United Kingdom War cabinet

1 united kingdom

1.1 first world war
1.2 second world war

1.2.1 chamberlain war ministry
1.2.2 churchill war ministry


1.3 falklands war
1.4 persian gulf war

united kingdom
first world war


the 1916 war cabinet

during first world war, lengthy cabinet discussions came seen source of vacillation in britain s war effort. in december 1916 proposed prime minister h. h. asquith should delegate decision-making small, three-man committee chaired secretary of state war david lloyd george. asquith agreed (provided retained right chair committee if chose) before changing mind after being infuriated article in times portrayed proposed change defeat him. political crisis grew point until asquith forced resign prime minister; succeeded david lloyd george thereupon formed small war cabinet. original members of war cabinet were:

david lloyd george
lord curzon of kedleston (lord president of council)
andrew bonar law (chancellor of exchequer)
arthur henderson (december 1916 – august 1917)
lord milner (december 1916 – april 1918)

lloyd george, curzon , bonar law served throughout life of war cabinet. later members included:

jan smuts (june 1917 – january 1919)
george barnes (may 1917 – january 1919)
edward carson (july 1917 – january 1918)
austen chamberlain (april 1918 – october 1919)
sir eric geddes (january 1919 – october 1919)

unlike normal peacetime cabinet, few of these men had departmental responsibilities – bonar law, , chamberlain, served chancellors of exchequer, rest had no specific portfolio. among others, foreign secretary, arthur balfour, never member of war cabinet, nor service ministers lord derby , sir edward carson (the latter did join, after leaving admiralty).

from spring (in northern hemisphere) of 1917, imperial war cabinet formed. had representation dominions. members were:

lloyd george
sir robert borden, prime minister of canada
louis botha, prime minister of south africa
billy hughes, prime minister of australia
william massey, prime minister of new zealand
jan smuts
the british secretary of state india , other senior ministers britain , dominions.

second world war

germany invaded poland on 1 september 1939, , after to-ing , fro-ing french foreign minister georges bonnet, ultimatum presented germans , on expiry war declared @ 11am on 3 september 1939.

chamberlain war ministry

on 3 september 1939, neville chamberlain announced war cabinet.

prime minister: neville chamberlain (cons)
lord privy seal: sir samuel hoare (cons)
chancellor of exchequer: sir john simon (nat. liberal)
foreign secretary: viscount halifax (cons)
secretary of state war: leslie hore-belisha (nat. liberal)
secretary of state air: sir kingsley wood (cons)
first lord of admiralty: winston churchill (cons)
minister coordination of defence: lord chatfield (nat.)
minister without portfolio: lord hankey (nat. )

dominated largely conservative ministers served under chamberlain s national government between 1937 , 1939, additions of lord hankey (a former cabinet secretary first world war) , winston churchill (strong anti-appeaser) seemed give cabinet more balance. unlike lloyd george s war cabinet, members of 1 heads of government departments.

in january 1940, after disagreements chiefs of staff, hore-belisha resigned national government, refusing move post of president of board of trade. succeeded oliver stanley.

it practice chiefs of staff attend military discussions of chamberlain war cabinet. churchill became uneasy this, felt when attended did not confine comments purely military issues. overcome this, military co-ordination committee set up, consisting of 3 service ministers chaired lord chatfield. service chiefs co-ordinate strategic ideas of top hats , brass , agree strategic proposals put forward war cabinet. unfortunately, except when chaired prime minister, military co-ordinating committee lacked sufficient authority override minister fighting corner . when churchill took on chatfield, whilst continuing represent admiralty, introduced additional problems, , did little improve pre-existing ones. chamberlain announced further change in arrangements in norway debate, (and military co-ordination committee) overtaken events, churchill war cabinet being run on rather different principles.

churchill war ministry

when became prime minister during second world war, winston churchill formed war cabinet, consisting of following members:

prime minister & minister of defence: winston churchill (conservative)
lord president of council: neville chamberlain (conservative)
lord privy seal: clement attlee (labour)
foreign secretary: lord halifax (conservative)
minister without portfolio: arthur greenwood (labour)

churchill believed war cabinet should kept relatively small number of individuals allow efficient execution of war effort. so, there number of ministers who, though not members of war cabinet, constant attenders . war cabinet considered issues pertained given branch of service or government due input obtained respective body.

the war cabinet undergo number of changes in composition on next 5 years. on 19 february 1942 reconstructed war cabinet announced churchill consisting of following members:

prime minister , minister of defence winston churchill (conservative)
deputy prime minister , secretary of state dominions affairs: clement attlee (labour)
lord privy seal , leader of house of commons: sir stafford cripps (labour)
lord president of council: john anderson (conservative)
foreign secretary: anthony eden (conservative)
minister of production: oliver lyttelton (conservative)
minister of labour: ernest bevin (labour)

this war cabinet consistent churchill s view members should hold responsible offices , not mere advisors @ large nothing think , talk , take decisions compromise or majority war cabinet met within cabinet war rooms, particularly during blitz of london.

falklands war

prime minister – margaret thatcher
deputy prime minister & home secretary – willie whitelaw
secretary of state foreign & commonwealth affairs – francis pym
secretary of state defence – john nott
chancellor of duchy of lancaster – cecil parkinson
chief of defence staff – admiral lewin
attorney general – michael havers

margaret thatcher chose not include representation of majesty s treasury on advice of former prime minister harold macmillan (who had been british minister resident in mediterranean theatre second half of second world war), security , defence of armed forces , war effort should not compromised financial reasons.

persian gulf war

prime minister – john major
secretary of state foreign , commonwealth affairs – douglas hurd
secretary of state defence – tom king
chancellor of exchequer – norman lamont
chief of defence staff – marshal of raf sir david craig




^ edward carson joins cabinet after reshuffle - century ireland . rte.ie. retrieved 23 october 2017. 
^ martin gilbert, finest hour, winston s churchill 1939–1941, book club associates, london 1983 page 40
^ winston churchill, hinge of fate, p.78. boston, houghton mifflin 1950. isbn 0-395-41058-4
^ winston churchill,the hinge of fate, p.76. boston, houghton mifflin company 1950. isbn 0-395-41058-4
^ winston churchill, hinge of fate, p.75. boston, houghton mifflin company 1950. isbn 0-395-41058-4
^ imperial war museum. cabinet war rooms . iwm.org.uk. retrieved 10 march 2013. 
^ rouvez, alain (1994). disconsolate empires: french, british , belgian military involvement in post-colonial sub-saharan africa. university press of america. p. 196. isbn 978-0-8191-9643-9.