Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs

**Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs**
Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
	Royal Arms as used by His Majesty's Government
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	The Monarch; (on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Inaugural holder	Leo Amery
Formation	11 June 1925
Final holder	The Viscount Addison
Abolished	7 July 1947
Deputy	Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs

The position of secretary of state for dominion affairs was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for British relations with the Empire’s dominions – Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free State – and the self-governing Crown colony of Southern Rhodesia.

When initially created in 1925, the office was held in tandem with that of secretary of state for the colonies; this arrangement persisted until June 1930. On two subsequent occasions the offices were briefly held by the same person.

The secretary of state was supported by an under-secretary of state for dominion affairs. In 1947, the name of the office was changed to the secretary of state for Commonwealth relations.

Secretaries of state for dominion affairs, 1925–1947

Conservative Labour National Labour
Portrait	Name Honorifics & constituency	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister		Foreign Secretary
	The Right Honourable Leo Amery MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook (also Sec.State for the Colonies)	11 June 1925	4 June 1929	Conservative		Baldwin	Chamberlain
	The Right Honourable The Lord Passfield (also Sec.State for the Colonies)	7 June 1929	5 June 1930	Labour		MacDonald	Henderson
	The Right Honourable James Henry Thomas MP for Derby (also Sec.State for the Colonies, Aug–Nov 1931)	5 June 1930	22 November 1935	Labour			Henderson
		5 June 1930	22 November 1935	National Labour			Reading Simon
	The Right Honourable Malcolm MacDonald MP for Ross and Cromarty	22 November 1935	16 May 1938	National Labour		Baldwin	Hoare Eden
		22 November 1935	16 May 1938	National Labour		Chamberlain	Hoare Eden
	The Right Honourable Lord Stanley MP for Fylde	16 May 1938	16 October 1938†	Conservative			Halifax
	The Right Honourable Malcolm MacDonald MP for Ross and Cromarty (also Sec.State for the Colonies)	31 October 1938	29 January 1939	National Labour
	The Right Honourable Sir Thomas Inskip MP for Fareham	29 January 1939	3 September 1939	Conservative
	The Right Honourable Anthony Eden MP for Warwick and Leamington^[1]	3 September 1939	14 May 1940	Conservative
	The Right Honourable The Viscount Caldecote^[2]	14 May 1940	3 October 1940	Conservative		Churchill
	The Right Honourable Viscount Cranborne MP for South Dorset until 1941 Baron Cecil of Essendon after 1941	3 October 1940	19 February 1942	Conservative			Eden
	The Right Honourable Clement Attlee MP for Limehouse^[3]	19 February 1942	24 September 1943	Labour
	The Right Honourable Viscount Cranborne Baron Cecil of Essendon^[2]	24 September 1943	26 July 1945	Conservative
	The Right Honourable The Viscount Addison^[2]	3 August 1945	7 July 1947	Labour		Attlee	Bevin

The Viscount Addison took up the new post of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations on 7 July 1947.

Notes

^ Also Secretary of State for War.
^ ^a ^b ^c Also Leader of the House of Lords.
^ Also Deputy Prime Minister

External links

History of English and British government departments with responsibility for foreign affairs and those with responsibility for the colonies, dominions and the Commonwealth
Northern Department 1660–1782 Secretaries — Undersecretaries	Southern Department 1660–1768 Secretaries — Undersecretaries		—
	Southern Department 1768–1782 Secretaries — Undersecretaries 1782: diplomatic responsibilities transferred to new Foreign Office	Colonial Office 1768–1782 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
Foreign Office 1782–1968 Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries	Home Office 1782–1794 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
	War Office 1794–1801 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
	War and Colonial Office 1801–1854 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
	Colonial Office 1854–1925 Secretaries — Undersecretaries		India Office 1858–1937 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
	Colonial Office 1925–1966 Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries	Dominions Office 1925–1947 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
			India Office and Burma Office 1937–1947 Secretaries — Undersecretaries
		Commonwealth Relations Office 1947–1966 Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries
	Commonwealth Office 1966–1968 Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries
Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1968–2020 Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Since 2020 Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries

[1] Also Secretary of State for War.

[Lords-2] Also Leader of the House of Lords.

[3] Also Deputy Prime Minister

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