First Secretary of State

First Secretary of State
Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent William Hague since 12 May 2010
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	Elizabeth II as the Sovereign, on the advice of the Prime Minister
Inaugural holder	R. A. Butler
Formation	13 July 1962

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First Secretary of State is a purely honorific title occasionally used within the Government of the United Kingdom. The title, which implies seniority over all other Secretaries of State, has no specific powers or authority attached to it beyond that of any other Secretary of State.

Significantly, the role exists only when in use and therefore there can be a lengthy period between successive holders of the title.

Current position

The current First Secretary of State is William Hague who received the title in addition to that of Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs upon his appointment by Prime Minister David Cameron on 12 May 2010. For the first time the title has been used while the title of Deputy Prime Minister is held by a different cabinet member, currently Nick Clegg as leader of the junior coalition partner in the government.

List of First Secretaries of State

Colour key
(for political parties)

  Labour

  Conservative

Name		Picture	Term of Office		Political party and position	Other Ministerial Offices	Prime Minister
	R. A. Butler		13 July 1962	18 October 1963	Conservative	Deputy Prime Minister		Harold Macmillan
Office not in use			1963–1964					Alec Douglas-Home
	George Brown		16 October 1964	11 August 1966	Labour (Deputy Leader)	Economic Secretary		Harold Wilson
	Michael Stewart		11 August 1966	6 April 1968	Labour	Economic Secretary (until August 1967) Foreign Secretary (from March 1968)
	Barbara Castle		6 April 1968	19 June 1970	Labour	Employment and Productivity Secretary
Office not in use			1970–1995					Edward Heath
								Harold Wilson
								James Callaghan
								Margaret Thatcher
								John Major
	Michael Heseltine		20 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative	Deputy Prime Minister
Office not in use			1997–2001					Tony Blair
	John Prescott		8 June 2001	27 June 2007	Labour (Deputy Leader)	Deputy Prime Minister (from May 1997)
Office not in use			2007–2009					Gordon Brown
	The Lord Mandelson		5 June 2009	11 May 2010	Labour	Business Secretary Lord President of the Council
	William Hague		12 May 2010	Incumbent	Conservative	Foreign Secretary		David Cameron (Coalition)

See also

• Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom