The minister of state for development, formerly the minister of state for development and Africa and the secretary of state for international development, is a senior

minister of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign ...

within 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.

. The officeholder headed the

Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...

(DFID) as secretary of state from 1997 to 2020. The office formed part of the

British Cabinet 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, it is chaired by the Prime Minister and its members include Secretaries of State and senior Mini ...

. The

was abolished in September 2020, and

Anne-Marie Trevelyan Anne-Marie Belinda Trevelyan (née Beaton; born 6 April 1969) is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (United Kingdom), Minister of State for Indo-Pacific under Rishi Sunak between October 2022 to July 2024. ...

was the final holder of the post. The post was made a ministerial position attending Cabinet in the

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

in 2022. The corresponding shadow minister is the

shadow cabinet minister for international development The shadow cabinet minister for international development is the lead spokesperson for the United Kingdom's Official Opposition on issues related to international aid, most notably to the Third World. The shadow cabinet minister holds the ministe ...

History

A separate Ministry of Overseas Development was established by

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

when he came to office in 1964. The first three holders of the office served in the Cabinet, but from 29 August 1967 the office was demoted. Under

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

, the Ministry was re-incorporated into the FCO on 15 October 1970. Wilson again established the Ministry in 1974, but later merged it into the FCO once again: from 10 June 1975 to 8 October 1979 the foreign secretary served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Minister for Overseas Development in the cabinet, while the minister for overseas development held the rank of Minister of State within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The minister of state had day-to-day responsibility. Under the Labour government of the 1970s,

Reg Prentice Reginald Ernest Prentice, Baron Prentice, PC (16 July 1923 – 18 January 2001) was a British politician who held ministerial office in both Labour and Conservative Party governments. He was the most senior Labour figure ever to defect to th ...

sat in the Cabinet during his term. The post's last and main format was created in 1997 when the Department for International Development was made independent of the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

(FCO). In June 2020, it was announced the Department for International Development would be dissolved, and its operations would be merged into the

. The process was completed by 2 September 2020, with the last international development secretary

remaining in place until that time. In 2022, the position was revised in the as a minister of state attending Cabinet during the

Truss ministry The Truss ministry began on 6 September 2022 when Liz Truss was invited by Queen Elizabeth II—two days before the monarch's death—to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister of the United Kingdom. Johnson had resigned as leader of the ...

. From 2022 to 2024 under the

Sunak ministry The Sunak ministry began on 25 October 2022 when Rishi Sunak was invited by King Charles III to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister of the United Kingdom. October 2022 United Kingdom government crisis, Truss resigned as Leader of the Conserv ...

, the position was combined with responsibility for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

as the Minister of State for Development and Africa.

Responsibilities

The Minister's responsibilities include: *international development *Caribbean and Small Island Developing States *soft power (including FCDO arms-length bodies British Council, BBC World Service and Wilton Park) *devolution

List of ministers and secretaries of state

References

{{Cabinet positions in the United Kingdom

International Development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic development, economic or human development (economics), human development on an international sca ...

Ministerial offices in the United Kingdom 1964 establishments in the United Kingdom 2020 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Department for International Development