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Solicitor General for England and Wales facts for kids

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Solicitor General for England and Wales
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government) (2022).svg
Incumbent
Vacant

since 5 July 2024
Attorney General's Office
Style Solicitor
Reports to Attorney General for England and Wales
Appointer The Monarch
on the advice of the Prime Minister
Term length At His Majesty's Pleasure
Formation Before 1460
Salary £142,106 per annum (2022)
(including £84,144 MP salary)

His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the government of the United Kingdom. They are the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law. They exercise the powers of the Attorney General which are delegated to them under section 1 of the Law Officers Act 1997. Despite the title, the position is usually held by a barrister as opposed to a solicitor.

There is also a Solicitor General for Scotland, who is the deputy of the Lord Advocate. As well as the Sovereign's Solicitor General, the Prince of Wales and a Queen consort (when the Sovereign is male) are also entitled to have an Attorney and Solicitor General, though the present Prince of Wales has only an Attorney General and no Solicitor General.

The Solicitor General is addressed in court as "Mr Solicitor" or "Ms Solicitor". The Solicitor General is shadowed by the Shadow Solicitor General who sits on the Official Opposition frontbench.

There is no current holder of the position due to the resignation of Rishi Sunak and the transition from the Sunak ministry after the Conservative Party loss in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.

Solicitors-General of England (and Wales), 1461–present

15th century

incomplete

  • Richard Fowler 1461–1470
  • Richard Page 1470-1483
  • Thomas Lynon 1483–1485
  • Andrew Dimmock 1485–1503

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

  • Spencer Perceval 1801–1802
  • Sir Thomas Manners-Sutton 1802–1805
  • Sir Vicary Gibbs 1805–1806
  • Sir Samuel Romilly 1806–1807
  • Sir Thomas Plumer 1807–1812
  • Sir William Garrow 1812–1813
  • Sir Robert Dallas 1813
  • Sir Samuel Shepherd 1813–1817
  • Sir Robert Gifford 1817–1819
  • Sir John Copley 1819–1824
  • Sir Charles Wetherell 1824–1826
  • Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal 1826–1829
  • Sir Edward Sugden 1829–1830
  • Sir William Horne 1830–1832
  • Sir John Campbell 1832–1834
  • Sir Charles Pepys 1834
  • Sir Robert Rolfe 1834
  • William Webb Follett 1834–1835
  • Robert Rolfe 1835–1839
  • Sir Thomas Wilde 1839–1841
  • Sir William Webb Follett 1841–1844
  • Sir Frederic Thesiger 1844–1845
  • Sir Fitzroy Kelly 1845–1846
  • John Jervis 1846
  • Sir David Dundas 1846–1848
  • Sir John Romilly 1848–1850
  • Sir Alexander Cockburn 1850–1851
  • Sir William Page Wood 1851–1852
  • Sir Fitzroy Kelly 1852
  • Sir Richard Bethell 1852–1856
  • James Stuart-Wortley 1856–1857
  • Sir Henry Singer Keating 1857–1858
  • Sir Hugh Cairns 1858–1859
  • Sir Henry Singer Keating 1859
  • Sir William Atherton 1859–1861
  • Sir Roundell Palmer 1861–1863
  • Sir Robert Collier 1863–1866
  • Sir William Bovill 1866
  • Sir John Burgess Karslake 1866–1867
  • Sir Charles Jasper Selwyn 1867–1868
  • Sir William Brett 1868
  • Sir Richard Baggallay 1868
  • Sir John Coleridge 1868–1871
  • Sir George Jessel 1871–1873
  • Sir Henry James 1873
  • Sir William Harcourt 1873–1874
  • Sir Richard Baggallay 1874
  • Sir John Holker 1874–1875
  • Sir Hardinge Giffard 1875–1880
  • Sir Farrer Herschell 1880–1885
  • Sir John Eldon Gorst 1885–1886
  • Sir Horace Davey 1886
  • Sir Edward Clarke 1886–1892
  • Sir John Rigby 1892–1894
  • Sir Robert Reid 1894
  • Sir Frank Lockwood 1894–1895
  • Sir Robert Finlay 1895–1900

20th century

Name Portrait Term of office Political party Prime Minister
Sir Edward Carson Sir Edward Carson, bw photo portrait seated.jpg 7 May 1900 4 December 1905 Irish Unionist Alliance 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Arthur Balfour
Sir William Robson 1895 William Robson.jpg 12 December 1905 28 January 1908 Liberal Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Sir Samuel Evans Samuel Thomas Evans.jpg 28 January 1908 6 March 1910
H. H. Asquith
Sir Rufus Isaacs Rufus Isaacs.jpg 6 March 1908 7 October 1910
Sir John Simon Viscount Simon.jpg 7 October 1910 19 October 1913
Sir Stanley Buckmaster Stanley Buckmaster, 1st Viscount Buckmaster circa 1910.jpg 19 October 1913 8 November 1915
Sir F. E. Smith 1stEarlOfBirkenhead.jpg 2 June 1915 8 November 1915 Conservative
Sir George Cave Portrait of George Cave, 1st Viscount Cave.jpg 8 November 1915 10 December 1915
Sir Gordon Hewart Gordon Hewart, 1st Viscount Hewart.jpg 10 December 1915 10 January 1919 Liberal David Lloyd George
Sir Ernest Pollock 1stViscountHanworth - cropped.jpg 10 January 1919 6 March 1922 Conservative
Sir Leslie Scott 6 March 1922 19 October 1922
Sir Thomas Inskip Viscount Caldecote LC.jpg 31 October 1922 22 January 1924 Bonar Law
Stanley Baldwin
Sir Henry Slesser Henry H. Slesser.jpg 23 January 1924 3 November 1924 Labour Ramsay MacDonald
Sir Thomas Inskip Viscount Caldecote LC.jpg 11 November 1924 28 March 1928 Conservative Stanley Baldwin
Sir Boyd Merriman 28 March 1928 5 June 1929
Sir James B. Melville 7 June 1929 22 October 1930 Labour Ramsay MacDonald
Sir Stafford Cripps Stafford Cripps 1947.jpg 22 October 1930 24 August 1931
Sir Thomas Inskip Viscount Caldecote LC.jpg 3 September 1931 26 January 1932 Conservative
Sir Boyd Merriman 26 January 1932 29 September 1933
Sir Donald Somervell 29 September 1933 19 March 1936
Stanley Baldwin
Sir Terence O'Connor 19 March 1936 7 May 1940
Neville Chamberlain
Sir William Jowitt William Jowitt.png 15 May 1940 4 March 1942 Labour Sir Winston Churchill
Sir David Maxwell Fyfe David Maxwell Fyfe, Nuremberg, 1946 (Art. IWM ART LD 5863).jpg 4 March 1942 25 May 1945 Conservative
Sir Walter Monckton 25 May 1945 26 July 1945
Sir Frank Soskice 4 August 1945 24 April 1951 Labour Clement Attlee
Sir Lynn Ungoed-Thomas 24 April 1951 26 October 1951
Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller 3 November 1951 8 October 1954 Conservative Sir Winston Churchill
Sir Harry Hylton-Foster 18 October 1954 22 October 1959
Sir Winston Churchill

Sir Anthony Eden

Harold Macmillan

Harold Macmillan
Sir Jocelyn Simon 22 October 1959 8 February 1962
Sir John Hobson 8 February 1962 19 July 1962
Sir Peter Rawlinson 19 July 1962 16 October 1964 Harold Macmillan

Sir Alec Douglas-Home

Sir Dingle Foot 18 October 1964 24 August 1967 Labour Harold Wilson
Sir Arthur Irvine 24 August 1967 19 June 1970
Sir Geoffrey Howe Geoffrey Howe (1985).jpg 23 June 1970 5 November 1972 Conservative Edward Heath
Sir Michael Havers 5 November 1972 4 March 1974
Peter Archer 7 March 1974 4 May 1979 Labour Harold Wilson

James Callaghan

Sir Ian Percival 5 May 1979 13 June 1983 Conservative Margaret Thatcher
Sir Patrick Mayhew 13 June 1983 13 June 1987
Sir Nicholas Lyell 13 June 1987 15 April 1992 Margaret Thatcher

John Major

Sir Derek Spencer 15 April 1992 2 May 1997 John Major
Lord Falconer of Thoroton Official portrait of Lord Falconer of Thoroton crop 2.jpg 6 May 1997 28 July 1998 Labour Tony Blair
Sir Ross Cranston 28 July 1998 11 June 2001

2001–present

Colour key (for political parties):
      Conservative       Labour

Name Portrait Term of office Political party Prime Minister
Harriet Harman Official portrait of Ms Harriet Harman crop 2.jpg 11 June 2001 10 May 2005 Labour Tony Blair
Mike O'Brien Mike O'Brien 2.jpg 11 May 2005 29 June 2007
Dame Vera Baird Dame Vera Baird.jpg 29 June 2007 11 May 2010 Gordon Brown
Sir Edward Garnier Edward Garnier, Solicitor General.jpg 13 May 2010 4 September 2012 Conservative David Cameron
Sir Oliver Heald Official portrait of Sir Oliver Heald crop 2.jpg 4 September 2012 15 July 2014
Sir Robert Buckland Official portrait of Robert Buckland crop 2.jpg 15 July 2014 9 May 2019
David Cameron
Theresa May
Lucy Frazer Official portrait of Lucy Frazer.jpg 9 May 2019 25 July 2019 Theresa May
Sir Michael Ellis Official portrait of Rt Hon Michael Ellis MP crop 2.jpg 25 July 2019 2 March 2021 Boris Johnson
Lucy Frazer Official portrait of Lucy Frazer MP crop 2.jpg 2 March 2021 10 September 2021
Sir Michael Ellis Official portrait of Rt Hon Michael Ellis MP crop 2.jpg 10 September 2021 16 September 2021
Alex Chalk Official portrait of Alex Chalk MP crop 2.jpg 16 September 2021 5 July 2022
Edward Timpson Official portrait of Edward Timpson MP crop 2.jpg 7 July 2022 7 September 2022
Michael Tomlinson MichaelTomlinson3 (cropped).jpg 7 September 2022 7 December 2023 Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Robert Courts Official portrait of Robert Courts MP crop 2.jpg 7 December 2023 Incumbent

See also

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