Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies

Summary

The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State.

Under-Secretaries of State for the Colonies, 1768–1782

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Name Entered office Left office
Richard Phelps 1768 1768
John Pownall 1768 1770
John Pownall and William Knox 1770 1776
William Knox and Christopher D'Oyly 1776 1778
William Knox and Thomas De Grey 1778 1780
William Knox and Benjamin Thompson 1780 1781
William Knox and John Fisher 1781 1782

In 1782, following the loss of the American colonies, the office was abolished, and its duties given to the Home Secretary. From there it passed to the War Office, which was later renamed the War and Colonial Office. In 1854 this office was split, and the Colonial Office reestablished.[1]

Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State for the Colonies, 1854–1966

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For earlier office-holders see Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.

Name Entered office Left office
Frederick Peel 1854 1855
John Ball 1855 1857
Chichester Fortescue 1857 1858
The Earl of Carnarvon 1858 1859
Chichester Fortescue 1859 1865
William Edward Forster 1865 1866
Charles Adderley 1866 1868
William Monsell 1868 1871
Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen 1871 1874
James Lowther 1874 1878
The Earl Cadogan 1878 1880
M. E. Grant Duff 1880 1881
Leonard Courtney 1881 1882
Hon. Evelyn Ashley 1882 1885
The Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl 1885 1886
George Osborne Morgan 1886 1886
The Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl 1886 1887
The Earl of Onslow 1887 1888
Baron Henry de Worms 1888 1892
Sydney Buxton 1892 1895
The Earl of Selborne 1895 1900
The Earl of Onslow 1900 1903
The Duke of Marlborough 1903 1905
Winston Churchill 1905 1908
J. E. B. Seely 1908 1911
The Lord Lucas of Crudwell 1911 1911
The Lord Emmott 1911 1914
The Lord Islington 1914 1915
Arthur Steel-Maitland 1915 1917
William Hewins 1917 1919
Leo Amery 1919 1921
Hon. E. F. L. Wood 1921 1922
Hon. William Ormsby-Gore 1922 1924
The Lord Arnold 1924 1924
Hon. William Ormsby-Gore 1924 1929
William Lunn 1929 1929
Drummond Shiels 1929 1931
Robert William Hamilton 1931 1932
The Earl of Plymouth 1932 1936
The Earl De La Warr 1936 1937
The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava 1937 1940
George Hall 1940 1942
Harold Macmillan 1942 1943
The Duke of Devonshire 1943 1945
Arthur Creech Jones 1945 1946
Ivor Thomas 1946 1947
David Rees-Williams 1947 1950
Thomas Fotheringham-Cook 1950 1951
The Earl of Munster 1951 1951
The Lord Lloyd 1951 1957
John Profumo 1957 1958
Julian Amery 1958 1960
Hon. Hugh Fraser 1960 1962
Nigel Fisher 16 July 1962 24 October 1963
Nigel Fisher
and Richard Hornby
24 October 1963 16 October 1964
Eirene White
and The Lord Taylor
20 October 1964 11 October 1965
The Lord Taylor
and The Lord Beswick
11 October 1965 11 April 1966
The Lord Beswick 11 April 1966 1 August 1966

Abolished 1966. Thereafter, see Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs.

Minister of State for the Colonies, 1948–1964

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Name Entered office Left office
The Earl of Listowel 1948 1950
John Dugdale 1950 1951
Alan Lennox-Boyd 1951 1952
Henry Hopkinson 1952 1955
Hon. John Hare 1955 1956
Hon. John Maclay 1956 1957
The Earl of Perth 1957 1962
The Marquess of Lansdowne 1962 1964

Abolished 1964. Thereafter, see Minister of State for Commonwealth Affairs.

Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for the Colonies, 1825 and 1854–1966

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Name Entered office Left office
Sir Robert Hay 1825 1836
Sir James Stephen 1836 1847
Herman Merivale 1848 1859
Sir Frederic Rogers 1859 1871
Sir Robert Wyndham Herbert 1871 1892
Sir Robert Henry Meade 1892 1897
Edward Wingfield 1897 1900
Montagu Ommanney 1900 1907
Sir Francis Hopwood 1907 1911
Sir John Anderson 1911 1916
Sir George Fiddes 1916 1921
Sir James Masterton-Smith 1921 1925
Sir Samuel Wilson 1925 1933
Sir John Maffey 1933 1937
Sir Cosmo Parkinson 1937 1940
Sir George Gater 1940 1940
Sir Cosmo Parkinson 1940 1942
Sir George Gater 1942 1947
Sir Thomas Lloyd 1947 1956
Sir John Macpherson 1956 1959
Sir Hilton Poynton 1959 1966


History of English and British government departments with responsibility for foreign affairs and those with responsibility for the colonies, dominions and the Commonwealth
Northern Department
1660–1782
Secretaries — Undersecretaries
Southern Department
1660–1768
Secretaries — Undersecretaries
Southern Department
1768–1782
Secretaries — Undersecretaries
1782: diplomatic responsibilities transferred to new Foreign Office
Colonial Office
1768–1782
SecretariesUndersecretaries
Foreign Office
1782–1968
SecretariesMinistersUndersecretaries
Home Office
1782–1794
SecretariesUndersecretaries
War Office
1794–1801
SecretariesUndersecretaries
War and Colonial Office
1801–1854
SecretariesUndersecretaries
Colonial Office
1854–1925
SecretariesUndersecretaries
India Office
1858–1937
SecretariesUndersecretaries
Colonial Office
1925–1966
SecretariesMinistersUndersecretaries
Dominions Office
1925–1947
SecretariesUndersecretaries
India Office and Burma Office
1937–1947
SecretariesUndersecretaries
Commonwealth Relations Office
1947–1966
SecretariesMinistersUndersecretaries
Commonwealth Office
1966–1968
SecretariesMinistersUndersecretaries
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
1968–2020
SecretariesMinistersUndersecretaries
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Since 2020
SecretariesMinistersUndersecretaries

References

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  1. ^ "Lists of appointments". Retrieved 2008-05-23.