The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations was a British Cabinet minister responsible for dealing with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...

's relations with members of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

(its former colonies). The minister's department was the Commonwealth Relations Office (CRO). The position was created in 1947 out of the old positions of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs and Secretary of State for India. In 1966, the position was merged with that of the

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...

to form that of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs, which was in turn merged with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1968 to create the new position of

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

, the equivalent position today being the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.

Secretaries of State for Commonwealth Relations, 1947–1966

References

Foreign and Commonwealth Office website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secretary Of State for Commonwealth Relations Commonwealth Relations History of the Commonwealth of Nations Defunct ministerial offices in the United Kingdom 1947 establishments in the United Kingdom 1966 disestablishments in the United Kingdom