Secretary_of_State_for_the_Northern_Department

Secretary of State for the Northern Department

Secretary of State for the Northern Department

Former cabinet position in Great Britain

For Secretaries of State of the Kingdom of England before the Restoration, see Secretary of State (England).

The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782. Then the Northern Department became the Foreign Office and the position evolved into the Foreign Secretary.[1][2]

Quick Facts Great Britain Office of the Secretary of State for the Northern Department, Style ...

History

Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of State's responsibilities were in relation to the English government, not the British. Even after the Union, there was still a separate Secretary of State for Scotland until 1746, though the post was sometimes vacant. This continued the previous Scottish government post of Secretary of State.

Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two Secretaries of State for the Northern and the Southern Departments were not divided up in terms of area of authority, but rather geographically. The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was responsible for relations with the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Poland, Russia, and the Holy Roman Empire. The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was responsible for Ireland, the Channel Islands, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, the Italian states, and the Ottoman Empire. He was also responsible for the American colonies until 1768, when the charge was given to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Domestic responsibilities in England and Wales were shared between the two Secretaries. After the union with Scotland in 1707, the two secretaries also took responsibility for Scotland when there was no Secretary of State for Scotland in office.[3]

Until 1706, the practice was generally for the senior official to lead the Southern Department, and the junior the Northern Department, with the Northern Secretary being transferred to the Southern Department when a vacancy arose at the latter.[3] During the reigns of George I and George II, however, the Northern Department began to be seen as the more important, since its responsibilities included the monarchs' ancestral home of Hanover.[4] During the reign of George III, the two departments were of approximately equal importance.[5]

In 1782, the two Secretaries of State were reformed as the Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.[6] During the 18th century, Secretaries of State for the Northern Department, if peers, were often Leaders of the House of Lords as well.

Secretaries of State for the Northern Department, 1660–1782

Included:[7]

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See also

References

  1. [1]
    FCO Historians (April 1991). "The FCO: Policy, People and Places (1782-1995)". History Notes (2). Foreign and Commonwealth Office: 1. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. [2]
    "The National Archives' catalogue: Records assembled by the State Paper Office, including papers of the Secretaries of State up to 1782". The National Archives.
  3. [3]
    Thomson, Mark A. (1932). The Secretaries of State: 1681-1782. London: Frank Cass. pp. 2–3.
  4. [4]
    Cass (1932), pp. 21-22
  5. [5]
    Cass (1932), p. 4
  6. [6]
    Sainty, J. C. (1973). "Introduction". Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 2 - Officials of the Secretaries of State 1660-1782. University of London. pp. 1–21 – via British History Online. At the Restoration [in 1660] the practice of appointing two Secretaries of State, which was well established before the Civil War, was resumed. Apart from the modifications which were made necessary by the occasional existence of a third secretaryship, the organisation of the secretariat underwent no fundamental change from that time until the reforms of 1782 which resulted in the emergence of the Home and Foreign departments. ... English domestic affairs remained the responsibility of both Secretaries throughout the period. In the field of foreign affairs there was a division into a Northern and a Southern Department, each of which was the responsibility of one Secretary. The distinction between the two departments emerged only gradually. It was not until after 1689 that their names passed into general currency. Nevertheless the division of foreign business itself can, in its broad outlines, be detected in the early years of the reign of Charles II.
  7. [7]
    Sainty, J. C. "Lists of appointments British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Originally published by University of London, London, 1973. Retrieved 12 March 2017.

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