Thesecretary of state for Commonwealth relations was asecretary of state in theGovernment of the United Kingdom, responsible for dealing with theUnited Kingdom's relations with members of theCommonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The minister's department was theCommonwealth Relations Office (CRO).
The position was created in 1947 out of the old positions ofSecretary of State for Dominion Affairs andSecretary of State for India. In 1966, the position was merged with that of theSecretary of State for the Colonies to form that ofSecretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs, which was in turn merged with theSecretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1968 to create the new position ofSecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. The equivalent position today is theSecretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.
| 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 forDerby | 7 October 1947 | 28 February 1950 | Labour | ||||
| Patrick Gordon Walker MP forSmethwick | 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 forStreatham | 27 July 1960 | 16 October 1964 | Conservative | ||||
| Douglas-Home | |||||||
| Arthur Bottomley MP forMiddlesbrough East | 18 October 1964 | 1 August 1966 | Labour | Wilson (I & II) | |||
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Political party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Gordon Walker | 15 July 1955 | 15 February 1956 | Labour | Attlee | ||
| Gaitskell | ||||||
| Arthur Creech Jones | 15 February 1956 | 24 January 1958 | Labour | |||
| Arthur Bottomley | 24 January 1958[1] | November 1959 | Labour | |||
| Hilary Marquand | November 1959 | November 1961 | Labour | |||
| John Strachey | November 1961 | 15 July 1963 | Labour | |||
| Brown | ||||||
| Wilson | ||||||
| Unknown | 15 July 1963 | 16 October 1964 | Labour | |||
| Duncan Sandys | 16 October 1964 | 5 August 1965 | Conservative | Douglas-Home | ||
| Selwyn Lloyd | 5 August 1965 | 19 April 1966 | Conservative | Heath | ||
| Reginald Maudling | 19 April 1966 | 1 August 1966 | Conservative | |||