	11 August 1892
A. J. Mundella	18 August 1892	28 May 1894
James Bryce	28 May 1894	21 June 1895
Charles Ritchie	29 June 1895	7 November 1900

President of the Board of Trade (1900–1963)

	Took office	Left office
Gerald Balfour	7 November 1900	12 March 1905
The Marquess of Salisbury	12 March 1905	4 December 1905
David Lloyd George	10 December 1905	12 April 1908
Winston Churchill	12 April 1908	14 February 1910
Sydney Buxton	14 February 1910	11 February 1914
John Burns	11 February 1914	5 August 1914
Walter Runciman	5 August 1914	5 December 1916
Sir Albert Stanley	10 December 1916	26 May 1919
Sir Auckland Geddes	26 May 1919	19 March 1920
Sir Robert Horne	19 March 1920	1 April 1921
Stanley Baldwin	1 April 1921	19 October 1922
Sir Philip Lloyd-Greame	24 October 1922	22 January 1924
Sidney Webb	22 January 1924	3 November 1924
Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister	6 November 1924	4 June 1929
William Graham	7 June 1929	24 August 1931
Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister	25 August 1931	5 November 1931
Walter Runciman	5 November 1931	28 May 1937
Oliver Stanley	28 May 1937	5 January 1940
Sir Andrew Duncan	5 January 1940	3 October 1940
Oliver Lyttelton	3 October 1940	29 June 1941
Sir Andrew Duncan	29 June 1941	4 February 1942
John Jestyn Llewellin	4 February 1942	22 February 1942
Hugh Dalton	22 February 1942	23 May 1945
Oliver Lyttelton	25 May 1945	26 July 1945
Sir Stafford Cripps	27 July 1945	29 September 1947
Harold Wilson	29 September 1947	23 April 1951
Sir Hartley Shawcross	24 April 1951	26 October 1951
Peter Thorneycroft	30 October 1951	13 January 1957
Sir David Eccles	13 January 1957	14 October 1959
Reginald Maudling	14 October 1959	9 October 1961
Frederick Erroll	9 October 1961	20 October 1963

Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development
& President of the Board of Trade (1963–1964)

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Edward Heath		20 October 1963	16 October 1964	Conservative		Alec Douglas-Home

President of the Board of Trade (1964–1970)

	Took office	Left office	Political party
Douglas Jay	18 October 1964	29 August 1967	Labour	Harold Wilson
Anthony Crosland	29 August 1967	6 October 1969
Roy Mason	6 October 1969	19 June 1970
Michael Noble	20 June 1970	15 October 1970	Labour	Edward Heath

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
& President of the Board of Trade (1970–1974)

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	John Davies		15 October 1970	5 November 1972	Conservative		Edward Heath
	Peter Walker		5 November 1972	4 March 1974	Conservative		Edward Heath

Secretary of State for Industry (1974–1983)

															Political party	Prime Minister
Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Tony Benn		5 March 1974	10 June 1975		Shirley Williams		5 March 1974	10 September 1976		Peter Shore		5 March 1974	8 April 1976	Labour		Harold Wilson
	Eric Varley		10 June 1975	4 May 1979							Peter Shore		5 March 1974	8 April 1976	Labour		Harold Wilson
											Edmund Dell		8 April 1976	11 November 1978	Labour		Jim Callaghan
						Roy Hattersley		10 September 1976	4 May 1979		Edmund Dell		8 April 1976	11 November 1978
						Roy Hattersley		10 September 1976	4 May 1979		John Smith		11 November 1978	4 May 1979
	Keith Joseph		4 May 1979	14 September 1981	OFFICE ABOLISHED (responsibilities returned to the Trade Secretary)						John Nott		5 May 1979	5 January 1981	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher
	Keith Joseph		4 May 1979	14 September 1981							John Biffen		5 January 1981	6 April 1982
	Patrick Jenkin		14 September 1981	12 June 1983							John Biffen		5 January 1981	6 April 1982
	Patrick Jenkin		14 September 1981	12 June 1983							The Lord Cockfield		6 April 1982	12 June 1983

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
& President of the Board of Trade (1983–2007)

	Took office	Left office	Political party
Cecil Parkinson	12 June 1983	11 October 1983	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
Norman Tebbit	16 October 1983	2 September 1985
Leon Brittan	2 September 1985	22 January 1986
Paul Channon	24 January 1986	13 June 1987
The Lord Young of Graffham	13 June 1987	24 July 1989
Nicholas Ridley	24 July 1989	13 July 1990
Peter Lilley	14 July 1990	10 April 1992
Peter Lilley	14 July 1990	10 April 1992	Conservative	John Major
Michael Heseltine†	10 April 1992	5 July 1995
Ian Lang†	5 July 1995	2 May 1997
Margaret Beckett†	2 May 1997	27 July 1998	Labour	Tony Blair
Peter Mandelson	27 July 1998	23 December 1998
Stephen Byers	23 December 1998	8 June 2001
Patricia Hewitt	8 June 2001	6 May 2005
Alan Johnson††	6 May 2005	5 May 2006
Alistair Darling	5 May 2006	27 June 2007

† — Primarily referred to as President of the Board of Trade, and not as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

†† — Alan Johnson was initially announced on 6 May 2005, after the general election, as being "Secretary of State for Productivity, Energy and Industry and President of the Board of Trade", but after just a week, on 13 May, it was declared that the new title would not be used, after widespread derision of the new name, because the abbreviation for Johnson's title, Productivity, Energy and Industry Secretary, would have been "PENIS"^[2]

Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
& President of the Board of Trade (2007–2009)

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	John Hutton		28 June 2007	3 October 2008	Labour		Gordon Brown
	The Lord Mandelson		3 October 2008	5 June 2009	Labour		Gordon Brown