Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Secretary of State
for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State; for Northern Ireland
	Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
	Incumbent; Chris Heaton-Harris; since 6 September 2022
Style	Northern Ireland Secretary; (informal); The Right Honourable; (within the UK and the Commonwealth)
Status	Secretary of state; Minister of the Crown
Residence	Hillsborough Castle
Appointer	The Monarch; on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Precursor	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; Governor of Northern Ireland
Formation	24 March 1972
First holder	William Whitelaw
Deputy	Minister of State for Northern Ireland
Website	www.nio.gov.uk

The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (Irish: Rúnaí Stáit Thuaisceart Éireann; Scots: Secretar o State for Norlin Airlan),^[1]^[2] also referred to as the Northern Ireland secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office.^[3] The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, 17th in the ministerial ranking.^[4]

The office holder works alongside the other Northern Ireland Office ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

History

Historically, the principal ministers for Irish (and subsequently Northern Ireland) affairs in the UK Government and its predecessors were:

the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (c.1171–1922);
the Chief Secretary for Ireland (1560–1922); and
the Home Secretary (1922–1972).^[5]

In August 1969, for example, Home Secretary James Callaghan approved the sending of British Army soldiers to Northern Ireland.^[6] Scotland and Wales were represented by the Secretary of State for Scotland and Secretary of State for Wales from 1885 and 1964 respectively, but Northern Ireland remained separate, owing to the devolved Government of Northern Ireland and Parliament of Northern Ireland.

The office of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was created after the Northern Ireland government (at Stormont) was first suspended and then abolished following widespread civil strife. The British government was increasingly concerned that Stormont was losing control of the situation. On 30 March 1972, direct rule from Westminster was introduced.^[7] The Secretary of State filled three roles which existed under the previous Stormont regime:^[8]

the Governor of Northern Ireland (the nominal head of the executive and representative of the British monarch)
the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (now filled by the First Minister of Northern Ireland and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland acting jointly)
the Minister of Home Affairs (now filled by the Minister of Justice).

Direct rule was seen as a temporary measure, with a power-sharing devolution preferred as the solution, and was annually renewed by a vote in Parliament.

The Sunningdale Agreement in 1973 resulted in the brief existence of a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive from 1 January 1974, which was ended by the loyalist Ulster Workers' Council strike on 28 May 1974. The strikers opposed the power-sharing and all-Ireland aspects of the new administration.

The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (1975–1976) and Northern Ireland Assembly (1982–1986) were unsuccessful in restoring devolved government. After the Anglo-Irish Agreement on 15 November 1985, the UK Government and Irish Government co-operated more closely on security and political matters.

Following the Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement) on 10 April 1998, devolution returned to Northern Ireland on 2 December 1999. This removed many of the duties of the Secretary of State and his Northern Ireland Office colleagues and devolved them to locally elected politicians, constituting the Northern Ireland Executive.

Formerly holding a large portfolio over home affairs in Northern Ireland, the current devolution settlement has lessened the secretary of state's role, granting many of the former powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive. The secretary of state is now generally limited to representing Northern Ireland in the UK cabinet, overseeing the operation of the devolved administration and a number of reserved and excepted matters which remain the sole competence of the UK Government e.g. security, human rights, certain public inquiries and the administration of elections.^[9]

Created in 1972, the position has switched between members of Parliament from the Conservative Party and Labour Party. As Labour has not fielded candidates in Northern Ireland and the Conservatives have not had candidates elected to Northern Ireland Assembly or for House of Commons seats in the region, those appointed as secretary of state for Northern Ireland have not represented a constituency in Northern Ireland. This contrasts with the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Wales.

The secretary of state officially resides in Hillsborough Castle, which was previously the official residence of the governor of Northern Ireland, and remains the royal residence of the monarch in Northern Ireland. The secretary of state exercises their duties through, and is administratively supported by, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO).

The devolved administration was suspended several times (especially between 15 October 2002 and 8 May 2007) because the Ulster Unionist Party and Democratic Unionist Party were uncomfortable being in government with Sinn Féin when the Provisional Irish Republican Army had failed to decommission its arms fully and continued its criminal activities. On each of these occasions, the responsibilities of the ministers in the Executive then returned to the Secretary of State and his ministers. During these periods, in addition to administration of the region, the Secretary of State was also heavily involved in the negotiations with all parties to restore devolved government.

Power was again devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 8 May 2007. The Secretary of State retained responsibility for policing and justice until most of those powers were devolved on 12 April 2010.^[10] Robert Hazell has suggested merging the offices of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales into one Secretary of State for the Union,^[11] in a department into which Rodney Brazier has suggested adding a Minister of State for England with responsibility for English local government.^[12]

List of secretaries of state for Northern Ireland

Colour key
Conservative Labour

Name	Term of office		Length of term	Party
William Whitelaw MP for Penrith and The Border	24 March 1972	2 December 1973	1 year, 253 days	Conservative	Edward Heath
Francis Pym MP for Cambridgeshire	2 December 1973	4 March 1974	3 months and 2 days	Conservative	Edward Heath
Merlyn Rees MP for Leeds South	5 March 1974	10 September 1976	2 years, 189 days	Labour	Harold Wilson
Roy Mason MP for Barnsley	10 September 1976	4 May 1979	2 years, 236 days	Labour	James Callaghan
Humphrey Atkins MP for Spelthorne	5 May 1979	14 September 1981	2 years, 132 days	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
Jim Prior MP for Lowestoft (until 1983) MP for Waveney (from 1983)	14 September 1981	11 September 1984	2 years, 363 days	Conservative
Douglas Hurd MP for Witney	11 September 1984	3 September 1985	11 months and 23 days	Conservative
Tom King MP for Bridgwater	3 September 1985	24 July 1989	3 years, 324 days	Conservative
Peter Brooke MP for Cities of London and Westminster South	24 July 1989	10 April 1992	2 years, 261 days	Conservative
	24 July 1989	10 April 1992	2 years, 261 days	Conservative	John Major
Sir Patrick Mayhew MP for Tunbridge Wells	10 April 1992	2 May 1997	5 years, 22 days	Conservative	John Major
Mo Mowlam MP for Redcar	3 May 1997	11 October 1999	2 years, 161 days	Labour	Tony Blair
Peter Mandelson MP for Hartlepool	11 October 1999	24 January 2001	1 year, 105 days	Labour
John Reid MP for Hamilton North and Bellshill	25 January 2001	24 October 2002	1 year, 272 days	Labour
Paul Murphy MP for Torfaen	24 October 2002	6 May 2005	2 years, 194 days	Labour
Peter Hain MP for Neath (also Welsh Secretary)	6 May 2005	28 June 2007	2 years, 53 days	Labour
Shaun Woodward MP for St Helens South	28 June 2007	11 May 2010	2 years, 317 days	Labour	Gordon Brown
Owen Paterson MP for North Shropshire	12 May 2010	4 September 2012	2 years, 115 days	Conservative	David Cameron (Coalition)
Theresa Villiers MP for Chipping Barnet	4 September 2012	14 July 2016	3 years, 314 days	Conservative	David Cameron (Coalition)
Theresa Villiers MP for Chipping Barnet	4 September 2012	14 July 2016	3 years, 314 days	Conservative	David Cameron (II)
James Brokenshire MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup	14 July 2016	8 January 2018	1 year, 178 days	Conservative	Theresa May (I)
James Brokenshire MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup	14 July 2016	8 January 2018	1 year, 178 days	Conservative	Theresa May (II)
Karen Bradley MP for Staffordshire Moorlands	8 January 2018	24 July 2019	1 year, 197 days	Conservative	Theresa May (II)
Julian Smith MP for Skipton and Ripon	24 July 2019	13 February 2020	6 months and 20 days	Conservative	Boris Johnson (I)
Julian Smith MP for Skipton and Ripon	24 July 2019	13 February 2020	6 months and 20 days	Conservative	Boris Johnson (II)
Brandon Lewis MP for Great Yarmouth	13 February 2020	7 July 2022	2 years, 144 days	Conservative
Shailesh Vara MP for North West Cambridgeshire	7 July 2022	6 September 2022	1 month and 30 days	Conservative
Chris Heaton-Harris MP for Daventry	6 September 2022	Incumbent	11 months and 24 days*	Conservative	Liz Truss (I)
Chris Heaton-Harris MP for Daventry	6 September 2022	Incumbent	11 months and 24 days*	Conservative	Rishi Sunak (I)

* Incumbent's length of term last updated: 30 August 2023.

Notes

^ "2008 ANNUAL REPORT North South Council o Ministers" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
^ "Buaileann an Tánaiste le Rúnaí Stáit Thuaisceart Éireann - Buaileann an Tánaiste le Rúnaí Stáit Thuaisceart Éireann, an Feisire Theresa Villiers - Department of Foreign Affairs". www.dfa.ie. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
^ "Secretary of State for Northern Ireland". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
^ "Her Majesty's Government: The Cabinet". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
^ "Home Office". National Archives Catalogue. National Archives. Archived from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
^ Melaugh, Martin. "The Deployment of British Troops – 14 August 1969". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). University of Ulster. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
^ Melaugh, Martin. "A Chronology of the Conflict – 1972". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). University of Ulster. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
^ "Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
^ "Northern Ireland Office // About the NIO". Archived from the original on 17 September 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
^ Mark Simpson (12 April 2010). "New era for policing and justice in Northern Ireland". BBC News. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
^ "Times letters: Mark Sedwill's call for a cull of the cabinet". The Times. 30 July 2020. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
^ "Rodney Brazier: Why is Her Majesty's Government so big?". UK Constitutional Law Association. 7 September 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.

[1] "2008 ANNUAL REPORT North South Council o Ministers" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2021.

[2] "Buaileann an Tánaiste le Rúnaí Stáit Thuaisceart Éireann - Buaileann an Tánaiste le Rúnaí Stáit Thuaisceart Éireann, an Feisire Theresa Villiers - Department of Foreign Affairs". www.dfa.ie. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2021.

[3] "Secretary of State for Northern Ireland". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2021.

[4] "Her Majesty's Government: The Cabinet". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2021.

[5] "Home Office". National Archives Catalogue. National Archives. Archived from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.

[6] Melaugh, Martin. "The Deployment of British Troops – 14 August 1969". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). University of Ulster. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.

[7] Melaugh, Martin. "A Chronology of the Conflict – 1972". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). University of Ulster. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.

[8] "Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.

[9] "Northern Ireland Office // About the NIO". Archived from the original on 17 September 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2010.

[10] Mark Simpson (12 April 2010). "New era for policing and justice in Northern Ireland". BBC News. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2010.

[11] "Times letters: Mark Sedwill's call for a cull of the cabinet". The Times. 30 July 2020. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.

[12] "Rodney Brazier: Why is Her Majesty's Government so big?". UK Constitutional Law Association. 7 September 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.

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v t e Northern Ireland Office
Headquarters: 11 Millbank, London and Stormont House, Belfast
Secretary of State	Rt Hon. Chris Heaton-Harris MP
Minister of State	Steve Baker MP
Advocate General	Hon. Victoria Prentis MP

v t e Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Office
Whitelaw Pym Rees Mason Atkins Prior Hurd King Brooke Mayhew Mowlam Mandelson Reid Murphy Hain^* Woodward Paterson Villiers Brokenshire Bradley Smith Lewis Vara Heaton-Harris
^*Also held Secretary of State for Wales Opposition Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

v t e UK cabinet portfolios
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
Cabinet ministers	Prime Minister / First Lord of the Treasury / Minister for the Union / Minister for the Civil Service Deputy Prime Minister / Health and Social Care Secretary Chancellor of the Exchequer Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary Home Secretary Justice Secretary / Lord Chancellor Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster / Minister for Intergovernmental Relations / Minister for Equalities Defence Secretary Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary International Trade Secretary / President of the Board of Trade Work and Pensions Secretary Education Secretary Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Transport Secretary Northern Ireland Secretary Scottish Secretary Welsh Secretary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Leader of the House of Lords / Lord Privy Seal Lord President of the Council / Leader of the House of Commons Minister without portfolio
Also attending Cabinet	Minister for the Cabinet Office / Paymaster General Chief Whip Attorney General for England and Wales / Advocate General for Northern Ireland Chief Secretary to the Treasury Minister of State for Development Minister of State for Security Minister of State for the Armed Forces and Veterans Minister of State for Climate

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Contents

History

List of secretaries of state for Northern Ireland

See also

Notes

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