Secretary of State for Justice

Secretary of State for Justice
Incumbent
David Gauke
since 8 January 2018
Ministry of Justice
Style Justice Secretary
(informal)
The Right Honourable
(within the UK and the Commonwealth)
Appointer The Monarch
on advice of the Prime Minister
Inaugural holder Charlie Falconer
Formation 9 May 2007
Deputy Minister of State for Justice
Website www.justice.gov.uk

Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Justice is a senior position in the cabinet of the United Kingdom, held in conjunction with the office of Lord Chancellor since it was created in 2007, replacing the former post of Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. On 9 May 2007, the Department for Constitutional Affairs was abolished, and a Ministry of Justice was created in its place. The Ministry of Justice is also responsible for certain functions transferred from the Home Office.

Creation

The then Lord Chancellor, Charlie Falconer, was appointed to the post of Secretary of State for Justice on the abolition of his position as Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. The Home Secretary, John Reid, told Parliament that future Secretaries of State for Justice would be MPs rather than peers. Jack Straw took over this department on 28 June 2007, following the selection of Gordon Brown as leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister and left office on the resignation of Gordon Brown after the General Election of 11 May 2010. He was replaced by Conservative MP Ken Clarke. In the Cabinet reshuffle of August 2012 Chris Grayling was promoted to Lord Chancellor, and, by convention, Secretary of State for Justice. He was the first Lord Chancellor to have no legal background or expertise. After the 2015 UK General election, the position was given to former Government Chief Whip Michael Gove. Michael Gove was replaced after Theresa May became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 14 July 2016 and succeeded by Liz Truss. Following the 2017 General Election which resulted in a minority Conservative government, David Lidington was appointed Secretary of State for Justice, who in turn was succeeded by David Gauke on 8 January 2018.

List of Secretaries of State

For Lord Chancellors before 2003, see List of Lord Chancellors and Lord Keepers

For Secretaries between 2003 and 2007, see Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs

Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor
  Labour       Conservative
Portrait Name
Honorifics & Constituency		 Term of office Political Party Government
The Right Honourable
Charlie Falconer
The Lord Falconer of Thoroton
PC QC
(born 1951)		 9 May
2007		 27 June
2007		 Labour Blair II & III
The Right Honourable
Jack Straw[1]
MP for Blackburn
(born 1946)		 28 June
2007		 11 May
2010		 Labour Brown
The Right Honourable
Kenneth Clarke
QC
MP for Rushcliffe
(born 1940)		 12 May
2010		 4 September
2012		 Conservative Cameron–Clegg

(Con.-L.D.)

The Right Honourable
Chris Grayling
MP for Epsom and Ewell
(born 1962)		 4 September
2012		 9 May
2015		 Conservative
The Right Honourable
Michael Gove
MP for Surrey Heath
(born 1967)		 9 May
2015		 14 July
2016		 Conservative Cameron II
The Right Honourable
Liz Truss
MP for South West Norfolk
(born 1975)		 14 July
2016		 11 June
2017		 Conservative May I
The Right Honourable
David Lidington
CBE[2]
MP for Aylesbury
(born 1956)		 11 June
2017		 8 January
2018		 Conservative May II
The Right Honourable
David Gauke
MP for South West Hertfordshire
(born 1971)		 8 January
2018		 Incumbent Conservative

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ First non-peer to serve as Lord Chancellor since Sir Robert Henley as Lord Keeper of the Seal in 1760.
  2. ↑ "Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, The Rt Hon David Lidington MP".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.