Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations

The secretary of state for Commonwealth relations was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for dealing with the United Kingdom's relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The minister's department was the Commonwealth Relations Office (CRO). The position was created in 1947 out of the old positions of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs and Secretary of State for India. In 1966, the position was merged with that of the Secretary of State for the Colonies to form that of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs, which was in turn merged with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1968 to create the new position of Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. The equivalent position today is the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.

The secretary of state for Commonwealth relations was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for dealing with the United Kingdom's relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The minister's department was the Commonwealth Relations Office (CRO).

The position was created in 1947 out of the old positions of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs and Secretary of State for India. In 1966, the position was merged with that of the Secretary of State for the Colonies to form that of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs, which was in turn merged with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1968 to create the new position of Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. The equivalent position today is the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.

Secretaries of state for Commonwealth relations, 1947–1966

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Portrait		Name	Term of office		Political party	Ministry
		Christopher Addison 1st Viscount Addison	7 July 1947	7 October 1947	Labour		Attlee (I & II)
		Philip Noel-Baker MP for Derby	7 October 1947	28 February 1950	Labour
		Patrick Gordon Walker MP for Smethwick	28 February 1950	26 October 1951	Labour
		General Hastings Ismay 1st Baron Ismay	28 October 1951	12 March 1952	–		Churchill III
		Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 5th Marquess of Salisbury	12 March 1952	24 November 1952	Conservative
		Philip Cunliffe-Lister 1st Viscount Swinton	24 November 1952	7 April 1955	Conservative
		Alec Douglas-Home 14th Earl of Home	7 April 1955	27 July 1960	Conservative		Eden
							Macmillan (I & II)
		Duncan Sandys MP for Streatham	27 July 1960	16 October 1964	Conservative
							Douglas-Home
		Arthur Bottomley MP for Middlesbrough East	18 October 1964	1 August 1966	Labour		Wilson (I & II)

Shadow secretaries of state for commonwealth relations

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Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
		Patrick Gordon Walker MP for Smethwick	15 July 1955	15 February 1956	Labour	Attlee
						Gaitskell
		Arthur Creech Jones MP for Wakefield	15 February 1956	24 January 1958	Labour
		Arthur Bottomley MP for Rochester and Chatham	24 January 1958[1]	November 1959	Labour
		Hilary Marquand MP for Middlesbrough East	November 1959	November 1961	Labour
		John Strachey MP for Dundee West	November 1961	15 July 1963	Labour
						Brown
						Wilson
		Unknown	15 July 1963	16 October 1964	Labour
		Duncan Sandys MP for Streatham	16 October 1964	5 August 1965	Conservative	Douglas-Home
		Selwyn Lloyd MP for Wirral	5 August 1965	19 April 1966	Conservative	Heath
		Reginald Maudling MP for Barnet	19 April 1966	1 August 1966	Conservative

References

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1. ^ "Shadow Cabinet Changes". The Glasgow Herald. 24 January 1958. p. 9. Retrieved 19 April 2025.

• Foreign and Commonwealth Office website

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