| Great Britain Secretary of State for the Southern Department | |
|---|---|
.svg) Coat of Arms of the Government of the Kingdom of Great Britain | |
| TheSouthern Department | |
| Style | The Right Honourable (Formal prefix) |
| Member of | British Cabinet |
| Seat | Westminster,London |
| Appointer | TheBritish monarch on advice of theprime minister |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Formation | 1660-1782 |
| First holder | Edward Nicholas |
| Final holder | Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough |
Thesecretary of state for the Southern Department[1] was a position in thecabinet of the government of theKingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when theSouthern Department became theHome Office.[2][3]
Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two Britishsecretaries of state for theNorthern and the Southern departments were divided not based on the principles of modern ministerial divisions, but geographically. The secretary of state for the Southern Department was responsible forIreland, theChannel Islands,France,Spain,Portugal, theOld Swiss Confederacy, the states ofItaly, and theOttoman Empire. He was also responsible for theAmerican colonies until 1768, when the charge was given to thesecretary of state for the colonies. Thesecretary of state for the Northern Department was responsible for relations with theDutch Republic,Scandinavia,Poland,Russia, and theHoly Roman Empire. Domestic responsibilities inEngland andWales were shared between the two Secretaries. After the union withScotland in 1707, the two secretaries also took responsibility for Scotland when there was nosecretary of state for Scotland in office.[4]
Until 1706, the practice was generally for the senior official to lead the Southern Department, and the junior the Northern Department, with the Northern Secretary being transferred to the Southern Department when a vacancy arose at the latter.[4] During the reigns ofGeorge I andGeorge II, however, the Northern Department began to be seen as the more important, since its responsibilities included the monarchs' ancestral home ofHanover.[5] During the reign ofGeorge III, the two departments were of approximately equal importance.[6]
In 1782, the two secretaries of state were reformed as thesecretary of state for the Home Department and thesecretary of state for foreign affairs.[7]
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Monarch (Reign) | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Sir Edward Nicholas (1593–1669) | 1 June 1660 | 20 October 1662 | Charles II.svg) (1660–1685) | [10] |
_(and_studio)_-_Henry_Bennet_(1618%25E2%2580%25931685)%2c_1st_Earl_of_Arlington%2c_in_Garter_Robes_-_108929_-_National_Trust.jpg) | Henry Bennet 1stEarl of Arlington (1618–1685)[a] | 20 October 1662 | 11 September 1674 | [11] | |
 | Henry Coventry MP forDroitwich (c. 1618–1686) | 11 September 1674 | 26 April 1680 | [12] | |
 | Robert Spencer 2ndEarl of Sunderland (1641–1702) | 26 April 1680 | 2 February 1681 | ||
 | Sir Leoline Jenkins MP forOxford University (c. 1625–1685) | 2 February 1681 | 14 April 1684 | [13] | |
| Robert Spencer 2ndEarl of Sunderland (1641–1702) | 14 April 1684 | 28 October 1688 | ||
| James II (1685–1688) | |||||
| Charles Middleton 2ndEarl of Middleton (c. 1650–1719) | 28 October 1688 | 2 December 1688 | [14] | |
 | Charles Talbot 12thEarl of Shrewsbury (1660–1718) | 14 February 1689 | 2 June 1690 | Mary II.svg) (1689–1694) & William III .svg) (1689–1702) | |
 | Daniel Finch 2ndEarl of Nottingham (1647–1730)[b] | 2 June 1690 | November 1693 | [15] | |
.jpg) | Sir John Trenchard MP forPoole (1649–1695)[c] | November 1693 | 27 April 1695 | [16] | |
| Charles Talbot 1stDuke of Shrewsbury (1660–1718) | 27 April 1695 | 12 December 1698 | ||
.jpg) | James Vernon MP forWestminster (1646–1727)[d] | 12 December 1698 | 14 May 1699 | [17] | |
 | Edward Villiers 1stEarl of Jersey (c. 1656–1711) | 14 May 1699 | 27 June 1700 | ||
| James Vernon MP forWestminster (1646–1727)[e] | 27 June 1700 | 4 January 1702 | [17] | |
 | Charles Montagu 4thEarl of Manchester (c. 1662–1722) | 4 January 1702 | 1 May 1702 | ||
Anne.svg) (1702–1714) | |||||
| Daniel Finch 2ndEarl of Nottingham (1647–1730) | 2 May 1702 | 22 April 1704 | [15] | |
| SirCharles Hedges MP forWest Looe (1650–1714)[f] | 18 May 1704 | 3 December 1706 | [18] | |
 | Charles Spencer 3rdEarl of Sunderland (1675–1722) | 3 December 1706 | 13 June 1710 | [19] | |
 | William Legge 1stEarl of Dartmouth (1672–1750) | 15 June 1710 | 6 August 1713 | ||
.jpg) | Henry St John 1stViscount Bolingbroke (1678–1751) | 17 August 1713 | 31 August 1714 | [20] | |
| George I (1714–1727) | |||||
 | James Stanhope MP forCockermouth (1673–1721)[g] | 27 September 1714 | 22 June 1716 | [21] | |
 | Sir Paul Methuen MP forBrackley (c. 1672–1757)[h] | 22 June 1716 | 10 April 1717 | [22] | |
 | Joseph Addison MP forMalmesbury (1672–1719) | 12 April 1717 | 14 March 1718 | [23] | |
 | James Craggs 'the Younger' MP forTregony (1686–1721) | 16 March 1718 | 16 February 1721 | [24] | |
 | John Carteret 2ndBaron Carteret (1690–1763) | 4 March 1721 | 31 March 1724 | ||
 | Thomas Pelham-Holles 1stDuke of Newcastle (1693–1768)[i] | 6 April 1724 | 12 February 1748 | ||
| George II (1727–1760) | |||||
 | John Russell 4thDuke of Bedford (1710–1771) | 12 February 1748 | 13 June 1751 | ||
 | Robert Darcy 4thEarl of Holderness (1718–1778) | 18 June 1751 | 23 March 1754 | ||
 | SirThomas Robinson MP forChristchurch (1695–1770) | 24 March 1754 | October 1755 | [25] | |
 | Henry Fox MP forWindsor (1705–1774) | 14 November 1755 | 13 November 1756 | [26] | |
 | William Pitt 'the Elder' MP forOkehampton (1708–1778) | 4 December 1756 | 6 April 1757 | [27] | |
| Robert Darcy 4thEarl of Holderness (1718–1778)[j] | 6 April 1757 | 27 June 1757 | ||
| William Pitt 'the Elder' MP forBath (1708–1778) | 27 June 1757 | 5 October 1761 | [27] | |
| George III (1760–1820) | |||||
 | Charles Wyndham 2ndEarl of Egremont (1710–1763) | 9 October 1761 | 21 August 1763 | [28] | |
 | George Montagu-Dunk 2ndEarl of Halifax (1716–1771) | 9 September 1763 | 10 July 1765 | ||
 | Henry Seymour Conway MP forThetford (1719–1795) | 12 July 1765 | 23 May 1766 | [29] | |
 | Charles Lennox 3rdDuke of Richmond (1735–1806) | 23 May 1766 | 29 July 1766 | ||
 | William Petty 2ndEarl of Shelburne (1737–1805) | 30 July 1766 | 20 October 1768 | [30] | |
 | Thomas Thynne 3rdViscount Weymouth (1734–1796) | 21 October 1768 | 12 December 1770 | ||
 | William de Zuylestein 4thEarl of Rochford (1717–1781) | 19 December 1770 | 9 November 1775 | ||
| Thomas Thynne 3rdViscount Weymouth (1734–1796)[k] | 9 November 1775 | November 1779 | ||
 | Wills Hill 1stEarl of Hillsborough (1718–1793) | 25 November 1779 | 27 March 1782 | [31] | |
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)At the Restoration [in 1660] the practice of appointing two Secretaries of State, which was well established before the Civil War, was resumed. Apart from the modifications which were made necessary by the occasional existence of a third secretaryship, the organisation of the secretariat underwent no fundamental change from that time until the reforms of 1782 which resulted in the emergence of the Home and Foreign departments. ... English domestic affairs remained the responsibility of both Secretaries throughout the period. In the field of foreign affairs there was a division into a Northern and a Southern Department, each of which was the responsibility of one Secretary. The distinction between the two departments emerged only gradually. It was not until after 1689 that their names passed into general currency. Nevertheless the division of foreign business itself can, in its broad outlines, be detected in the early years of the reign of Charles II.