The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union or, informally, Brexit Secretary, was 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.

, responsible for the business of the

Department for Exiting the European Union The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU; also known as the Department for Brexit or Brexit Department) was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for overseeing negotiations relating to Brexit, and establi ...

, as well as for the UK's withdrawal from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU), informally referred to as "

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

". The secretary of state oversaw

Brexit negotiations Between 2017 and 2019, representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union negotiated the terms of Brexit, the UK's planned withdrawal from membership of the EU. These negotiations arose following the decision of the Parliament of th ...

following a 2016 referendum, in which a majority of those who voted were in favour of exiting the EU. The officeholder was a member of the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

. The position was created on 13 July 2016, at the outset of the

premiership of Theresa May Theresa May's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 13 July 2016 when she accepted an invitation of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding David Cameron, and ended on 24 July 2019 upon her resignation. May's prem ...

. The office was abolished on 31 January 2020, during the

premiership of Boris Johnson Boris Johnson's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 24 July 2019 when he accepted an invitation of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Theresa May, and ended on 6 September 2022 upon his resignation. Johnson' ...

, as the United Kingdom left the European Union. A new cabinet position of

Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency The minister of state for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency was a ministerial office in the Cabinet Office in the Government of the United Kingdom. This position was created (as "Minister for Efficiency and Transformation") by Prime Mi ...

was later created. The

Minister of State for Exiting the European Union The Minister of State for Exiting the European Union was a position in the Department for Exiting the European Union in the Government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Governme ...

deputised for the secretary of state. The corresponding shadow minister was the

Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union In British politics, the Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, or informally Shadow Brexit Secretary, was a position within the opposition's shadow cabinet that dealt with issues surrounding the UK's withdrawal from the E ...

. The secretary of state was also scrutinised by the

Exiting the European Union Select Committee The Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union, commonly known as the Brexit Select Committee and formerly the Exiting the European Union Select Committee, was a select committee of the British House of Commons that examines matt ...

. This page also includes the portfolios of the Chief Negotiator for Exiting the European Union and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

History

May reportedly ordered civil servants to find a building to house a new

, to be headed by the secretary of state. The headquarters of the

Department of Energy and Climate Change The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the ...

(DECC) at Whitehall Place, which was to be vacated once the DECC was merged into the newly created

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom Government, from July 2016 to Februar ...

, was viewed as a potential site for the department. The department later occupied

9 Downing Street 9 Downing Street is one of the buildings situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London, England. It has been used as a separate address to the better known 10 Downing Street since 2001 for various government functions. History ...

. The inaugural holder was David Davis MP, a longtime

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

who campaigned for the UK to leave the EU. Davis is a former

chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives are ...

who served in the government of John Major as

Minister of State for Europe The minister of state for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories, is a ministerial position within the Government of the United Kingdom, in charge of affairs with Europe. The minister can also be responsible for government policy towards ...

(1994–97) and in the

Shadow Cabinet of David Cameron David Cameron was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from his election as Leader on 6 December 2005 until he became Prime Minister on 11 May 2010. His tenure as opposition leader was characterised by opposition ...

shadow home secretary In British politics, the shadow home secretary (formally known as the shadow secretary of state for the home department) is the person within the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (UK), shadow cabinet who shadows the home secretary; this effecti ...

. Davis resigned on 8 July 2018 shortly before midnight;

Dominic Raab Dominic Rennie Raab ( ; born 25 February 1974) is a British former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor from September 2021 to September 2022 and again from October 2022 to ...

was appointed on 9 July as his replacement and resigned on 15 November 2018.

Steve Barclay Stephen Paul Barclay (born 3 May 1972) is a British politician who served in various cabinet positions under prime ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak between 2018 and 2024, lastly as the Secretary of State for Environment, ...

, who had been serving as

Minister of State for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental healt ...

, was selected as Raab's successor on 16 November 2018.

List of secretaries of state for exiting the European Union (Brexit secretaries)

Colour key (for political parties):

List of chief negotiators for exiting the European Union

Colour key (for political parties):

List of ministers of state for exiting the European Union

List of parliamentary under-secretaries of state for exiting the European Union

Colour key (for political parties):

References

External links

Davis' resignation letter and May's reply in full, ''BBC News'', 9 July 2018

Department for Exiting the European Union
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secretary Of State For Exiting The European Union 2016 establishments in the United Kingdom 2020 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Brexit Consequences of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum Lists of government ministers of the United Kingdom Ministerial offices in the United Kingdom Ministers and ministries responsible for European affairs * United Kingdom and the European Union Defunct ministerial offices in the United Kingdom

History

List of secretaries of state for exiting the European Union (Brexit secretaries)

List of chief negotiators for exiting the European Union

List of ministers of state for exiting the European Union

List of parliamentary under-secretaries of state for exiting the European Union

See also

References

External links