Secretaries of State for the American Colonies, 1768-1782[]
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Earl of Hillsborough | 27 February 1768 | 27 August 1772 | Tory | |
| The Earl of Dartmouth | 27 August 1772 | 10 November 1775 | Tory | |
| Lord George Germain | 10 November 1775 | February 1782 | Tory | |
| Welbore Ellis | February 1782 | 8 March 1782 | Tory |
Secretaries of State for the Colonies, 1854-1966[]
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir George Grey | 12 June 1854 | 8 February 1855 | Liberal | |
| Sidney Herbert | 8 February 1855 | 23 February 1855 | Peelite | |
| Lord John Russell | 23 February 1855 | 21 July 1855 | Liberal | |
| Sir William Molesworth, Bt. | 21 July 1855 | 21 November 1855 | Liberal | |
| Henry Labouchere | 21 November 1855 | 21 February 1858 | Liberal | |
| Lord Stanley | 26 February 1858 | 5 June 1858 | Conservative | |
| Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton | 5 June 1858 | 11 June 1859 | Conservative | |
| The Duke of Newcastle | 18 June 1859 | 7 April 1864 | Liberal | |
| Edward Cardwell | 7 April 1864 | 26 June 1866 | Liberal | |
| The Earl of Carnarvon | 6 July 1866 | 8 March 1867 | Conservative | |
| The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos | 8 March 1867 | 1 December 1868 | Conservative | |
| The Earl Granville | 9 December 1868 | 6 July 1870 | Liberal | |
| The Earl of Kimberley | 6 July 1870 | 17 February 1874 | Liberal | |
| The Earl of Carnarvon | 21 February 1874 | 4 February 1878 | Conservative | |
| Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Bt. | 4 February 1878 | 21 April 1880 | Conservative | |
| The Earl of Kimberley | 21 April 1880 | 16 December 1882 | Liberal | |
| The Earl of Derby | 16 December 1882 | 9 June 1885 | Liberal | |
| Frederick Stanley | 24 June 1885 | 28 January 1886 | Conservative | |
| The Earl Granville | 6 February 1886 | 20 July 1886 | Liberal | |
| Edward Stanhope | 3 August 1886 | 14 January 1887 | Conservative | |
| Sir Henry Holland, Bt., later The Lord Knutsford | 14 January 1887 | 11 August 1892 | Conservative | |
| The Marquess of Ripon | 18 August 1892 | 21 June 1895 | Liberal | |
| Joseph Chamberlain | 29 June 1895 | 16 September 1903 | Liberal Unionist/Unionist | |
| Alfred Lyttelton | 11 October 1903 | 4 December 1905 | Unionist | |
| The Earl of Elgin | 10 December 1905 | 12 April 1908 | Liberal | |
| The Earl of Crewe | 12 April 1908 | 3 November 1910 | Liberal | |
| Lewis Harcourt | 3 November 1910 | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | |
| Andrew Bonar Law | 25 May 1915 | 10 December 1916 | Unionist | |
| Walter Long | 10 December 1916 | 10 January 1919 | Unionist | |
| The Viscount Milner | 10 January 1919 | 13 February 1921 | Unionist | |
| Winston Spencer Churchill | 13 February 1921 | 19 October 1922 | Liberal | |
| The Duke of Devonshire | 24 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | |
| James Thomas | 22 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 | Labour | |
| Leo Amery | 6 November 1924 | 4 June 1929 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Passfield | 7 June 1929 | 24 August 1931 | Labour | |
| James Thomas | 25 August 1931 | 5 November 1931 | National Labour | |
| Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister | 5 November 1931 | 7 June 1935 | Conservative | |
| Malcolm MacDonald | 7 June 1935 | 22 November 1935 | National Labour | |
| James Thomas | 22 November 1935 | 22 May 1936 | National Labour | |
| William Ormsby-Gore | 28 May 1936 | 16 May 1938 | Conservative | |
| Malcolm MacDonald | 16 May 1938 | 12 May 1940 | National Labour | |
| The Lord Lloyd | 12 May 1940 | 8 February 1941 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Moyne | 8 February 1941 | 22 February 1942 | Conservative | |
| Viscount Cranborne | 22 February 1942 | 22 November 1942 | Conservative | |
| Oliver Stanley | 22 November 1942 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | |
| George Hall | 3 August 1945 | 4 October 1946 | Labour | |
| Arthur Creech Jones | 4 October 1946 | 28 February 1950 | Labour | |
| Jim Griffiths | 28 February 1950 | 26 October 1951 | Labour | |
| Oliver Lyttelton | 28 October 1951 | 28 July 1954 | Conservative | |
| Alan Lennox-Boyd | 28 July 1954 | 14 October 1959 | Conservative | |
| Iain Macleod | 14 October 1959 | 9 October 1961 | Conservative | |
| Reginald Maudling | 9 October 1961 | 13 July 1962 | Conservative | |
| Duncan Sandys | 13 July 1962 | 16 October 1964 | Conservative | |
| Anthony Greenwood | 18 October 1964 | 23 December 1965 | Labour | |
| The Earl of Longford | 23 December 1965 | 6 April 1966 | Labour | |
| Frederick Lee | 6 April 1966 | 1 August 1966 | Labour |
Merged with Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations to create the new position of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs.