{{Short description|British government official overseeing post-Empire relations}} {{refimprove|date=April 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} {{Use British English|date=August 2017}} The '''secretary of state for commonwealth affairs'''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cross |first=J.A. |date=1964 |title=Whitehall and the commonwealth: The development of British departmental organisation for commonwealth affairs |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14662046408447000 |journal=Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=189–206 |via=Taylor & Francis Online}}</ref> was a British Cabinet minister responsible for dealing with the [[United Kingdom]]'s relations with members of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] (its former colonies). The minister's department was the '''Commonwealth Office'''.

The position was created on 1 August 1966 by the merger of the old positions of [[secretary of state for commonwealth relations]] and [[secretary of state for the colonies]]. In 1968 the position was merged with that of [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|secretary of state for foreign affairs]] to create the new position of [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs.]]

==Secretaries of state for commonwealth affairs, 1966–1968== {| class="wikitable" ! colspan="3" |Name ! colspan=2|Term of office ! Political party ! colspan=2|[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|P.M.]] ! [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|F.Sec.]] |- ! rowspan=2 style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | | rowspan=2| [[Herbert Bowden]]{{Break}}{{Small|MP for [[Leicester South West (UK Parliament constituency)|Leicester South West]]}} | rowspan="2" | | rowspan="2" | 1 August 1966 | rowspan=2| 29 August 1967 | rowspan=2|[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] | rowspan=4 style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | | rowspan=4|[[Harold Wilson|Wilson]] | [[Michael Stewart, Baron Stewart of Fulham|Stewart]] |- | rowspan=2| [[George Brown, Baron George-Brown|G.Brown]] |- ! rowspan=2 style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | | rowspan=2| [[George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth|George Thomson]]{{Break}}{{Small|MP for [[Dundee East (UK Parliament constituency)|Dundee East]]}} | rowspan="2" |[[File:George Morgan Thomson 1970 cropped (cropped).png|frameless|100x100px]] | rowspan="2" | 29 August 1967 | rowspan=2| 17 October 1968 | rowspan=2|[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] |- | [[Michael Stewart, Baron Stewart of Fulham|Stewart]] |}

==Shadow secretaries of state for commonwealth affairs== {| class="wikitable" ! colspan=3|Name ! Entered office ! Left office ! Political party ! Shadow Cabinet |- | style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | [[Reginald Maudling]]{{Break}}{{Small|MP for [[Barnet (UK Parliament constituency)|Barnet]]}} | [[File:Reginald Maudling, 1969 (Brightned) (cropped).jpg|75px]] | 1 August 1966 | 21 April 1968 | Conservative | rowspan=2 {{Party shading/Conservative (UK)}} |[[First Shadow Cabinet of Edward Heath|Heath]] |- | style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | [[Alec Douglas-Home]]{{Break}}{{Small|MP for [[Kinross and Western Perthshire]]}} | [[File:Alec Douglas-Home (c1963).jpg|75px]] | 21 April 1968 | 17 October 1968 | Conservative |}

==References== {{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Secretary of State For Commonwealth Affairs}} [[Category:Lists of government ministers of the United Kingdom|Commonwealth Affairs]] [[Category:Defunct ministerial offices in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:1966 establishments in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:1968 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:1960s in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Government ministries established in 1966]]

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