President of the Board of Trade

The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. A committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, it was first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th century that evolved gradually into a government department with diverse functions.[1] The current holder of the post is Jonathan Reynolds,[2] who is concurrently the secretary of state for business and trade.

United Kingdom
President of the Board of Trade
Royal Arms as used by His Majesty's Government
since 5 July 2024
Board of Trade
UK Export Finance
StyleThe Right Honourable
(Formal prefix)
President of the Board of Trade
Member ofBritish Cabinet
Privy Council
Reports toThe Prime Minister
SeatWestminster, London
AppointerThe Sovereign
on advice of the Prime Minister
Term lengthNo fixed term

History

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The idea of a Board of Trade was first translated into action by Oliver Cromwell in 1655 when he appointed his son Richard Cromwell to head a body of Lords of the Privy Council, judges and merchants to consider measures to promote trade. Charles II established a Council of Trade on 7 November 1660, followed by a Council of Foreign Plantations on 1 December that year. The two were united on 16 September 1672 as the Board of Trade and Plantations.

After the Board was re-established in 1696, there were 15 (and later 16) members of the Board – the 7 (later 8) great officers of state, and eight unofficial members, who did the majority of the work. The senior unofficial board member was the board president, commonly known as the first lord of trade. The board was abolished on 11 July 1782, but a Committee of the Privy Council was established on 5 March 1784 for the same purposes. On 23 August 1786, a new committee was set up, more strongly focused on commercial functions than the previous boards of trade. At first, the president of the Board of Trade only occasionally sat in the Cabinet. Still, from the early 19th century, it was usually a cabinet-level position.

In 2020, there was an unusual appointment of a deputy president to assist the president. Still, the holder remained only an adviser to the Board.[3] This appears to have been a one-off appointment, and this role no longer exists.[4] However, the president was previously assisted by the vice president.[5]

List of presidents of the Board of Trade

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First Lord of Trade (1672–1782)

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First Lord Term of office Monarch
  Anthony Ashley Cooper
1st Earl of Shaftesbury
16 September
1672
1676 Charles II
(1660–1685)
  John Egerton
3rd Earl of Bridgewater
16 December
1695
9 June
1699
William III
(1689–1702)
  Thomas Grey
2nd Earl of Stamford
[6]
9 June
1699
19 June
1702
Anne
(1702–1714
  Thomas Thynne
1st Viscount Weymouth
19 June
1702
1705
  Thomas Grey
2nd Earl of Stamford
1705 12 June
1711
  Charles Finch
4th Earl of Winchilsea
12 June
1711
15 September
1713
  Francis North
2nd Baron Guilford
15 September
1713
September
1714
George I
(1714–1727
  William Berkeley
4th Baron Berkeley of Stratton
September
1714
12 May
1715
  Henry Howard
6th Earl of Suffolk
12 May
1715
31 January
1718
  Robert Darcy
3rd Earl of Holderness
31 January
1718
11 May
1719
  Thomas Fane
6th Earl of Westmorland
11 May
1719
May
1735
George II
(1727–1760
  Benjamin Mildmay
1st Earl Fitzwalter
May
1735
June
1737
  John Monson
1st Baron Monson
June
1737
1 November
1748
  George Montagu-Dunk
2nd Earl of Halifax
1 November
1748
21 March
1761
George III
(1760–1820)
  Samuel Sandys
1st Baron Sandys
21 March
1761
1 March
1763
  Charles Townshend 1 March
1763
20 April
1763
  William Petty
2nd Earl of Shelburne
20 April
1763
9 September
1763
  Wills Hill
Earl of Hillsborough
9 September
1763
20 July
1765
  William Legge
2nd Earl of Dartmouth
20 July
1765
16 August
1766
  Wills Hill
Earl of Hillsborough
16 August
1766
December
1766
  Robert Nugent
Viscount Clare
19 January
1767
20 January
1768
  Wills Hill
Earl of Hillsborough
20 January
1768
31 August
1772
  William Legge
2nd Earl of Dartmouth
31 August
1772
10 November
1775
  George Germain
1st Viscount Sackville
10 November
1775
6 November
1779
  Frederick Howard
5th Earl of Carlisle
6 November
1779
9 December
1780
  Thomas Robinson
2nd Baron Grantham
9 December
1780
11 July
1782

President of the Committee on Trade and Foreign Plantations (1784–1786)

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President of the Committee Term of office Party Ministry Monarch
  Thomas Townshend
1st Viscount Sydney
5 March
1784
23 August
1786
Whig Pitt I George III
(1760–1820)

President of the Board of Trade (1786–1963)

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President of the Board
Constituency
Term of office Party Ministry Monarch Ref
  Charles Jenkinson
1st Earl of Liverpool
23 August
1786
7 June
1804
Tory Pitt I George III
(1760–1820)
Addington
  James Graham
3rd Duke of Montrose
7 June
1804
5 February
1806
Tory Pitt II
  William Eden
1st Baron Auckland
5 February
1806
31 March
1807
Independent All the Talents
  Henry Bathurst
3rd Earl Bathurst
31 March
1807
29 September
1812
Tory Portland II
Perceval
Liverpool
  Richard Trench
2nd Earl of Clancarty
29 September
1812
24 January
1818
Tory
  F. J. Robinson
MP for Ripon
24 January
1818
21 February
1823
Tory
George IV
(1820–1830)
  William Huskisson
MP for Liverpool
21 February
1823
4 September
1827
Tory
Canning
  Charles Grant
MP for Inverness-shire
4 September
1827
11 June
1828
Tory Goderich
Wellington–Peel
  William Vesey-FitzGerald
MP for Newport (Cornwall)
11 June
1828
2 February
1830
Tory [α]
  John Charles Herries
MP for Harwich
2 February
1830
22 November
1830
Tory
William IV
(1830–1837)
  George Eden
Lord Auckland
22 November
1830
5 June
1834
Whig Grey
Melbourne I
  Charles Poulett Thomson
MP for Manchester
5 June
1834
14 November
1834
Whig
  Alexander Baring
MP for North Essex
15 December
1834
8 April
1835
Tory Wellington Caretaker
Peel I
  Charles Poulett Thomson
MP for Manchester
8 April
1835
29 August
1839
Whig Melbourne II
Victoria
(1837–1901)
  Henry Labouchere
MP for Taunton
29 August
1839
30 August
1841
Whig
  F. J. Robinson
Earl of Ripon
3 September
1841
15 May
1843
Conservative Peel II
  William Ewart Gladstone
MP for Newark
15 May
1843
5 February
1845
Conservative
  James Broun-Ramsay
Earl of Dalhousie
5 February
1845
27 June
1846
Conservative
  George Villiers
4th Earl of Clarendon
6 July
1846
22 July
1847
Whig Russell I
  Henry Labouchere
MP for Taunton
22 July
1847
21 February
1852
Whig
  J. W. Henley
MP for Oxfordshire
27 February
1852
17 December
1852
Conservative Derby–Disraeli I
  Edward Cardwell
MP for Oxford
28 December
1852
31 March
1855
Peelite Aberdeen
  Edward Stanley
2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley
31 March
1855
21 February
1858
Whig Palmerston
  J. W. Henley
MP for Oxfordshire
26 February
1858
3 March
1859
Conservative Derby–Disraeli II
  Richard Hely-Hutchinson
4th Earl of Donoughmore
3 March
1859
11 June
1859
Conservative
  Thomas Milner Gibson
MP for Ashton-under-Lyne
6 July
1859
26 June
1866
Liberal Palmerston II
Russell III
  Stafford Northcote
1st Earl of Iddesleigh
6 July
1866
8 March
1867
Conservative Derby–Disraeli III
  Charles Gordon-Lennox
6th Duke of Richmond
8 March
1867
1 December
1868
Conservative
  John Bright
MP for Birmingham
9 December
1868
14 January
1871
Liberal Gladstone I
  Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue
MP for County Louth
14 January
1871
17 February
1874
Liberal
  Charles Adderley
1st Baron Norton
21 February
1874
4 April
1878
Conservative Disraeli II
  Viscount Sandon
MP for Liverpool
4 April
1878
21 April
1880
Conservative
  Joseph Chamberlain
MP for Birmingham
3 May
1880
9 June
1885
Liberal Gladstone II
  Charles Gordon-Lennox
6th Duke of Richmond
24 June
1885
19 August
1885
Conservative Salisbury I
  Edward Stanhope
MP for Horncastle
19 August
1885
28 January
1886
Conservative
  A. J. Mundella
MP for Sheffield Brightside
17 February
1886
20 July
1886
Liberal Gladstone III
  Frederick Stanley
Lord Stanley of Preston
3 August
1886
21 February
1888
Conservative Salisbury II
  Michael Hicks Beach
1st Earl St Aldwyn
21 February
1888
11 August
1892
Conservative
  A. J. Mundella
MP for Sheffield Brightside
18 August
1892
28 May
1894
Liberal Gladstone IV
  James Bryce
MP for Aberdeen South
28 May
1894
21 June
1895
Liberal Rosebery
  Charles Ritchie
MP for Croydon
29 June
1895
7 November
1900
Conservative Salisbury III
  Gerald Balfour
MP for Leeds Central
7 November
1900
12 March
1905
Conservative Salisbury IV
Edward VII
(1901–1910)
Balfour
  James Gascoyne-Cecil
4th Marquess of Salisbury
12 March
1905
4 December
1905
Conservative
  David Lloyd George
MP for Carnarvon Boroughs
10 December
1905
12 April
1908
Liberal Campbell-Bannerman
  Winston Churchill
MP for Dundee
12 April
1908
14 February
1910
Liberal Asquith I
  Sydney Buxton
MP for Poplar
14 February
1910
11 February
1914
Liberal Asquith II
George V
(1910–1936)
Asquith III
  John Burns
MP for Battersea
11 February
1914
5 August
1914
Liberal
  Walter Runciman
MP for Dewsbury
5 August
1914
5 December
1916
Liberal
Asquith Coalition
  Albert Stanley
MP for Ashton-under-Lyne
10 December
1916
26 May
1919
Conservative Lloyd George I
Lloyd George II
  Auckland Geddes
MP for Basingstoke
26 May
1919
19 March
1920
Conservative
  Robert Horne
MP for Glasgow Hillhead
19 March
1920
1 April
1921
Conservative
  Stanley Baldwin
MP for Bewdley
1 April
1921
19 October
1922
Conservative
  Philip Cunliffe-Lister
MP for Hendon
24 October
1922
22 January
1924
Conservative Law
Baldwin I
  Sidney Webb
MP for Seaham
22 January
1924
3 November
1924
Labour MacDonald I
  Philip Cunliffe-Lister
MP for Hendon
6 November
1924
4 June
1929
Conservative Baldwin II
  William Graham
MP for Edinburgh Central
7 June
1929
24 August
1931
Labour MacDonald II
  Philip Cunliffe-Lister
MP for Hendon
25 August
1931
5 November
1931
Conservative National I
  Walter Runciman
MP for St Ives
5 November
1931
28 May
1937
Liberal National National II
Edward VIII
(1936)
George VI
(1936–1952)
National III
  Oliver Stanley
MP for Westmorland
28 May
1937
5 January
1940
Conservative National IV
Chamberlain War
  Andrew Rae Duncan
MP for City of London
5 January
1940
3 October
1940
Independent
Churchill War
  Oliver Lyttelton
MP for Aldershot
3 October
1940
29 June
1941
Conservative
  Andrew Rae Duncan
MP for City of London
29 June
1941
4 February
1942
Independent
  John Jestyn Llewellin
MP for Uxbridge
4 February
1942
22 February
1942
Conservative
  Hugh Dalton
MP for Peckham
22 February
1942
23 May
1945
Labour
  Oliver Lyttelton
MP for Aldershot
25 May
1945
26 July
1945
Conservative Churchill Caretaker
  Stafford Cripps
MP for Bristol East
27 July
1945
29 September
1947
Labour Attlee I
  Harold Wilson
MP for OrmskirkHuyton
29 September
1947
23 April
1951
Labour
Attlee II
  Hartley Shawcross
MP for St Helens
24 April
1951
26 October
1951
Labour
  Peter Thorneycroft
MP for Monmouth
30 October
1951
13 January
1957
Conservative Churchill III
Elizabeth II
(1952–2022)
Eden
  David Eccles
MP for Chippenham
13 January
1957
14 October
1959
Conservative Macmillan I
  Reginald Maudling
MP for Barnet
14 October
1959
9 October
1961
Conservative Macmillan II
  Frederick Erroll
MP for Altrincham and Sale
9 October
1961
20 October
1963
Conservative

President of the Board of Trade (1963–present)

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President of the Board
Constituency
Term of office Concurrent office(s) Party Ministry Monarch Ref
  Edward Heath
MP for Bexley
20 October
1963
16 October
1964
Secretary of State for
Industry, Trade and Regional Development
Conservative Douglas-Home Elizabeth II
(1952–2022)
  Douglas Jay
MP for Battersea North
18 October
1964
29 August
1967
None Labour Wilson I
Wilson II
  Anthony Crosland
MP for Great Grimsby
29 August
1967
6 October
1969
Labour
  Roy Mason
MP for Barnsley Central
6 October
1969
19 June
1970
Labour
Michael Noble
MP for Argyll
20 June
1970
15 October
1970
Conservative Heath
John Davies
MP for Knutsford
15 October
1970
5 November
1972
Secretary of State for
Trade and Industry
Conservative
  Peter Walker
MP for Worcester
5 November
1972
4 March
1974
Conservative
  Peter Shore
MP for Stepney and Poplar
5 March
1974
8 April
1976
Secretary of State for
Trade
Labour Wilson III
Wilson IV
  Edmund Dell
MP for Birkenhead
8 April
1976
11 November
1978
Labour Callaghan
  John Smith
MP for North Lanarkshire
11 November
1978
4 May
1979
Labour
  John Nott
MP for St Ives
5 May
1979
5 January
1981
Conservative Thatcher I
  John Biffen
MP for Oswestry
5 January
1981
6 April
1982
Conservative
  Arthur Cockfield
Baron Cockfield
6 April
1982
12 June
1983
Conservative
  Cecil Parkinson
MP for Hertsmere
12 June
1983
11 October
1983
Secretary of State for
Trade and Industry
Conservative Thatcher II
  Norman Tebbit
MP for Chingford
16 October
1983
2 September
1985
Conservative
  Leon Brittan
MP for Richmond (Yorks)
2 September
1985
22 January
1986
Conservative
  Paul Channon
MP for Southend West
24 January
1986
13 June
1987
Conservative
  David Young
Baron Young of Graffham
13 June
1987
24 July
1989
Conservative Thatcher III
  Nicholas Ridley
MP for Cirencester and Tewkesbury
24 July
1989
13 July
1990
Conservative
  Peter Lilley
MP for St Albans
14 July
1990
10 April
1992
Conservative
Conservative Major I
  Michael Heseltine
MP for Henley
10 April
1992
5 July
1995
Conservative Major II
  Ian Lang
MP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale
5 July
1995
2 May
1997
Conservative
  Margaret Beckett
MP for Derby South
2 May
1997
27 July
1998
Labour Blair I
  Peter Mandelson
MP for Hartlepool
27 July
1998
23 December
1998
Labour
  Stephen Byers
MP for North Tyneside
23 December
1998
8 June
2001
Labour
  Patricia Hewitt
MP for Leicester West
8 June
2001
6 May
2005
Labour Blair II
  Alan Johnson
MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
6 May
2005
5 May
2006
Labour Blair III
  Alistair Darling
MP for Edinburgh South West
5 May
2006
28 June
2007
Labour
  John Hutton
MP for Barrow and Furness
28 June
2007
3 October
2008
Secretary of State for
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Labour Brown
  Peter Mandelson
MP for Hartlepool
3 October
2008
12 May
2010
Labour
Secretary of State for
Business, Innovation and Skills
  Vince Cable
MP for Twickenham
12 May
2010
8 May
2015
Liberal Democrats Cameron–Clegg
  Sajid Javid
MP for Bromsgrove
11 May
2015
15 July
2016
Conservative Cameron II
  Greg Clark
MP for Tunbridge Wells
15 July
2016
19 July
2016
Secretary of State for
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Conservative May I [β]
  Liam Fox
MP for North Somerset
19 July
2016
24 July
2019[10]
Secretary of State for
International Trade
Conservative
May II
  Liz Truss
MP for South West Norfolk
24 July
2019
15 September
2021
Conservative Johnson I
Johnson II
  Anne-Marie Trevelyan
MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed
15 September
2021
6 September
2022
Conservative
  Kemi Badenoch
MP for Saffron Walden
6 September
2022
5 July
2024
Conservative Truss
Charles III
 
(2022–)
Sunak
Secretary of State for
Business and Trade
  Jonathan Reynolds
MP for Stalybridge and Hyde
5 July
2024
Incumbent Labour Starmer

Timeline

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Jonathan ReynoldsKemi BadenochAnne-Marie TrevelyanLiz TrussLiam FoxGreg ClarkSajid JavidVince CableJohn Hutton, Baron Hutton of FurnessAlistair DarlingAlan JohnsonPatricia HewittStephen ByersPeter MandelsonMargaret BeckettIan LangMichael HeseltinePeter LilleyNicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of LiddesdaleDavid Young, Baron Young of GraffhamPaul ChannonLeon BrittanNorman TebbitCecil ParkinsonArthur Cockfield, Baron CockfieldJohn BiffenJohn NottJohn Smith (Labour Party leader)Edmund DellPeter ShorePeter Walker, Baron Walker of WorcesterJohn Davies (British businessman)Michael Noble, Baron GlenkinglasRoy MasonAnthony CroslandDouglas JayEdward HeathFrederick ErrollReginald MauldingDavid Eccles, 1st Viscount EcclesPeter ThorneycroftHartley ShawcrossHarold WilsonStafford CrippsHugh DaltonJohn Jestyn LlewellinOliver LytteltonAndrew Rae DuncanOliver StanleyWilliam GrahamSidney WebbPhilip Cunliff-ListerStanley BaldwinRobert HorneAuckland GeddesAlbert StanleyWalter RuncimanJohn BurnsSydney BuxtonWinston ChurchillDavid Lloyd GeorgeJames Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of SalisburyGerald BalfourCharles RitchieJames BryceMichael Hicks Beach, 1st Earl St AldwynFrederick Stanley, 16th Earl DerbyA. J. MundellaEdward StanhopeJoseph ChamberlainDudley Ryder, 3rd Earl of HarrowbyCharles Adderley, 1st Baron NortonChichester Parkinson-FortescueJohn BrightCharles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of RichmondStafford Northcote, 1st Earl of IddesleighThomas Milner GibsonRichard Hely-Hutchinson, 4th Earl of DonoughmoreEdward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of AlderleyEdward CardwellJ. W. HenleyGeorge Villiers, 4th Earl of ClarendonJames Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of DalhousieWilliam Ewart GladstoneHenry LabouchereAlexander Baring, 1st Baron AshburtonCharles Poulett ThomsonGeorge Eden, 1st Earl of AucklandJohn Charles HerriesWilliam Vesey-FitzGeraldCharles Grant, 1st Baron GlenelgWilliam HuskissonF. J. RobinsonRichard Trench, 2nd Earl of ClancartyHenry Bathurst, 3rd Earl BathurstWilliam Eden, 1st Baron AucklandJames Graham, 3rd Duke of MontroseCharles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of LiverpoolThomas Townshend, 1st Viscount SydneyThomas Robinson, 2nd Baron GranthamFrederick Howard, 5th Earl of CarlisleGeorge Germain, 1st Viscount SackvilleRobert Nugent, 1st Earl NugentWilliam Legge, 2nd Earl of DartmouthWills Hill, 1st Marquess of DownshireWilliam Petty, 2nd Earl of SHelburneCharles TownshendSamuel Sandys, 1st Baron SandysGeorge Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of HalifaxJohn Monson, 1st Baron MonsonBenjamin Mildmay, 1st Earl FitzwalterThomas Fane, 6th Earl of WestmorlandRobert Darcy, 3rd Earl of HoldernessHenry Howard, 6th Earl of SuffolkWilliam Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley of StrattonFrancis North, 2nd Baron GuilfordCharles Finch, 4th Earl of WinchilseaThomas Thynne, 1st Viscount WeymouthThomas Grey, 2nd Earl of StamfordJohn Egerton, 3rd Earl of BridgewaterAnthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury

Notes

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  1. ^ Formerly MP for Clare, William Vesey-FitzGerald was briefly not sitting as an MP after the defeat in by-election of Clare and before the by-election of Newport (Cornwall).
  2. ^ Appointed by the Privy Council in error, and held the post for four days before the mistake was rectified.[7][8][9]

References

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  1. ^ Olson, Alison G. "The Board of Trade and Colonial Virginia". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  2. ^ Diver, Tony (6 September 2022). "Liz Truss Cabinet latest: Kwasi Kwarteng appointed as Chancellor and Suella Braverman becomes Home Secretary". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  3. ^ Stuart, Graham. "Board of Trade: Membership". UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Board of Trade". UK Government. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 3, Officials of the Boards of Trade 1660-1870". British History Online. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Officials of the Boards of Trade 1660-1870 - Council of trade and plantations 1696-1782". Office-Holders in Modern Britain. Vol. 3.
  7. ^ May, Callum (22 July 2016). "Minister Greg Clark was briefly given wrong job". BBC News. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  8. ^ Tilbrook, Richard (15 July 2016). "Business Transacted and Orders Approved at the Privy Council Held by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 15th July 2016" (PDF). Privy Council Office. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  9. ^ Tilbrook, Richard (19 July 2016). "Business Transacted and Orders Approved at the Privy Council Held by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 19th July 2016" (PDF). Privy Council Office. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  10. ^ Liam Fox [@LiamFox] (24 July 2019). "Sadly, I will be leaving the Government. It has been a privilege to have served as Secretary of State for International Trade these past 3 years" (Tweet) – via Twitter.