Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and responsible for relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of Nations and the UK's overseas territories and the promotion of British interests abroad.
Position
The Foreign Secretary is a member of the Cabinet, and the post is considered one of the Great Offices of State. It came into existence in 1968 with the merger of the functions of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs into a single Department of State. The India Office was a predecessor department of the Foreign Office.
The Foreign Secretary works out of the Foreign Office in Whitehall. The post's official residences are 1 Carlton Gardens in London and Chevening in Kent.
In the Cabinet reshuffle on 5 May 2006 Margaret Beckett became the first woman to hold the post.
David Miliband was appointed to the post on 28 June 2007 by the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
