The secretary of state for culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the

Government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the

Department for Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for Culture of the United Kingdom, culture a ...

. The incumbent is a member of the

Cabinet of the United Kingdom The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of the Government of the United Kingdom. A committee of the Privy Council (United Kingdom), Privy Council, it is chaired by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime M ...

. The office has been dubbed "Minister of Fun".

Responsibilities

The secretary has overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the

. Responsibilities include: * Arts and Culture * Broadcasting * Creative industries * Creative Industries Council * Cultural property, heritage and the historic environment * Cultural Renewal Taskforce * Culture, sports and arts sector recovery from COVID-19 * Gambling and racing * Libraries * Media ownership and mergers * Museums and galleries * The National Lottery * Sport * Tourism

History

The office was created in 1992 by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

, as Secretary of State for National Heritage. In his autobiography, Major says that, before the office was created, responsibility for cultural interests was shared among various departments, but important to none of them. For instance, arts and libraries, although a separate department, had no minister in the Cabinet, sport was part of the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

, film was part of the Department of Trade and Industry, broadcasting was part of the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

, tourism was part of the Department for Employment and heritage was part of the Department of the Environment. He also wrote that the system tended to favour the interests of the articulate and well-connected

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based arts lobby. Thus, when he became Prime Minister, Major said that he saw that the only way to give culture and sport the higher profile that he thought that they deserved was to establish a new department, under a minister of Cabinet rank, to bring together all aspects of the arts, sport and heritage.

List of secretaries of state

Secretary of State for National Heritage (1992–1997)

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1997–2010)

Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (2010 - 2012)

Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2012–2017)

Secretaries of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2017–2023)

Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2023–present)

Timeline of secretaries of state

References

{{Cabinet positions in the United Kingdom Culture, Media and Sport

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Ministerial offices in the United Kingdom Department for Culture, Media and Sport 1992 establishments in the United Kingdom