Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
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United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs |
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Arms of Her Majesty's Government
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| Foreign and Commonwealth Office | |
| Style |
The Right Honourable (Formal prefix) Foreign Secretary |
| Member of |
British Cabinet Privy Council National Security Council Council of the European Union |
| Reports to | The Prime Minister |
| Residence | |
| Seat | Westminster, London |
| Appointer | The British Monarch on advice of the Prime Minister |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Inaugural holder | Charles James Fox |
| Formation | 27 March 1782 |
| Website | www |
The Foreign Secretary, known in full as Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, is a senior official within the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The office is a cabinet-level position, and is considered one of the Great Offices of State. It is considered a position similar to that of Foreign Minister in other countries.
The Secretary of State's remit includes: relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of Nations and the Overseas Territories in addition to the promotion of British interests abroad. The Foreign Secretary also has ministerial oversight for the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
The current Foreign Secretary is former London Mayor Boris Johnson, who was appointed by Prime Minister Theresa May in July 2016.
The position of 'Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs' was created in the British governmental reorganisation of 1782, in which the Northern and Southern Departments became the Home and Foreign Offices, respectively. The position of 'Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs' 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.
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Wikipedia