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United Kingdom
Secretary of State
for the Home Department
Royal Arms of the United Kingdom (Crown & Garter) (2022).svg
Royal Arms as used by the Home Office
Yvette Cooper Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Yvette Cooper

since 5 July 2024
Home Office
Style Home Secretary
(informal)
The Right Honourable
(within the UK and Commonwealth)
Member of
Reports to The Prime Minister
Seat Westminster
Nominator The Prime Minister
Appointer The Monarch
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term length At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation 27 March 1782
First holder Earl of Shelburne
Salary £159,038 per annum (2022)
(including £86,584 MP salary)
Website Home Secretary

The Secretary of State for the Home Department, often called the Home Secretary, is a very important government minister in the United Kingdom. This person leads the Home Office, which is a big government department. Being the Home Secretary is one of the most senior jobs in the government. It means they are a key member of the British Cabinet and the National Security Council.

This job is similar to an "interior minister" in other countries. It was created in 1782, but its duties have changed a lot over time. Many famous people have been Home Secretary, including future prime ministers like Winston Churchill and Theresa May. The person who held the job for the longest was Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, for over nine years! The shortest time was Grant Shapps, who served for only six days. In 2007, Jacqui Smith became the first woman to be Home Secretary. The current Home Secretary is Yvette Cooper.

The Home Secretary works with other ministers in the Home Office. Their work is also checked by special committees in Parliament. Sometimes, this role can be tricky because many difficult issues can come up.

What Does the Home Secretary Do?

The Home Secretary is like the "interior minister" for the UK. Their main jobs include:

  • Keeping the Peace: They oversee law enforcement in England and Wales. This means they are in charge of police forces.
  • National Safety: They deal with matters of national security, which means protecting the country from threats.
  • Immigration Rules: They handle issues about immigration, deciding who can come into the UK and how.
  • Spy Agency Oversight: They oversee the Security Service (MI5), which is the UK's domestic intelligence agency.

Before 2007, the Home Secretary was also in charge of prisons and probation in England and Wales. But these duties were moved to the Ministry of Justice that year.

How the Role Started

The idea of a "Secretary of State" in England goes back to the early 1600s. The job of Secretary of State for the Home Department was created in 1782. This happened when the government changed how it handled its "Northern" and "Southern" departments. These were split into the Foreign Office (dealing with other countries) and the Home Office (dealing with things inside the UK).

In 2007, some of the Home Office's responsibilities for criminal justice were moved to the new Ministry of Justice.

A Look at Past Home Secretaries

Yvette Cooper James Cleverly Grant Shapps Suella Braverman Priti Patel Sajid Javid Amber Rudd Theresa May Alan Johnson Jacqui Smith John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan Charles Clarke David Blunkett Jack Straw Michael Howard Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking David Waddington Douglas Hurd Leon Brittan William Whitelaw Merlyn Rees Robert Carr Reginald Maudling James Callaghan Roy Jenkins Frank Soskice Henry Brooke, Baron Brooke of Cumnor Rab Butler Gwilym Lloyd George David Maxwell Fyfe James Chuter Ede Donald Somervell Herbert Morrison John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount Templewood Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet John Robert Clynes William Joynson-Hicks Arthur Henderson William Bridgeman, 1st Viscount Bridgeman Edward Shortt George Cave, 1st Viscount Cave Herbert Samuel John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon Reginald McKenna Winston Churchill Herbert Gladstone Aretas Akers-Douglas Charles Ritchie Matthew White Ridley H. H. Asquith Henry Matthews, 1st Viscount Llandaff Hugh Childers William Harcourt (politician) R. A. Cross Robert Lowe Henry Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy George Cornewall Lewis T. H. S. Sotheron-Estcourt Henry John Temple Spencer Horatio Walpole George Grey, 2nd Baronet Sir James Graham, 2nd Baronet Constantine Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby John Russell, 1st Earl Russell Henry Goulburn Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne William Sturges Bourne Robert Peel Henry Addington Richard Ryder (politician, born 1766) George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool Charles Philip Yorke Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland Henry Dundas William Grenville George Nugent-Temple-Grenville Frederick North, Lord North Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ministro del Interior del Reino Unido para niños

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