The minister of state for international development is a ministerial position in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The current postholder is Kirsty McNeill since 21 July 2026.
The officeholder headed the Department for International Development (DFID) as secretary of state from 1997 to 2020 and was a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The Department of International Development was abolished in September 2020 and merged into the Foreign Office. In 2022, the portfolio was restored as a Minister of State attending Cabinet, but was again removed in 2026.
History A separate Ministry of Overseas Development was established by Harold Wilson when he came to office in 1964. The first three holders of the office served in the Cabinet, but from 29 August 1967 the office was demoted. Under Edward Heath, the Ministry was re-incorporated into the FCO on 15 October 1970. Wilson again established the Ministry in 1974, but later merged it into the FCO once again: from 10 June 1975 to 8 October 1979 the foreign secretary served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Minister for Overseas Development in the cabinet, while the minister for overseas development held the rank of Minister of State within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The minister of state had day-to-day responsibility. Under the Labour government of the 1970s, Reg Prentice sat in the Cabinet during his term. The post's last and main format was created in 1997 when the Department for International Development was made independent of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
In June 2020, it was announced the Department for International Development would be dissolved, and its operations would be merged into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The process was completed by 2 September 2020, with the last international development secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan remaining in place until that time.
In 2022, the position was revived as a minister of state attending Cabinet during the Truss ministry. From 2022 to 2024 under the Sunak ministry, the position was combined with responsibility for Africa as Minister of State for Development and Africa held by Andrew Mitchell, who continued to attend Cabinet.
Under the Starmer ministry, Anneliese Dodds was appointed as Minister of State for Development attending Cabinet until her resignation in February 2025. Thereafter, Jenny Chapman was given the portfolio as Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean from February to September 2025 and then as Minister of State for International Development and Africa until July 2026.
Under the Burnham ministry, the portfolio was again removed from Cabinet and given to Kirsty McNeill.
Responsibilities The Minister's responsibilities include:
Africa Development and humanitarian International finance Climate and energy security
List of ministers and secretaries of state
Minister Term of office Party MinistryMinisters of Overseas Development (1964–1970) Barbara Castle 18 October 1964 23 December 1965 Labour Wilson Anthony Greenwood 23 December 1965 11 August 1966 Labour Arthur Bottomley 11 August 1966 29 August 1967 Labour Reg Prentice 29 August 1967 6 October 1969 Labour Judith Hart 6 October 1969 19 June 1970 Labour Richard Wood 23 June 1970 4 March 1974 Conservative Heath Judith Hart 7 March 1974 10 June 1975 Labour Wilson Reg Prentice 10 June 1975 21 December 1976(resigned) Labour Callaghan Frank Judd 21 December 1976 21 February 1977 Labour Judith Hart 21 February 1977 4 May 1979 Labour Neil Marten 6 May 1979 6 January 1983 Conservative Thatcher Timothy Raison 6 January 1983 10 September 1986 Conservative Chris Patten 10 September 1986 24 July 1989 Conservative Lynda Chalker 24 July 1989 2 May 1997 Conservative MajorSecretaries of State for International Development (1997–2020) Clare Short 3 May 1997 12 May 2003 Labour Blair Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos 12 May 2003 6 October 2003 Labour Hilary Benn 6 October 2003 28 June 2007 Labour Douglas Alexander 28 June 2007 11 May 2010 Labour Brown Andrew Mitchell 12 May 2010 4 September 2012 Conservative Cameron-Clegg Justine Greening 4 September 2012 14 July 2016 Conservative Cameron Priti Patel 14 July 2016 8 November 2017 Conservative May May Penny Mordaunt 9 November 2017 1 May 2019 Conservative Rory Stewart 1 May 2019 24 July 2019 Conservative Alok Sharma 24 July 2019 13 February 2020 Conservative Johnson Johnson Anne-Marie Trevelyan 13 February 2020 2 September 2020 Conservative Vacant 2 September 2020 6 September 2022 ConservativeMinister of State for Development (2022) Vicky Ford 6 September 2022 25 October 2022 Conservative Truss Minister of State for Development and Africa (2022–2024) Andrew Mitchell 25 October 2022 5 July 2024 Conservative SunakMinister of State for Development (2024–2025) Anneliese Dodds 8 July 2024 28 February 2025 Labour StarmerMinister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean (February–September 2025)Jenny Chapman, Baroness Chapman of Darlington28 February 20255 September 2025LabourStarmerMinister of State for International Development and Africa (September 2025–July 2026)Jenny Chapman, Baroness Chapman of Darlington5 September 202520 July 2026LabourStarmerMinister of State for International Development (since July 2026)Kirsty McNeill21 July 2026IncumbentLabourBurnham
References