Secretary of State for India facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Secretary of State for India
Royal Arms as used by His Majesty's Government
India Office
Member of	British Cabinet Privy Council
Seat	Westminster, London
Appointer	The British Monarch on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	Government of India Act
Precursor	President of the Board of Control
Formation	2 August 1858
First holder	Lord Stanley
Final holder	The 5th Earl of Listowel
Abolished	14 August 1947
Deputy	Under-Secretary of State for India

The special seat used by the Chairman of the East India Company, and later by the Secretary of State for India.

The 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn was Secretary of State for India from 1905 to 1910.

The Secretary of State for India was a very important job in the British government. This person was a Cabinet minister and the main political leader of the India Office. Their job was to manage the British rule in India, Aden, and Burma.

This position was created in 1858. Before that, a company called the East India Company ruled parts of India. But after 1858, the British government in Whitehall (London) took direct control of India. This marked the start of the official colonial period under the British Empire.

In 1937, the India Office was changed. Burma and Aden got their own new department called the Burma Office. However, the same Secretary of State was in charge of both departments. So, the job title became His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India and Burma.

The India Office and the Secretary of State job ended on August 14, 1947. This happened when the United Kingdom gave independence to India and Pakistan through the Indian Independence Act 1947. Burma became independent shortly after, in early 1948.

Leaders for India: 1858–1937

This table shows the people who held the job of Secretary of State for India. Before this job was created in 1858, Lord Stanley was in charge of the Board of Control, which also managed India.

Picture		Name	Time in Office		Political Party	Prime Minister
		Lord Stanley MP for King's Lynn	2 August 1858	11 June 1859	Conservative		The 14th Earl of Derby
		Sir Charles Wood MP for Halifax until 1865 MP for Ripon after 1865	18 June 1859	16 February 1866	Liberal		Viscount Palmerston
							The Earl Russell
		The Earl de Grey	16 February 1866	26 June 1866	Liberal
		Viscount Cranborne MP for Stamford	6 July 1866	8 March 1867	Conservative		The 14th Earl of Derby
		Sir Stafford Northcote MP for North Devonshire	8 March 1867	1 December 1868	Conservative
							Benjamin Disraeli
		The Duke of Argyll	9 December 1868	17 February 1874	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
		The Marquess of Salisbury	21 February 1874	2 April 1878	Conservative		Benjamin Disraeli
		The Viscount Cranbrook	2 April 1878	21 April 1880	Conservative
		Marquess of Hartington MP for North East Lancashire	28 April 1880	16 December 1882	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
		The Earl of Kimberley	16 December 1882	9 June 1885	Liberal
		Lord Randolph Churchill MP for Paddington South	24 June 1885	28 January 1886	Conservative		The Marquess of Salisbury
		The Earl of Kimberley	6 February 1886	20 July 1886	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
		The Viscount Cross	3 August 1886	11 August 1892	Conservative		The Marquess of Salisbury
		The Earl of Kimberley	18 August 1892	10 March 1894	Liberal		William Ewart Gladstone
		Henry Fowler MP for Wolverhampton East	10 March 1894	21 June 1895	Liberal		The Earl of Rosebery
		Lord George Hamilton MP for Ealing	4 July 1895	9 October 1903	Conservative		The Marquess of Salisbury (Unionist Coalition)
							Arthur Balfour (Unionist Coalition)
		William St John Brodrick MP for Guildford	9 October 1903	4 December 1905	Irish Unionist
		John Morley MP for Montrose Burghs until 1908 Viscount Morley of Blackburn after 1908	10 December 1905	3 November 1910	Liberal		Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
							H. H. Asquith
		The Earl of Crewe	3 November 1910	7 March 1911	Liberal
		The Viscount Morley of Blackburn	7 March 1911	25 May 1911	Liberal
		The Marquess of Crewe	25 May 1911	25 May 1915	Liberal
		Austen Chamberlain MP for Birmingham West	25 May 1915	17 July 1917	Conservative		H. H. Asquith (Coalition) David Lloyd George (Coalition)
		Edwin Montagu MP for Chesterton until 1918 MP for Cambridgeshire after 1918	17 July 1917	19 March 1922	Liberal
		The Viscount Peel	19 March 1922	22 January 1924	Conservative		Bonar Law
							Stanley Baldwin
		The Lord Olivier	22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour		Ramsay MacDonald
		The Earl of Birkenhead	6 November 1924	18 October 1928	Conservative		Stanley Baldwin
		The Viscount Peel	18 October 1928	4 June 1929	Conservative
		William Wedgwood Benn MP for Aberdeen North	7 June 1929	24 August 1931	Labour		Ramsay MacDonald
		Sir Samuel Hoare MP for Chelsea	25 August 1931	7 June 1935	Conservative		Ramsay MacDonald (1st & 2nd National Min.)
		The Marquess of Zetland	7 June 1935	28 May 1937	Conservative		Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.)

Leaders for India and Burma: 1937–1947

After 1937, the Secretary of State was in charge of both India and Burma.

Picture		Name	Time in Office		Political Party	Prime Minister
		The Marquess of Zetland	28 May 1937	13 May 1940	Conservative		Neville Chamberlain (4th National Min.; War Coalition)
		Leo Amery MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook	13 May 1940	26 July 1945	Conservative		Winston Churchill (War Coalition; Caretaker Min.)
		The Lord Pethick-Lawrence	3 August 1945	17 April 1947	Labour		Clement Attlee
		The Earl of Listowel	17 April 1947	14 August 1947	Labour

Leaders for Burma: 1947–1948

After India gained independence, a separate Secretary of State for Burma was in charge for a short time until Burma also became independent.

Picture		Name	Time in Office		Political Party	Prime Minister
		The Earl of Listowel	14 August 1947	4 January 1948	Labour		Clement Attlee

Related Topics

• India Office
• British Raj
• British rule in Burma
• Governor-General of India
• Imperial Civil Service
• Government of India Act