The shadow secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, commonly called the shadow foreign secretary, is a position within the UK official opposition shadow cabinet that deals mainly with issues surrounding the Foreign Office. If elected, the person serving as shadow foreign secretary may be designated to serve as the new foreign secretary.
The current Shadow Secretary of State of foreign, commonwealth and development affairs is Tom Tugendhat. The shadow secretary (usually with one or more junior shadow ministers) holds the secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs and other FCDO ministers to account in Parliament.
Although DFID and the role of international development secretary were abolished by the second Johnson government in 2020, the shadow secretary of state did not have responsibility for development until Lammy was appointed in November 2021. His predecessor, Lisa Nandy, served alongside the shadow secretary of state for international development, Preet Gill. This however is no longer the case after the November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle.
List of shadow foreign secretaries NamePortraitTerm of office Political party Shadow Cabinet Anthony Eden 26 July 1945 26 October 1951 Conservative Churchill Herbert Morrison 26 October 1951 Unclear Labour Attlee II Alfred Robens 15 July 1955 27 November 1956Gaitskell Aneurin Bevan 27 November 1956 6 July 1960 Labour Denis Healey 7 July 1960 30 November 1961 LabourHarold Wilson30 November 196122 February 1963LabourBrown Patrick Gordon Walker 22 February 1963 15 October 1964 LabourWilson I Rab Butler 15 October 1964 16 February 1965 ConservativeDouglas-Home Reginald Maudling 16 February 1965 4 August 1965 Conservative Christopher Soames 4 August 1965 13 April 1966 ConservativeHeath I Alec Douglas-Home 13 April 1966 19 June 1970 Conservative Michael Stewart 19 June 1970 24 July 1970 LabourWilson II Denis Healey 24 July 1970 19 April 1972 Labour James Callaghan 19 April 1972 4 March 1974 Labour Alec Douglas-Home 4 March 1974 August 1974 ConservativeHeath II Geoffrey Rippon August 1974 11 February 1975 Conservative Reginald Maudling 11 February 1975 11 April 1976 ConservativeThatcher John Davies 11 April 1976 6 November 1978 Conservative Francis Pym 6 November 1978 4 May 1979 Conservative David Owen 4 May 1979 14 June 1979 LabourCallaghan Peter Shore 14 June 1979 8 December 1980 LabourDenis Healey8 December 198013 June 1987Labour FootKinnock Gerald Kaufman 13 June 1987 24 July 1992 LabourJack Cunningham24 July 199220 October 1994LabourSmithBeckett Robin Cook 20 October 1994 2 May 1997 LabourBlair John Major 7 May 1997 11 June 1997ConservativeMajor Michael Howard 11 June 1997 15 June 1999 ConservativeHague John Maples 15 June 1999 2 February 2000 Conservative Francis Maude 2 February 2000 18 September 2001 ConservativeMichael Ancram18 September 200110 May 2005Conservative Duncan SmithHoward Liam Fox 10 May 2005 6 December 2005 Conservative William Hague 6 December 2005 11 May 2010 ConservativeCameron David Miliband 11 May 2010 8 October 2010 LabourHarman IYvette Cooper8 October 201020 January 2011LabourMilibandDouglas Alexander20 January 201111 May 2015LabourHilary Benn11 May 201526 June 2016Labour Harman II CorbynEmily Thornberry27 June 20165 April 2020LabourLisa Nandy5 April 202029 November 2021LabourStarmerDavid Lammy29 November 20215 July 2024LabourAndrew Mitchell8 July 20244 November 2024ConservativeSunakDame Priti Patel4 November 202431 August 2026ConservativeBadenochTom Tugendhat31 August 2026IncumbentConservative
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