| Rt Hon William Stephen Ian Whitelaw | March 1972 | 1973 |
| Rt Hon Francis Leslie Pym | 1973 | March 1974 |
| Merlyn Rees | 5 March 1974 | 10 September 1976 |
| Rt Hon Roy Mason | 10 September 1976 | 4 May 1979 |
| Rt Hon Humphrey Edward Gregory Atkins | 4 May 1979 | 14 September 1981 |
| Rt Hon James Michael Leathes Prior | 14 September 1981 | 27 September 1984 |
| Rt Hon Douglas Richard Hurd | 1984 | 2 September 1985 |
| Rt Hon Thomas Jeremy King | 2 September 1985 | 24 July 1989 |
| Rt Hon Peter Leonard Brooke | 24 July 1989 | 11 April 1992 |
| Rt Hon Sir Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew | 11 April 1992 | 2 May 1997 |
| Rt Hon Dr Marjorie Mowlam | 3 May 1997 | 11 October 1999 |
| Rt Hon Peter Benjamin Mandelson | 11 October 1999 | 24 January 2001 |
| Rt Hon Dr John Reid | 24 January 2001 | 24 October 2002 |
| Rt Hon Paul Peter Murphy | 24 October 2002 | 6 May 2005 |
| Rt Hon Peter Gerald Hain | 6 May 2005 | 28 June 2007 |
| Rt Hon Shaun Anthony Woodward | 28 June 2007 | 11 May 2010 |
| Owen William Paterson | 12 May 2010 | 4 September 2012 |
| Rt Hon Theresa Anne Villiers | 4 September 2012 | 14 July 2016 |
| Rt Hon James Peter Brokenshire | 14 July 2016 | 8 January 2018 |
| Rt Hon Karen Anne Bradley | 8 January 2018 | 24 July 2019 |
| Rt Hon Julian Richard Smith | 24 July 2019 | 13 February 2020 |
| Rt Hon Brandon Kenneth Lewis | 13 February 2020 | 7 July 2022 |
| Shailesh Lahkman Vara | 7 July 2022 | 6 September 2022 |
| Rt Hon Christopher Heaton-Harris | 6 September 2022 |