Home Secretary Totally Explained

Everything about Home Secretary totally explained

The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office and is one of the Great Offices of State. The Home Secretary is responsible for internal affairs in England and Wales, and for immigration and citizenship for the whole United Kingdom (England Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland). In certain other countries, such as Australia and India, the term Home Secretary refers to the Permanent Secretary, or the senior civil servant, at the Home Ministry of that country.
The remit of the UK ministry includes policing, national security, immigration, and matters of citizenship.
The current Home Secretary is Jacqui Smith.

Responsibilities

The Home Secretary is currently responsible for:

Constitutional & Legal Affairs

The Home Secretary has no responsibility for the Courts of England and Wales. Unlike many other governments issues usually dealt with by a Department of Justice, the British government has three separate departments: The Home Office (as specified above), the Attorney General's Office and the Ministry of Justice, headed by the Secretary of State for Justice, for legal, judicial and civil rights issues.

Development of other government departments

Because the Home Office was initially the primary government department with responsibility for domestic affairs, all subsequent domestic departments have effectively been created by taking responsibilities from the Home Office. Until 2001 this left a variety of miscellaneous tasks that sat apart from the law and order functions of the department, such as British Summer Time or wild birds in Scotland. However, on the appointment of David Blunkett as Home Secretary, these functions - and others such as responsibility for the Fire Brigade - have been reallocated to other departments to give the position a focus solely on law and order.

Home Secretaries since 1782

William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne (27 March – 10 July 1782) ‡

Thomas Townshend (10 July 1782 – 2 April 1783)

Frederick North, Lord North (2 April – 19 December 1783) ~

George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 3rd Earl Temple (19 December – 23 December 1783) †

Thomas Townshend, 1st Baron Sydney (23 December, 1783 – 5 June 1789)

William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (5 June 1789 – 8 June 1791)

Henry Dundas (8 June 1791 – 11 July 1794)

William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (11 July 1794 – 30 July 1801) ‡

Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham (30 July 1801 – 17 August 1803)

Charles Philip Yorke (17 August 1803 – 12 May 1804)

Robert Jenkinson, Lord Hawkesbury (12 May 1804 – 5 February 1806) ~

George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (5 February 1806 – 25 March 1807)

Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (25 March 1807 – 1 November 1809) ‡

Richard Ryder (1 November 1809 – 8 June 1812) ‡

Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth (11 June 1812 – 17 January 1822)

Sir Robert Peel (17 January 1822 – 10 April 1827) †

William Sturges Bourne (30 April – 16 July 1827) ‡

Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (16 July 1827 – 22 January 1828)

Sir Robert Peel (26 January 1828 – 22 November 1830)

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (22 November 1830 – 16 July 1834)

John Ponsonby, Viscount Duncannon (19 July 1834 – 15 November 1834)

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (pro tem; 15 November – 15 December 1834)

Henry Goulburn (15 December 1834 – 18 April 1835)

Lord John Russell (18 April 1835 – 30 August 1839)

Constantine Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby (30 August 1839 – 30 August 1841)

Sir James Graham, Bt (6 September 1841 – 30 June 1846)

Sir George Grey, Bt (6 July 1846 – 23 February 1852)

Spencer Horatio Walpole (27 February – 19 December 1852)

Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (28 December 1852 – 6 February 1855)

Sir George Grey, Bt (8 February 1855 – 26 February 1858)

Spencer Horatio Walpole (26 February 1858 – 3 March 1859)

Thomas Sotheron-Estcourt (3 March – 18 June 1859)

Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Bt (18 June 1859 – 25 July 1861)

Sir George Grey, Bt (25 July 1861 – 28 June 1866)

Spencer Horatio Walpole (6 July 1866 – 17 May 1867)

Gathorne Hardy (17 May 1867 – 3 December 1868)

Henry Bruce (9 December 1868 – 9 August 1873)

Robert Lowe (9 August 1873 – 20 February 1874)

Richard Cross (21 February 1874 – 23 April 1880)

Sir William Harcourt (28 April 1880 – 23 June 1885)

Richard Cross (24 June 1885 – 1 February 1886)

Hugh Childers (6 February – 25 July 1886)

Henry Matthews (3 August 1886 – 15 August 1892)

Herbert Henry Asquith (18 August 1892 – 25 June 1895)

Sir Matthew Ridley (29 June 1895 – 12 November 1900)

Charles Ritchie (12 November 1900 – 12 July 1902)

Aretas Akers-Douglas (12 July 1902 – 5 December 1905)

Herbert Gladstone (11 December 1905 – 19 February 1910)

Winston Churchill (19 February 1910 – 24 October 1911)

Reginald McKenna (24 October 1911 – 27 May 1915)

Sir John Simon (27 May 1915 – 12 January 1916)

Herbert Samuel (12 January – 7 December 1916)

George Cave, 1st Viscount Cave (11 December 1916 – 14 January 1919)

Edward Shortt (14 January 1919 – 23 October 1922)

William Bridgeman (25 October 1922 – 22 January 1924)

Arthur Henderson (23 January – 4 November 1924)

Sir William Joynson-Hicks (7 November 1924 – 5 June 1929)

John Robert Clynes (8 June 1929 – 26 August 1931)

Sir Herbert Samuel (26 August 1931 – 1 October 1932) †

Sir John Gilmour (1 October 1932 – 7 June 1935)

Sir John Simon (7 June 1935 – 28 May 1937)

Sir Samuel Hoare (28 May 1937 – 3 September 1939)

Sir John Anderson (4 September 1939 – 4 October 1940)

Herbert Morrison (4 October 1940 – 23 May 1945)

Sir Donald Somervell (25 May – 26 July 1945)

James Chuter Ede (3 August 1945 – 26 October 1951)

Sir David Maxwell Fyfe (27 October 1951 – 19 October 1954)

Gwilym Lloyd George (19 October 1954 – 14 January 1957) †

Rab Butler (14 January 1957 – 13 July 1962) #

Henry Brooke (13 July 1962 – 16 October 1964) ~

Sir Frank Soskice (18 October 1964 – 23 December 1965) #

Roy Jenkins (23 December 1965 – 30 November 1967) #

James Callaghan (30 November 1967 – 19 June 1970) ~

Reginald Maudling (20 June 1970 – 18 July 1972) †

Robert Carr (18 July 1972 – 4 March 1974) ~

Roy Jenkins (5 March 1974 – 10 September 1976) ~

Merlyn Rees (10 September 1976 – 4 May 1979) ~

William Whitelaw (5 May 1979 – 11 June 1983) #

Leon Brittan (11 June 1983 – 2 September 1985) #

Douglas Hurd (2 September 1985 – 26 October 1989) #

David Waddington (26 October 1989 – 28 November 1990) ~

Kenneth Baker (28 November 1990 – 10 April 1992) #

Kenneth Clarke (10 April 1992 – 27 May 1993) #

Michael Howard (27 May 1993 – 2 May 1997) ~

Jack Straw (2 May 1997 – 8 June 2001) #

David Blunkett (8 June 2001 – 15 December 2004) †

Charles Clarke (15 December 2004 – 5 May 2006) #

John Reid (5 May 2006 – 27 June 2007) ~

Jacqui Smith (28 June 2007 – † Resigned
# Reshuffled
~ Change of MinistryFurther Information

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