Great Offices Of State
The Great Offices of State are senior offices in the UK government.
They are the prime minister, chancellor of the Exchequer, foreign secretary and home secretary or, alternatively, three of those offices excluding the prime minister.
Current
| Great Offices of State of His Majesty's Government | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_(2022).svg) Sunak ministry | |||||
| Office | Officeholder | Took office | Concurrent government office(s) | Previous government office | |
| Prime Minister | .jpg) | The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak MP for Richmond (Yorks) | 25 October 2022 |
| |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | .jpg) | The Right Honourable Jeremy Hunt MP for South West Surrey | 14 October 2022 | Second Lord of the Treasury | Foreign Secretary July 2018 – July 2019 Health Secretary September 2012 – July 2018 |
| Foreign Secretary (Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs) | .jpg) | The Right Honourable The Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Life Peer | 13 November 2023 |
| |
| Home Secretary (Secretary of State for the Home Department) | .jpg) | The Right Honourable James Cleverly MP for Braintree | 13 November 2023 |
| |
History
The Great Offices of State are derived from the most senior positions in the Royal Household – the Great Officers of State. These eventually became hereditary and honorary titles, while the substantive duties of the Officers passed to individuals who were appointed on behalf of the Crown. James Callaghan is the first and, to date, only person to have served in all four positions.
According to a YouGov poll conducted in 2017, the British public view the three most senior Cabinet ministers as the Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the Secretary of State for Defence, with the office of Home Secretary coming in fourth place, and that of Foreign Secretary in just ninth place, preceded by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and followed by the Secretary of State for International Trade. The office of Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was viewed as least important, with just 3% of respondents saying they viewed it as one of the most important positions.
The Truss ministry formed on 6 September 2022 and initially had no white men holding positions in the Great Offices of State, for the first time in British political history. This remained the case for just 38 days until the appointment of Jeremy Hunt as Chancellor of the Exchequer on 14 October 2022, replacing Kwasi Kwarteng who had been the first black Chancellor. Five days later on 19 October 2022, Grant Shapps was appointed Home Secretary, replacing Suella Braverman, although Braverman was then reappointed by incoming Prime Minister Rishi Sunak just six days later. Following Sunak's reshuffle in November 2023, this marks the first instance since 2010, when the Conservatives assumed office, where no women occupy a Great Office of State. It also marked the first 21st century instance of a former prime minister holding a Great Office of State, with David Cameron being appointed as Foreign Secretary in the Sunak ministry, becoming the first former prime minister to serve in a ministerial post since Alec Douglas-Home in 1970−1974.
See also
Notes
References
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