Secretary of State for Transport

Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The office used to be called the Minister of Transport and has been merged with the Department for the Environment at various times.

The current Secretary of State for Transport is Patrick McLoughlin.

The Secretary of State is supported by a small team of junior Ministers. Each Minister is a Member of Parliament from either the House of Commons or the House of Lords. The number of Ministers supporting the Secretary of State for Transport vary from time to time, but is usually about 3. The titles given to these Ministers also vary. Currently the positions are held by one Minister of State for Transport and two Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State for Transport.

During the tenure of different governments the title of Minister of/for Transport has been used to refer to the Secretary of State for Transport, one or more of the junior Ministers or even both the Secretary of State and the junior Ministers at the same time.

Secretary of State

Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government.

In many countries, a Secretary of State is a mid-level post. It is usually a politically appointed position, although in some countries, such as Germany and Sweden, it can be filled by a member of the executive bureaucracy (civil service) as a political appointment. In the Holy See, there is one Secretary of State, who coordinates all the departments of the Roman Curia (that is, equivalent to a Prime Minister). In the United Kingdom a Secretary of State is a member of the Cabinet appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister (that is, equivalent to a Minister). In the Federal Government of the United States of America, there is one Secretary of State, the most senior political appointee responsible for foreign policy (that is, equivalent to a Foreign Minister).

Secretary of state (U.S. state government)

Secretary of state is an official in the state governments of 47 of the 50 states of the United States, as well as Puerto Rico and other U.S. possessions. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, this official is called the secretary of the commonwealth. In states that have one, the secretary of state is the chief clerk of the state, and is often the primary custodian of important state records. In the states of Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah, there is no Secretary of State; in those states many duties that a secretary of state might normally execute fall within the domain of the lieutenant governor. Like the lieutenant governor, in most states the secretary of state is in the line of succession to succeed the governor, in most cases immediately behind the lieutenant governor. In three states with no lieutenant governor (Arizona,Oregon and Wyoming) as well as the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, the secretary of state is first in the line of succession in the event of a gubernatorial vacancy.

Secretary of State (United Kingdom)

In the United Kingdom, a Secretary of State (SofS) is a Cabinet Minister in charge of a Government Department (though not all departments are headed by a Secretary of State, e.g. HM Treasury is headed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer).

There are a number of Secretaries of State, each formally titled "Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for ...". Legislation generally only refers to "The Secretary of State" without specifying which one; by virtue of the Interpretation Act 1978 this phrase means "one of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State". These positions can be created without primary legislation, nowadays at the behest of the Prime Minister.

History

Kingdom of England

In the Middle Ages the kings of England were attended by a cleric called their "king's clerk" and later "secretary", who dealt with their correspondence. Until Henry VIII, there was usually only one secretary, but under him a second appeared. In the time of Elizabeth I (1558–1603) these men gained the title "Secretary of State". With Cabinet government after 1688, the Secretaries of State took on higher duties. Their posts came to be known as the Secretary of State for the Northern Department and the Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Both dealt with Home Affairs, but they divided Foreign Affairs, so that one dealt with the Protestant states of northern Europe and the other with the Roman Catholic states of southern Europe.