Secretary of State for Scotland

Secretary of State for Scotland

Incumbent
David Mundell
since 8 May 2015
Scotland Office
Style The Right Honourable
Appointer Elizabeth II
Inaugural holder The Earl of Mar
Formation 3 February 1705
Website Scotland Office
Scotland
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Scotland

Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba, Scots: Secretar o State for Scotland) is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland representing Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office (formerly the Scottish Office), a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was abolished in 1746, following the Jacobite rebellion. Scottish affairs thereafter were managed by the Lord Advocate until 1827, when responsibility passed to the Home Office.

In 1885 the post of Secretary for Scotland was re-created, with the incumbent usually (though not always) in the Cabinet. In 1926 this post was upgraded to a full Secretary of State appointment.

The 1999 Scottish devolution has meant the Scottish Office's powers were divided, with most transferred to the Scottish Government or to other UK Government departments, leaving only a limited role for the Scotland Office. Consequently, the role of Secretary of State for Scotland has been diminished. A recent Scottish Secretary, Des Browne, held the post whilst simultaneously being Secretary of State for Defence. The current Secretary of State for Scotland is David Mundell.

Secretaries of State for Scotland 1707–1746

John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar had served as Secretary of State of an independent Scotland since 1705. Following the Acts of Union 1707, he remained in office.

The post of Secretary of State for Scotland existed briefly after the Union of the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England in 1707 till the Jacobite rising of 1745. After the rising, responsibility for Scotland lay primarily with the office of the Home Secretary, usually exercised by the Lord Advocate.

Name Portrait Term of office
The Earl of Mar (since 1705)
1 May 1707 		3 February 1709
The Duke of Queensberry 3 February 1709 6 July 1711
(died)
The Earl of Mar 30 September 1713 24 September 1714
The Duke of Montrose 24 September 1714 August 1715
(resigned)
The Duke of Roxburghe 13 December 1716 August 1725
(resigned)
Office thereafter vacant.
One reference book claims that Charles Douglas, 2nd Earl of Selkirk
held this office from 1731, but there is no other authority for this claim.
The Marquess of Tweeddale 16 February 1742 3 January 1746
(resigned)

Office thereafter vacant.

Secretaries and Secretaries of State for Scotland

The Secretary for Scotland was chief minister in charge of the Scottish Office in the United Kingdom government. 1885 saw the creation of the Scottish Office and the post of Secretary for Scotland.[1] From 1892 the Secretary for Scotland sat in cabinet. The Secretary for Scotland post was upgraded to full Secretary of State rank as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1926.[2] All Secretaries for Scotland also held the post of Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, ex officio.[3]

The post of Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland was held ex officio by Secretaries of State for Scotland from 1926 to 1999.[4] Secretaries of State for Scotland since Donald Dewar have not been Keepers of the Great Seal, that post now being held by the First Ministers of Scotland.[5] In addition, the holder of the office of Secretary of State for Scotland from 13 June 2003 through to 3 October 2008 concurrently held another Cabinet post, leading to claims that the Scottish role was seen as a 'part-time' ministry.

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative / Conservative & Unionist   Unionist   Liberal   Labour   National Labour   National Liberal   Liberal Democrats   No party

Name Portrait Term of office Political party Prime Minister
The Duke of Richmond 17 August 1885 28 January 1886 Conservative The Marquess of Salisbury
George Trevelyan 8 February 1886 March, 1886
(resigned)		 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
The Earl of Dalhousie 5 April 1886 20 July 1886 Liberal
Arthur Balfour 5 August 1886 11 March 1887 Conservative The Marquess of Salisbury
The Marquess of Lothian 11 March 1887 11 August 1892 Unionist
Sir George Trevelyan, Bt 18 August 1892 21 June 1895 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
The Earl of Rosebery
The Lord Balfour of Burleigh 29 June 1895 9 October 1903
(resigned)		 Unionist The Marquess of Salisbury
(Unionist Coalition)
Arthur Balfour
(Unionist Coalition)
Andrew Murray 9 October 1903 2 February 1905 Conservative
The Marquess of Linlithgow 2 February 1905 4 December 1905 Conservative
John Sinclair
(Baron Pentland from 1909)		 10 December 1905 13 February 1912 Liberal Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
H. H. Asquith
Thomas McKinnon Wood 13 February 1912 9 July 1916 Liberal
H. H. Asquith
(Coalition)
Harold Tennant 9 July 1916 5 December 1916 Liberal
Robert Munro 10 December 1916 19 October 1922 Liberal David Lloyd George
(Coalition)
The Viscount Novar 24 October 1922 22 January 1924 none Andrew Bonar Law
Stanley Baldwin
William Adamson 22 January 1924 3 November 1924 Labour Ramsay MacDonald
Sir John Gilmour, Bt 6 November 1924 26 July 1926 Unionist Stanley Baldwin
Name Portrait Term of office Political party Prime Minister
Sir John Gilmour, Bt 15 July 1926 4 June 1929 Unionist Stanley Baldwin
William Adamson 7 June 1929 24 August 1931 Labour Ramsay MacDonald
Sir Archibald Sinclair, Bt 25 August 1931 28 September 1932
(resigned)		 Liberal Ramsay MacDonald
(1st & 2nd National Min.)
Sir Godfrey Collins 28 September 1932 29 October 1936 National Liberal
Stanley Baldwin
(3rd National Min.)
Walter Elliot 29 October 1936 6 May 1938 Unionist
Neville Chamberlain
(4th National Min.;
War Coalition)
John Colville 6 May 1938 10 May 1940 Unionist
Ernest Brown 14 May 1940 8 February 1941 National Liberal Winston Churchill
(War Coalition)
Thomas Johnston 8 February 1941 23 May 1945 Labour
The Earl of Rosebery 25 May 1945 26 July 1945 National Liberal Winston Churchill
(Caretaker Min.)
Joseph Westwood 3 August 1945 7 October 1947 Labour Clement Attlee
Arthur Woodburn 7 October 1947 28 February 1950 Labour
Hector McNeil 28 February 1950 26 October 1951 Labour
James Stuart 30 October 1951 13 January 1957 Unionist Sir Winston Churchill
Sir Anthony Eden
John Maclay 13 January 1957 13 July 1962 Unionist Harold Macmillan
Michael Noble 13 July 1962 16 October 1964 Unionist
Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Willie Ross 18 October 1964 19 June 1970 Labour Harold Wilson
Gordon Campbell 20 June 1970 4 March 1974 Conservative and Unionist Edward Heath
Willie Ross 5 March 1974 8 April 1976 Labour Harold Wilson
Bruce Millan 8 April 1976 4 May 1979 Labour James Callaghan
George Younger 5 May 1979 11 January 1986 Conservative and Unionist Margaret Thatcher
Malcolm Rifkind 11 January 1986 28 November 1990 Conservative and Unionist
Ian Lang 28 November 1990 5 July 1995 Conservative and Unionist John Major
Michael Forsyth 5 July 1995 2 May 1997 Conservative and Unionist
Donald Dewar 3 May 1997 17 May 1999
(became
First Minister of Scotland)		 Labour Tony Blair
John Reid 17 May 1999 25 January 2001 Labour
Helen Liddell 25 January 2001 13 June 2003 Labour
Alistair Darling
(also Secretary of State for Transport)		 13 June 2003 5 May 2006 Labour
Douglas Alexander
(also Secretary of State for Transport)		 5 May 2006 27 June 2007 Labour
Des Browne
(also Secretary of State for Defence)		 28 June 2007 3 October 2008 Labour Gordon Brown
Jim Murphy 3 October 2008 11 May 2010 Labour
Danny Alexander 11 May 2010 29 May 2010 Liberal Democrats David Cameron
(Coalition)
Michael Moore 29 May 2010 7 October 2013 Liberal Democrats
Alistair Carmichael 7 October 2013 8 May 2015 Liberal Democrats
David Mundell 11 May 2015 Incumbent Conservative David Cameron
(II)
Theresa May

See also

References

  1. ↑ Secretary for Scotland Act 1885, section 2.
  2. ↑ Secretaries of State Act 1926
  3. ↑ Secretary for Scotland Act 1885, section 8
  4. ↑ Secretary for Scotland Act 1885, section 2; Secretaries of State Act 1926, section 1
  5. ↑ Scotland Act 1998, section 45(7)

External links

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