Kingdom of England

The origin of the office lies in the office of the king's private secretary.^[8] However, by the Tudor period, the office's purview had become more onerous.^[8]

In 1539 or 1540, Henry VIII appointed two people to the office.^{[8][9]: p.29} After the Stuart Restoration, the practice of appointing two secretaries of state resumed.^[10] A formal division, in the form of the offices of the secretary of state for the Northern Department and the secretary of state for the Southern Department, was made in 1689,^[8] though the office had been first divided into the Northern and Southern Department purviews in 1660.^[9]: p.30

After the Union

In 1782, the responsibilities of these offices were changed, so that one would be responsible for foreign affairs and one for domestic affairs, thus establishing the embryonic offices of foreign secretary and home secretary.^[8][10] Over time, the number of secretaries of states grew, so that there were five in 1900 and 14 by 1996.^[8] There are currently 16 secretaries of state.^[11]

Health, education, work, business, energy, environment, transport and the regions

The secretaries of state that have been used for the matters of health, education, work, business, energy, environment, transport and the regions are shown in the graphic below. It shows how portfolios of responsibilities have been broadly passed down from one secretary of state position to the position(s) directly below it. However, it is impossible for such a graphic to be completely accurate; it cannot show smaller changes, or gains or losses of responsibilities within a position due to changes of responsibilities for the UK Government (for example, due to devolution or Brexit). It is not to scale. In the gaps, and before the first of these secretaries of state, relevant responsibilities were taken on by ministers not titled 'Secretary of State'.

Key:

Culture

The Secretaries of state that have been used for culture, heritage and sport are as follows: