Secretary of State for Employment - Definition and Overview

Minister of Labour re-directs here. For the Canadian minister of Labour please see Minister of Labour (Canada)

The Secretary of State for Employment was a UK cabinet position. 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 split off this and transferred to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Minister of Labour

• John Hodge (1916-1919)
• Robert Stevenson Horne (1919-1920)
• Thomas McNamara (1920-1922)
• A. Montague-Barlow (1922-1924)
• Thomas Shaw (1924)
• Arthur Steel-Maitland (1924-1929)
• Margaret Bondfield (1929-1931)
• Henry Betterton (1931-1934)
• Oliver Stanley (1934-1935)
• Ernest Brown (1935-1940)

Minister of Labour and National Service

• Ernest Bevin (1940-1945)
• Rab Butler (1945)
• G. Isaacs (1945-1951)
• Aneurin Bevan (1951)
• A. Roberts (1951)
• Walter Monckton (1951-1955)
• Ian MacLeod (1955-1959)
• Edward Heath (1959)

Minister of Labour

• Edward Heath (1959-1960)
• John Hare (1960-1963)
• Joseph Godber (1963-1964)
• Ray Gunter (1964-1968)

Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity

• Barbara Castle (1968-1970)

Secretary of State for Employment

• Robert Carr (1970-1972)
• Maurice Macmillan (1972-1973)
• William Whitelaw(1973-1974)
• Michael Foot (1974-1976)
• Albert Booth (1976-1979)
• James Prior (1979-1981)
• Norman Tebbit (1981-1983)
• Tom King (1983-1985)
• Lord Young (1985-1987)
• Norman Fowler (1987-1990)
• Michael Howard (1990-1992)
• Gillian Shepherd (1992-1993)
• David Hunt (1993-1994)
• Michael Portillo (1994-1995)

Secretary of State for Education and Employment

• Gillian Shepherd (1995-1997)
• David Blunkett (1997-2001)

See: Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.