Joseph Chamberlain; Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1895-1903

The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. The position was first created in 1768 to deal with the increasingly troublesome North American colonies. Previously those responsibilities had fallen to the Secretary of State for the Southern Department, who was responsible for Southern England, Wales, Ireland, the American colonies, and relations with the Catholic and Muslim states of Europe.

In 1782, following the loss of the American colonies, the office was abolished, and its duties given to the Home Secretary, then Lord Sydney. In 1794 a new office was created for Henry Dundas — the Secretary of State for War, which now took responsibility for the Colonies, and was renamed the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1801. In 1854, military reforms led to the Colonial and Military responsibilities of this secretary of state being split into two separate offices, with Sir George Grey becoming the first Secretary of State for the Colonies under the new arrangement.

Until 1925, when the office of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was created, the Colonial Office had responsibility for all British colonies and dominions besides India, which had its own Secretary of State. In 1966, with most of the colonies gone, the office was merged with that of the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations to create the new office of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs. In 1968 the Commonwealth Office was subsumed into the Foreign Office, which became known as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

From 1768 until 1966 the Secretary of State was supported by an Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (at times an Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies), and latterly by a Minister of State.

[edit] Secretaries of State for the Colonies, 1768-1782

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office
	The Earl of Hillsborough		27 February 1768	27 August 1772
	The Earl of Dartmouth		27 August, 1772	10 November 1775
	Lord George Germain		10 November 1775	February 1782
	Welbore Ellis		February 1782	8 March 1782

Responsibility for the Colonies held by:

• Home Secretary 1782–1794
• Secretary of State for War 1794–1801
• Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1801–1854

[edit] Secretaries of State for the Colonies, 1854-1903

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Sir George Grey, Bt		12 June 1854	8 February 1855	Whig (Coalition)	Earl of Aberdeen
	Sidney Herbert		8 February 1855	23 February 1855	Whig	Viscount Palmerston
	Lord John Russell		23 February 1855	21 July 1855	Whig
	Sir William Molesworth, Bt		21 July 1855	21 November 1855	Whig
	Henry Labouchere		21 November 1855	21 February 1858	Whig
	Lord Stanley		26 February 1858	5 June 1858	Conservative	Earl of Derby
	Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Bt		5 June 1858	11 June 1859	Conservative
	The Duke of Newcastle		18 June 1859	7 April 1864	Liberal	Viscount Palmerston
	Edward Cardwell		7 April 1864	26 June 1866	Liberal
						Earl Russell
	The Earl of Carnarvon		6 July 1866	8 March 1867	Conservative	Earl of Derby
	The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos		8 March 1867	1 December 1868	Conservative
						Benjamin Disraeli
	The Earl Granville		9 December 1868	6 July 1870	Liberal	William Ewart Gladstone
	The Earl of Kimberley		6 July 1870	17 February 1874	Liberal
	The Earl of Carnarvon		21 February 1874	4 February 1878	Conservative	Benjamin Disraeli
	Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt		4 February 1878	21 April 1880	Conservative
	The Earl of Kimberley		21 April 1880	16 December 1882	Liberal	William Ewart Gladstone
	The Earl of Derby		16 December 1882	9 June 1885	Liberal
	Hon. Frederick Stanley		24 June 1885	28 January 1886	Conservative	Marquess of Salisbury
	The Earl Granville		6 February 1886	20 July 1886	Liberal	William Ewart Gladstone
	Hon. Edward Stanhope		3 August 1886	14 January 1887	Conservative	Marquess of Salisbury
	The Lord Knutsford		14 January 1887	11 August 1892	Conservative
	The Marquess of Ripon		18 August 1892	21 June 1895	Liberal	William Ewart Gladstone
						Earl of Rosebery
	Joseph Chamberlain		29 June 1895	16 September 1903	Liberal Unionist	Marquess of Salisbury
						Arthur Balfour

[edit] Secretaries of State for the Colonies, 1903-1966

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Hon. Alfred Lyttelton		11 October 1903	4 December 1905	Liberal Unionist	Arthur Balfour
	The Earl of Elgin		10 December 1905	12 April 1908	Liberal	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
	The Earl of Crewe		12 April 1908	3 November 1910	Liberal	H. H. Asquith
	Lewis Vernon Harcourt		3 November 1910	25 May 1915	Liberal
	Andrew Bonar Law		25 May 1915	10 December 1916	Conservative (Coalition)
	Walter Long		10 December 1916	10 January 1919	Conservative (Coalition)	David Lloyd George
	The Viscount Milner		10 January 1919	13 February 1921	Liberal (Coalition)
	Winston Churchill		13 February 1921	19 October 1922	Liberal (Coalition)
	The Duke of Devonshire		24 October 1922	22 January 1924	Conservative	Andrew Bonar Law
						Stanley Baldwin
	James Henry Thomas		22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour	Ramsay MacDonald
	Leo Amery		6 November 1924	4 June 1929	Conservative	Stanley Baldwin
	The Lord Passfield		7 June 1929	24 August 1931	Labour	Ramsay MacDonald
	James Henry Thomas		25 August 1931	5 November 1931	National Labour (National Govt)
	Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister		5 November 1931	7 June, 1935	Conservative (National Govt)
	Malcolm MacDonald		7 June 1935	22 November 1935	National Labour (National Govt)	Stanley Baldwin
	James Henry Thomas		22 November 1935	22 May 1936	National Labour (National Govt)
	William Ormsby-Gore		28 May 1936	16 May 1938	Conservative (National Govt)
						Neville Chamberlain
	Malcolm MacDonald		16 May 1938	12 May 1940	National Labour (National Govt; War Govt)
	The Lord Lloyd		12 May 1940	8 February 1941	Conservative (Coalition)	Winston Churchill
	The Lord Moyne		8 February 1941	22 February 1942	Conservative (Coalition)
	Viscount Cranborne		22 February 1942	22 November 1942	Conservative (Coalition)
	Hon. Oliver Stanley		22 November 1942	26 July 1945	Conservative (Coalition)
	George Hall		3 August 1945	4 October 1946	Labour	Clement Attlee
	Arthur Creech Jones		4 October 1946	28 February 1950	Labour
	Jim Griffiths		28 February 1950	26 October 1951	Labour
	Oliver Lyttelton		28 October 1951	28 July 1954	Conservative	Sir Winston Churchill
	Alan Lennox-Boyd		28 July 1954	14 October 1959	Conservative
						Sir Anthony Eden
						Harold Macmillan
	Iain Macleod		14 October 1959	9 October 1961	Conservative
	Reginald Maudling		9 October 1961	13 July 1962	Conservative
	Duncan Sandys		13 July 1962	16 October 1964	Conservative
						Sir Alec Douglas-Home
	Anthony Greenwood		18 October 1964	23 December 1965	Labour	Harold Wilson
	The Earl of Longford		23 December 1965	6 April 1966	Labour
	Frederick Lee		6 April 1966	1 August 1966	Labour

Responsibility for the colonies held by:

• Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs 1966–1968
• Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 1968–present

Following the British Nationality Act 1981 the term "colony" ceased to be used; Britain's rule over the last significant former colony, Hong Kong, ceased in 1997. Britain retains certain overseas territories.