The parliamentary under-secretary of state for Europe, Eastern Europe, International Security and Growth, is a ministerial position within the Government of the United Kingdom, in charge of affairs with Europe. The minister can also be responsible for government policy towards European security; defence and international security; the Falkland Islands; polar regions; migration; protocol; human resources; OSCE and Council of Europe; relations with Parliament; British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus; and FCO finance, knowledge and technology.
History The office currently a Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Despite being a junior ministerial role, the position has sometimes conferred the right to attend meetings of the Cabinet, which is occasionally granted to other such ministers at the Prime Minister's discretion. This first occurred when Denis MacShane was replaced by Douglas Alexander after the 2005 general election, although Alexander's successor ceased to have this right. When Chris Bryant held the office, it was not as Minister of State but as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Europe and Asia.
The responsibilities of the office were next appointed to a Minister of State in 2010 by then Prime Minister David Cameron. He appointed David Lidington, who held the office for over six years. In July 2016, the responsibility for the relationship with the European Union, which represented the greater part of British policy towards Europe, became the brief of a new Cabinet level post, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, or more informally, Brexit Secretary. With the winding up of DEXEU, the department led by the Brexit Secretary, responsibility was transferred to the Cabinet Office, first under Michael Gove, and then under Lord Frost who was made a member of the Cabinet and held the ministerial position of Minister of State at the Cabinet Office. Through this period, any residual responsibilities for European relations that remained with the Foreign Office were combined with the portfolio of the traditionally more junior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. The post of Minister of State for Europe and the Americas was held by Alan Duncan until he resigned on 22 July 2019; Duncan was largely regarded as the second most senior-ranking Foreign Office Minister behind the Foreign Secretary. On 25 July 2019, newly elected Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Conservative MP for Tamworth, Christopher Pincher to the role as part of his ministerial reshuffle. Johnson promoted Wendy Morton to the role of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for European Neighbourhood and the Americas to replace Pincher in February 2020. In December 2021, upon the resignation of Lord Frost, ministerial responsibility returned to the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Chris Heaton-Harris became Minister of State for Europe as responsibility for the United Kingdom's relations with the European Union was moved from the Cabinet Office back to the Foreign Office. In February 2022, James Cleverly was appointed Minister of State for Europe and North America. His former position as Minister of State for Middle East, North Africa and North America was the second highest position in the Foreign Office; his new position as Europe Minister then took its place as the deputy to the Foreign Secretary.
The post is not to be confused with the Minister of State within the Department for Exiting the European Union, the department created by Prime Minister Theresa May following the UK's vote to leave the EU in 2016 and abolished by Boris Johnson following the UK's exit from the EU on 31 January 2020. They supported the work of the department overseeing the UK's exit from the EU rather than overseeing government policy towards all-European affairs.
List of ministers Name PortraitTerm of office Political partyP.M. F.Sec.Minister of State for EuropeDouglas Hurd4 May 19799 June 1983ConservativeThatcher Carrington Pym Malcolm Rifkind 9 June 1983 11 January 1986Howe Lynda Chalker 11 January 1986 24 July 1989Francis Maude25 July 198928 November 1990 MajorHurd Tristan Garel-Jones 28 November 1990 27 May 1993Major David Heathcoat-Amory 27 May 1993 20 July 1994David Davis20 July 19942 May 1997 Rifkind Doug Henderson 5 May 1997 28 July 1998 LabourBlairCook Joyce Quin 28 July 1998 28 July 1999 Geoff Hoon 28 July 1999 11 October 1999 Keith Vaz 11 October 1999 11 June 2001 Peter Hain 11 June 2001 24 October 2002Straw Denis MacShane 28 October 2002 11 May 2005 Douglas Alexander 11 May 2005 8 May 2006 Geoff Hoon 8 May 2006 28 June 2007 Beckett Jim Murphy 28 June 2007 3 October 2008BrownMiliband Caroline Flint 3 October 2008 5 June 2009 Glenys Kinnock,Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead 5 June 2009 13 October 2009Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Europe and Asia Chris Bryant 13 October 2009 11 May 2010LabourBrownMilibandMinister of State for EuropeDavid Lidington12 May 201014 July 2016ConservativeCameronMinister of State for Europe and the AmericasAlan Duncan15 July 201622 July 2019ConservativeMay Christopher Pincher 25 July 2019 13 February 2020Conservative Johnson RaabParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for European Neighbourhood and the Americas Wendy Morton 13 February 2020 19 December 2021Conservative Johnson RaabTrussMinister of State for EuropeChris Heaton-Harris19 December 20218 February 2022ConservativeJohnsonTrussMinister of State for Europe and North America James Cleverly8 February 20227 July 2022ConservativeJohnsonTrussMinister of State for Europe Graham Stuart7 July 20226 September 2022ConservativeJohnsonTruss Leo Docherty7 September 202227 October 2022ConservativeTrussCleverlyParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for EuropeLeo Docherty27 October 202226 March 2024ConservativeSunakMinister of State for EuropeNus Ghani26 March 20245 July 2024ConservativeSunakMinister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas TerritoriesStephen Doughty8 July 202420 July 2026LabourStarmerParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Europe, Eastern Europe, International Security and GrowthStewart Wood,Baron Wood of Anfield23 July 2026IncumbentLabourBurnhamMiliband
References
See also Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Minister of State for European Affairs, the counterpart in Ireland