The secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, also referred to as the environment secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The department's responsibilities are largely limited to England only as they relate to devolved policies. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
The office holder works alongside the other Defra ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs.
Responsibilities The secretary of state has two main responsibilities at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to: bear overall responsibility for all departmental issues. lobby for the United Kingdom in other international negotiations on sustainable development and climate change.
List of environment secretaries
Secretaries of state for the environment (1970–1997) Secretary of State Term of office Party Ministry Peter Walker 1970 1972 Conservative Heath Geoffrey Rippon 1972 1974 Conservative Anthony Crosland 1974 1976 Labour Wilson Peter Shore 1976 1979 Labour Callaghan Michael Heseltine 1979 1983 Conservative Thatcher I Tom King 1983 1983 Conservative Patrick Jenkin 1983 1985 Conservative Thatcher II Kenneth Baker 1985 1986 Conservative Nicholas Ridley 1986 1989 Conservative Thatcher III Chris Patten 1989 1990 Conservative Michael Heseltine 1990 1992 Conservative Major I Michael Howard 1992 1993 Conservative Major II John Gummer 1993 1997 ConservativeSecretaries of state for the environment, transport and the regions (1997–2001) John Prescott 1997 2001 Labour Blair ISecretaries of state for environment, food and rural affairs (2001–present) Margaret Beckett 2001 2006 Labour Blair II Blair III David Miliband 2006 2007 Labour Hilary Benn 2007 2010 Labour Brown Caroline Spelman 2010 2012 Conservative Cameron–Clegg Owen Paterson 2012 2014 Conservative Liz Truss 2014 2016 Conservative Cameron II Andrea Leadsom 2016 2017 Conservative May I Michael Gove 2017 2019 Conservative May II Theresa Villiers 2019 2020 Conservative Johnson I Johnson II George Eustice 2020 6 September 2022 Conservative Ranil Jayawardena 6 September 2022 25 October 2022 Conservative Truss Thérèse Coffey 25 October 2022 13 November 2023 Conservative Sunak Steve Barclay 13 November 2023 5 July 2024 Conservative Steve Reed 5 July 2024 5 September 2025 Labour Starmer Emma Reynolds 5 September 2025 20 July 2026 Labour Angela Eagle 20 July 2026 Incumbent Labour Burnham
Timeline of environment secretaries
References
pl:Ministrowie środowiska Wielkiej Brytanii