Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Her Majesty's Principal
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Her Majesty's Principal; Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	Royal Arms of Her Majesty's Government
	Incumbent; George Eustice; since 13 February 2020
	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Style	Environment Secretary (informal); The Right Honourable; (within the UK and the Commonwealth)
Appointer	The Monarch; on advice of the Prime Minister
Formation	8 June 2001
First holder	Margaret Beckett
Website	ww2.defra.gov.uk

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, also referred to as the Environment Secretary, is a British Cabinet level position, in charge of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the successor to the positions of Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

As of February 2020, the Secretary of State is George Eustice MP.

Responsibilities

The Secretary of State has three main responsibilities at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to:

bear overall responsibility for all Departmental issues.
represent the United Kingdom at the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council, and at the EU Environment Council.
lobby for the United Kingdom in other international negotiations on sustainable development and climate change.

List of Environment Secretaries

Secretaries of State for the Environment (1970–1997)

Secretary of State for the Environment^[1]
Portrait		Name	Term of office		Party	Ministry
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Peter Walker MBE MP for Worcester	15 October 1970	5 November 1972	Conservative	Heath
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Geoffrey Rippon QC MP for Hexham	5 November 1972	4 March 1974	Conservative	Heath
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Anthony Crosland MP for Great Grimsby	5 March 1974	8 April 1976	Labour	Wilson (III & IV)
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Peter Shore MP for Stepney and Poplar	8 April 1976	4 May 1979	Labour	Callaghan
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Michael Heseltine MP for Henley	5 May 1979	6 January 1983	Conservative	Thatcher I
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Tom King MP for Bridgwater	6 January 1983	11 June 1983	Conservative	Thatcher I
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Patrick Jenkin MP for Wanstead and Woodford	11 June 1983	2 September 1985	Conservative	Thatcher II
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Kenneth Baker MP for Mole Valley	2 September 1985	21 May 1986	Conservative
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Nicholas Ridley MP for Cirencester and Tewkesbury	21 May 1986	24 July 1989	Conservative
Thatcher III		Nicholas Ridley MP for Cirencester and Tewkesbury	21 May 1986	24 July 1989	Conservative
Thatcher III	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Chris Patten MP for Bath	24 July 1989	28 November 1990	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Michael Heseltine MP for Henley	28 November 1990	11 April 1992	Conservative	Major I
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Michael Howard QC MP for Folkestone and Hythe	11 April 1992	27 May 1993	Conservative	Major II
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		John Gummer MP for Suffolk Coastal	27 May 1993	2 May 1997	Conservative	Major II

Secretaries of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1997–2001)

Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Portrait		Name	Term of office		Party	Ministry	Ref.
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		John Prescott MP for Kingston upon Hull East	2 May 1997	8 June 2001	Labour	Blair I	^[2]

Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2001–present)

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Portrait	Name	Term of office		Party	Ministry	Ref.
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Margaret Beckett MP for Derby South	8 June 2001	5 May 2006	Labour	Blair II & III	^[3]
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	David Miliband MP for South Shields	5 May 2006	27 June 2007	Labour	Blair II & III	^[4]
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Hilary Benn MP for Leeds Central	28 June 2007	11 May 2010	Labour	Brown	^[5]
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Caroline Spelman MP for Meriden	12 May 2010	4 September 2012	Conservative	Cameron–Clegg (Con.–L.D.)	^[6]
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Owen Paterson MP for North Shropshire	4 September 2012	14 July 2014	Conservative		^[7]
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Elizabeth Truss MP for South West Norfolk	15 July 2014	14 July 2016	Conservative		^[8]
Cameron II	Elizabeth Truss MP for South West Norfolk	15 July 2014	14 July 2016	Conservative		^[8]
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Andrea Leadsom MP for South Northamptonshire	14 July 2016	11 June 2017	Conservative	May I	^[9]
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Michael Gove MP for Surrey Heath	11 June 2017	24 July 2019	Conservative	May II	^[10]
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; border:none" \|	Theresa Villiers MP for Chipping Barnet	24 July 2019	13 February 2020	Conservative	Johnson I	^[11]
style="background-color:Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; border:none" \|	Theresa Villiers MP for Chipping Barnet	24 July 2019	13 February 2020	Conservative	Johnson II	^[11]
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	George Eustice MP for Camborne and Redruth	13 February 2020	Incumbent	Conservative	Johnson II

References

^ "Secretary of State for Environment". Hansard 1803–2005. UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^ "Lord Prescott". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^ "Rt Hon David Miliband". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Dame Caroline Spelman MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Michael Gove MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^ "Theresa Villiers replaces Gove as Defra secretary". Farmers Weekly. Retrieved 25 July 2019.

[1] "Secretary of State for Environment". Hansard 1803–2005. UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.

[2] "Lord Prescott". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.

[3] "Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.

[4] "Rt Hon David Miliband". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.

[5] "Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.

[6] "Rt Hon Dame Caroline Spelman MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.

[7] "Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.

[8] "Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.

[9] "Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.

[10] "Rt Hon Michael Gove MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2017.

[11] "Theresa Villiers replaces Gove as Defra secretary". Farmers Weekly. Retrieved 25 July 2019.

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