Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Not to be confused with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Farming, Fisheries and Food.

United Kingdom Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Royal Arms of HM Government
Longest serving Tom Williams 3 August 1945 – 26 October 1951
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Type	Minister of the Crown
Member of	Cabinet Privy Council
Reports to	The Prime Minister
Seat	Westminster
Nominator	The Prime Minister
Appointer	The Monarch (on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation	9 September 1889
First holder	Peter Walker
Final holder	Nick Brown
Abolished	27 March 2002

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889. In 1903, an Act was passed to transfer to the new styled Board of Agriculture and Fisheries certain powers and duties relating to the fishing industry, and the post was renamed President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries.

In 1919, it was renamed Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. In 1954, the separate position of Minister of Food was merged into the post and it was renamed Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

On 8 June 2001, the Ministry merged with Secretary of State for the Environment into the office of Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. However, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was not formally abolished until The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Dissolution) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/794) came into force on 27 March 2002.

Until the Dissolution Order also made the necessary amendments to the law when it did come into force, many statutory functions were still vested in the holder of the office of Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, rather in the Secretary of State at large. For that reason, in a final twist, Margaret Beckett had to be appointed formally as the last Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food as well as becoming the first Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.^{[ citation needed ]}

The position was the last cabinet role (except that of Prime Minister) in the United Kingdom government to bear the 'Minister' title ^[1] ; since its abolition, heads of all government departments have been Secretaries of State. The title continues to be used for junior ranking ministers in charge of sub-portfolios, styled Ministers of State.

List of Agriculture Ministers and Board Presidents

Presidents of the Board of Agriculture (1889–1903)

Post created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889. ^[2]

President of the Board of Agriculture ^[3]

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party	Ministry
		Henry Chaplin MP for Sleaford (1840–1923)	9 September 1889	11 August 1892	Conservative	Salisbury II
		Herbert Gardner MP for Saffron Walden (1846–1921)	25 August 1892	21 June 1895	Liberal	Gladstone IV
						Rosebery
		Walter Long MP for Liverpool West Derby (1854–1924)	4 July 1895	16 November 1900	Conservative	Salisbury (III & IV) ( Con.–Lib.U. )
		Robert William Hanbury MP for Preston (1845–1903)	16 November 1900	28 April 1903	Conservative
						Balfour ( Con.–Lib.U. )

Presidents of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries (1903–1919)

Board of Agriculture superseded by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries in 1903.

President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries ^{[3] [4]}

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party	Ministry
		William Onslow 4th Earl of Onslow (1853–1911)	19 May 1903	12 March 1905	Conservative	Balfour ( Con.–Lib.U. )
		Ailwyn Fellowes MP for Ramsey (1855–1924)	12 March 1905	4 December 1905	Conservative
		Charles Wynn-Carington 1st Earl Carrington (1843–1928)	10 December 1905	23 October 1911	Liberal	Campbell-Bannerman
						Asquith (I–III)
		Walter Runciman MP for Dewsbury (1870–1949)	23 October 1911	6 August 1914	Liberal
		Auberon Herbert 9th Baron Lucas (1876–1916)	6 August 1914	25 May 1915	Liberal
		William Palmer 2nd Earl of Selborne (1859–1942)	25 May 1915	11 July 1916	Conservative	Asquith Coalition ( Lib.–Con.–Lab. )
		David Lindsay 27th Earl of Crawford (1871–1940)	11 July 1916	10 December 1916	Conservative
		Rowland Prothero MP for Oxford University (1851–1937)	10 December 1916	15 August 1919	Conservative	Lloyd George (I & II) ( Lib.–Con.–Lab. )

Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries, (1919–1954)

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries ^[4]

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party	Ministry
		Arthur Lee 1st Baron Lee of Fareham (1868–1947)	15 August 1919	13 February 1921	Conservative	Lloyd George (I & II) ( Lib.–Con.–Lab. )
		Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen MP for Taunton (1865–1946)	13 February 1921	24 October 1922	Conservative
		Sir Robert Sanders 1st Baronet MP for Bridgwater (1867–1940) [Note 1]	24 October 1922	22 January 1924	Conservative	Law
						Baldwin I
		Noel Buxton MP for North Norfolk (1869–1948)	22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour	MacDonald I
		E. F. L. Wood MP for Ripon (1881–1959)	6 November 1924	4 November 1925	Conservative	Baldwin II
		Walter Guinness MP for Bury St Edmunds (1880–1944)	4 November 1925	4 June 1929	Conservative
		Noel Buxton MP for North Norfolk (1869–1948)	7 June 1929	5 June 1930	Labour	MacDonald II
		Christopher Addison MP for Swindon (1869–1951)	5 June 1930	24 August 1931	Labour
		Sir John Gilmour "2ndBaronet MP for Glasgow Pollok (1876–1940)	25 August 1931	28 September 1932	Conservative	National I ( N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N.–Lib. )
						National II ( N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N.–Lib. )
		Walter Elliot MP for Glasgow Kelvingrove (1888–1958)	28 September 1932	29 October 1936	Conservative
						National III ( Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N. )
		William Morrison MP for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (1893–1961)	29 October 1936	29 January 1939	Conservative
						National IV ( Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N. )
		Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith MP for Petersfield (1899–1977)	29 January 1939	14 May 1940	Conservative
						Chamberlain War ( Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N. )
		Robert Hudson MP for Southport (1886–1957)	14 May 1940	26 July 1945	Conservative	Churchill War (All parties)
						Churchill Caretaker ( Con.–N.Lib. )
		Tom Williams MP for Don Valley (1888–1967)	3 August 1945	26 October 1951	Labour	Attlee (I & II)
		Sir Thomas Dugdale 1st Baronet MP for Richmond (1897–1977)	31 October 1951	20 July 1954	Conservative	Churchill III
		Derick Heathcoat-Amory MP for Tiverton (1899–1981)	28 July 1954	18 October 1954	Conservative

Ministers of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1954–2001)

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ^[4]

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party	Ministry	Ref.
		Derick Heathcoat-Amory MP for Tiverton (1899–1981)	18 October 1954	6 January 1958	Conservative	Churchill III	[5]
						Eden
						Macmillan (I & II)
		John Hare MP for Sudbury and Woodbridge (1911–1982)	6 January 1958	27 July 1960	Conservative		[6]
		Christopher Soames MP for Bedford (1920–1987)	27 July 1960	16 October 1964	Conservative		[7]
						Douglas-Home
		Fred Peart MP for Workington (1914–1988)	16 October 1964	6 April 1968	Labour	Wilson (I & II)	[8]
		Cledwyn Hughes MP for Anglesey (1916–2001)	6 April 1968	19 June 1970	Labour		[9]
		Jim Prior MP for Lowestoft (1927–2016)	20 June 1970	5 November 1972	Conservative	Heath	[10]
		Joseph Godber MP for Grantham (1914–1980)	5 November 1972	4 March 1974	Conservative		[11]
		Fred Peart MP for Workington (1914–1988)	5 March 1974	10 September 1976	Labour	Wilson (III & IV)
						Callaghan
		John Silkin MP for Lewisham Deptford (1923–1987)	10 September 1976	4 May 1979	Labour		[12]
		Peter Walker MP for Worcester (1932–2010)	5 May 1979	11 June 1983	Conservative	Thatcher I	[13]
		Michael Jopling MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale (1930–)	11 June 1983	13 June 1987	Conservative	Thatcher II	[14]
		John MacGregor MP for South Norfolk (1937–)	13 June 1987	24 July 1989	Conservative	Thatcher III	[15]
		John Gummer MP for Suffolk Coastal (1939–)	24 July 1989	27 May 1993	Conservative		[16]
						Major I
						Major II
		Gillian Shephard MP for South West Norfolk (1940–)	27 May 1993	20 July 1994	Conservative		[17]
		William Waldegrave MP for Bristol West (1946–)	20 July 1994	5 July 1995	Conservative		[18]
		Douglas Hogg MP for Grantham (1945–)	5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative		[19]
		Jack Cunningham MP for Copeland (1939–)	3 May 1997	27 July 1998	Labour	Blair I	[20]
		Nick Brown MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend (1950–)	27 July 1998	8 June 2001	Labour		[21]

From 2002 the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was dissolved and ministerial responsibility formerly transferred to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Notes

1. Sanders lost his seat at the 1923 general election.

Citations

1. "The Ministry and the Malady | History Today". www.historytoday.com. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
2. Board of Agriculture Act 1889 (52 and 53 Vict c 30)
3. Cook, Chris; Keith, Brendan (1975). British Historical Facts 1830–1900 . London and Basingstoke: The Macmillan Press Ltd. p.  52.
4. Butler, David; Butler, Gareth (1994). British Political Facts 1900–1994. London and Basingstoke: The Macmillan Press Ltd. pp. 53–54.
5. "Mr Derick Heathcoat-Amory". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 26 November 2017.
6. "Mr John Hare". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 26 November 2017.
7. "Mr Christopher Soames". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 26 November 2017.
8. "Mr Thomas Peart". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 26 November 2017.
9. "Mr Cledwyn Hughes". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 26 November 2017.
10. "Lord Prior". UK Parliament. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
11. "Mr Joseph Godber". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 26 November 2017.
12. "Rt Hon John Silkin". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
13. "The Lord Walker of Worcester". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
14. "Lord Jopling". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
15. "Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
16. "Lord Deben". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
17. "Baroness Shephard of Northwold". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
18. "Lord Waldegrave of North Hill". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
19. "Viscount Hailsham". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
20. "Lord Cunningham of Felling". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
21. "Rt Hon Nicholas Brown MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 November 2017.