Secretary to the Treasury
# Secretary to the Treasury

In the United Kingdom, there are several Secretaries to the Treasury, who are Treasury ministers nominally acting as secretaries to HM Treasury. The origins of the office are unclear, although it probably originated during Lord Burghley's tenure as Lord Treasurer in the 16th century. The number of secretaries was expanded to two by 1714 at the latest. The Treasury ministers together discharge all the former functions of the Lord Treasurer, which are nowadays nominally vested in the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury. Of the Commissioners, only the Second Lord of the Treasury, who is also the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is a Treasury minister (the others are the Prime Minister and the government whips).

The Chancellor is the senior Treasury minister, followed by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who also attends Cabinet and has particular responsibilities for public expenditure. In order of seniority, the junior Treasury ministers are: the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, and the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (currently not in use).

One of the present-day secretaries, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury, formerly known as the Patronage Secretary, is not a Treasury minister but the government whip in the House of Commons. The office can be seen as a sinecure, allowing the Chief Whip to draw a government salary, attend Cabinet, and use a Downing Street residence.

## Current Secretaries to the Treasury

* Chief Secretary to the Treasury — John Glen
* Financial Secretary to the Treasury — Victoria Atkins
* Economic Secretary to the Treasury — (City Minister) — Andrew Griffith
* Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury — James Cartlidge
* Commercial Secretary to the Treasury — Office not in use
* Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip) — Simon Hart

Tom Scholar KCB, the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, is the Civil Service head of the department.

## Secretaries to the Treasury

### 1660–1830

* June 1660: Sir Philip Warwick
* May 1667: Sir George Downing, Bt
* October 1671: Sir Robert Howard
* July 1673: Charles Bertie
* March 1679: Henry Guy
* April 1689: William Jephson
* June 1691: Henry Guy
* March 1695: William Lowndes

| Year | Senior Secretary | Junior Secretary |
| - | - | - |
| 11 June 1711 | William Lowndes | Thomas Harley |
| November 1714 | William Lowndes | John Taylor |
| 12 October 1715 | William Lowndes | Horatio Walpole |
| April 1717 | William Lowndes | Charles Stanhope |
| April 1721 | William Lowndes | Horatio Walpole |
| January 1724 | John Scrope | Horatio Walpole |
| 24 June 1730 | John Scrope | Edward Walpole |
| 1 June 1739 | John Scrope | Stephen Fox |
| 30 April 1741 | John Scrope | Henry Legge |
| 15 July 1742 | John Scrope | Henry Furnese |
| 30 November 1742 | John Scrope | John Jeffreys |
| 1 May 1746 | John Scrope | James West |
| 9 April 1752 | James West | Nicholas Hardinge |
| 18 November 1756 | Nicholas Hardinge | Samuel Martin |
| 5 July 1757 | Nicholas Hardinge | James West |
| 9 April 1758 | James West | |
| 31 May 1758 | James West | Samuel Martin |
| 29 May 1762 | Samuel Martin | Jeremiah Dyson |
| 18 April 1763 | Jeremiah Dyson | Charles Jenkinson |
| 24 August 1763 | Charles Jenkinson | Thomas Whateley |
| 30 September 1765 | William Mellish | Charles Lowndes |
| 18 August 1766 | Sir Grey Cooper, Bt | Thomas Bradshaw |
| 16 October 1770 | Sir Grey Cooper, Bt | John Robinson |
| 29 March 1782 | Henry Strachey | Edward Chamberlain |
| 6 April 1782 | Henry Strachey | Richard Burke |
| 15 July 1782 | Thomas Orde | George Rose |
| 5 April 1783 | Richard Burke | Richard Brinsley Sheridan |
| 27 December 1783 | George Rose | Thomas Steele |
| 26 February 1791 | George Rose | Charles Long |
| 24 March 1801 | John Hiley Addington | Charles Long |
| 9 April 1801 | John Hiley Addington | Nicholas Vansittart |
| 8 July 1802 | Nicholas Vansittart | John Sargent |
| 21 May 1804 | William Huskisson | William Sturges Bourne |
| 10 February 1806 | Nicholas Vansittart | John King |
| 2 September 1806 | Nicholas Vansittart | William Henry Fremantle |
| 1 April 1807 | Hon. Henry Wellesley | William Huskisson |
| 5 April 1809 | Charles Arbuthnot | William Huskisson |
| 8 December 1809 | Charles Arbuthnot | Richard Wharton |
| 7 January 1814 | Charles Arbuthnot | Stephen Rumbold Lushington |
| 7 February 1823 | Stephen Rumbold Lushington | John Charles Herries |
| 19 April 1827 | Joseph Planta | Thomas Frankland Lewis |
| 28 January 1828 | Joseph Planta | George Robert Dawson |

### 1830–present

* Chief Secretary to the Treasury (established 1961)
* Financial Secretary to the Treasury (established 1830)
* Economic Secretary to the Treasury (established 1947)
* Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (established 1996)
