Secretary of State for Employment

The secretary of state for employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995, it was merged with secretary of state for education to make the secretary of state for education and employment. In 2001, the employment functions were hived off and transferred to the secretary of state for social security to form the secretary of state for work and pensions.

Minister of Labour (1916–1940)

	Term of office		Political Party
John Hodge	10 December 1916	17 August 1917	Labour	David Lloyd George (Coalition)
George Henry Roberts	17 August 1917	10 January 1919	Labour
Sir Robert Horne	10 January 1919	19 March 1920	Unionist
Thomas James Macnamara	19 March 1920	19 October 1922	Liberal
Sir Anderson Montague-Barlow	31 October 1922	22 January 1924	Conservative	Bonar Law
Sir Anderson Montague-Barlow	31 October 1922	22 January 1924	Conservative	Stanley Baldwin
Tom Shaw	22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour	Ramsay MacDonald
Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland, Bt	6 November 1924	4 June 1929	Conservative	Stanley Baldwin
Margaret Bondfield	7 June 1929	24 August 1931 (lost seat 1931)	Labour	Ramsay MacDonald
Sir Henry Betterton, Bt	25 August 1931	29 June 1934	Conservative	Ramsay MacDonald (1st & 2nd National Min.)
Oliver Stanley	29 June 1934	7 June 1935	Conservative	Ramsay MacDonald (1st & 2nd National Min.)
Ernest Brown	7 June 1935	13 May 1940	Liberal National	Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.)
Ernest Brown	7 June 1935	13 May 1940	Liberal National	Neville Chamberlain (4th Nat.Min.; War Coalition)

	Term of office		Political Party
Ernest Bevin	13 May 1940	23 May 1945	Labour	Winston Churchill (War Coalition)
R. A. Butler	25 May 1945	26 July 1945	Conservative	Winston Churchill (Caretaker Min.)
George Isaacs	3 August 1945	17 January 1951	Labour	Clement Attlee
Aneurin Bevan	17 January 1951	23 April 1951 (resigned)	Labour
Alfred Robens	24 April 1951	26 October 1951	Labour
Walter Monckton	28 October 1951	20 December 1955	Conservative	Sir Winston Churchill
Walter Monckton	28 October 1951	20 December 1955	Conservative	Sir Anthony Eden
Iain Macleod	20 December 1955	14 October 1959	Conservative	Sir Anthony Eden
Iain Macleod	20 December 1955	14 October 1959	Conservative	Harold Macmillan
Edward Heath	14 October 1959	12 November 1959	Conservative	Harold Macmillan

	Term of office		Political Party
Edward Heath	12 November 1959	27 July 1960	Conservative	Harold Macmillan
John Hare	27 July 1960	20 October 1963	Conservative	Harold Macmillan
Joseph Godber	20 October 1963	16 October 1964	Conservative	Alec Douglas-Home
Ray Gunter	18 October 1964	6 April 1968	Labour	Harold Wilson

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political Party	Prime Minister
	Barbara Castle		6 April 1968	19 June 1970	Labour		Harold Wilson

	Term of office		Political Party
Robert Carr	20 June 1970	7 April 1972	Conservative	Edward Heath
Maurice Macmillan	7 April 1972	2 December 1973	Conservative
William Whitelaw	2 December 1973	4 March 1974	Conservative
Michael Foot	5 March 1974	8 April 1976	Labour	Harold Wilson
Albert Booth	8 April 1976	4 May 1979	Labour	James Callaghan
James Prior	5 May 1979	14 September 1981	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
Norman Tebbit	14 September 1981	16 October 1983	Conservative
Tom King	16 October 1983	2 September 1985	Conservative
The Lord Young of Graffham	2 September 1985	13 June 1987	Conservative
Norman Fowler	13 June 1987	3 January 1990	Conservative
Michael Howard	3 January 1990	11 April 1992	Conservative
Michael Howard	3 January 1990	11 April 1992	Conservative	John Major
Gillian Shephard	11 April 1992	27 May 1993	Conservative
David Hunt	27 May 1993	20 July 1994	Conservative
Michael Portillo	20 July 1994	5 July 1995	Conservative

Name		Term of office		Political Party	Prime Minister
	Gillian Shephard	5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative		John Major
	David Blunkett	2 May 1997	8 June 2001	Labour		Tony Blair