| Post: | President of the Board of Trade |
| Insignia: | Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (2022, lesser arms).svg |
| Insigniasize: | 120px |
| Insigniacaption: | Royal Arms as used by His Majesty's Government |
| Incumbent: | Jonathan Reynolds |
| Incumbentsince: | 5 July 2024 |
| Appointer: | The Sovereign on advice of the Prime Minister |
| Style: | The Right Honourable (Formal prefix) President of the Board of Trade |
| Member Of: | British Cabinet Privy Council |
| Department: | Board of Trade UK Export Finance |
| Reports To: | The Prime Minister |
| Seat: | Westminster, London |
| Termlength: | No fixed term |
The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. A committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, it was first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th century that evolved gradually into a government department with diverse functions.[1] The current holder of the post is Jonathan Reynolds,[2] who is concurrently the secretary of state for business and trade.
The idea of a Board of Trade was first translated into action by Oliver Cromwell in 1655 when he appointed his son Richard Cromwell to head a body of Lords of the Privy Council, judges and merchants to consider measures to promote trade. Charles II established a Council of Trade on 7 November 1660, followed by a Council of Foreign Plantations on 1 December that year. The two were united on 16 September 1672 as the Board of Trade and Plantations.
After the Board was re-established in 1696, there were 15 (and later 16) members of the Boardthe 7 (later 8) great officers of state, and eight unofficial members, who did the majority of the work. The senior unofficial board member was the board president, commonly known as the first lord of trade. The board was abolished on 11 July 1782, but a Committee of the Privy Council was established on 5 March 1784 for the same purposes. On 23 August 1786, a new committee was set up, more strongly focused on commercial functions than the previous boards of trade. At first, the president of the Board of Trade only occasionally sat in the Cabinet. Still, from the early 19th century, it was usually a cabinet-level position.
In 2020, there was an unusual appointment of a deputy president to assist the president. Still, the holder remained only an adviser to the Board.[3] This appears to have been a one-off appointment, and this role no longer exists.[4] However, the president was previously assisted by the vice president.[5]
| President of the Board Constituency | Term of office | Party | Ministry | Monarch | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Jenkinson 1st Earl of Liverpool | 23 August 1786 | 7 June 1804 | Tory | Pitt I | George III | ||||
| Addington | |||||||||
| James Graham 3rd Duke of Montrose | 7 June 1804 | 5 February 1806 | Tory | Pitt II | |||||
| William Eden 1st Baron Auckland | 5 February 1806 | 31 March 1807 | Independent | All the Talents | |||||
| Henry Bathurst 3rd Earl Bathurst | 31 March 1807 | 29 September 1812 | Tory | Portland II | |||||
| Perceval | |||||||||
| Liverpool | |||||||||
| Richard Trench 2nd Earl of Clancarty | 29 September 1812 | 24 January 1818 | Tory | ||||||
| F. J. Robinson | 24 January 1818 | 21 February 1823 | Tory | ||||||
| scope=row style="text-align:center;" rowspan="7" | George IV | ||||||||
| William Huskisson | 21 February 1823 | 4 September 1827 | Tory | ||||||
| Canning | |||||||||
| Charles Grant | 4 September 1827 | 11 June 1828 | Tory | Goderich | |||||
| Wellington–Peel | |||||||||
| William Vesey-FitzGerald | 11 June 1828 | 2 February 1830 | Tory | ||||||
| John Charles Herries | 2 February 1830 | 22 November 1830 | Tory | ||||||
| scope=row style="text-align:center;" rowspan="7" | William IV | ||||||||
| George Eden Lord Auckland | 22 November 1830 | 5 June 1834 | Whig | Grey | |||||
| Melbourne I | |||||||||
| Charles Poulett Thomson | 5 June 1834 | 14 November 1834 | Whig | ||||||
| Alexander Baring | 15 December 1834 | 8 April 1835 | Tory | Wellington Caretaker | |||||
| Peel I | |||||||||
| Charles Poulett Thomson | 8 April 1835 | 29 August 1839 | Whig | Melbourne II | |||||
| Victoria | |||||||||
| Henry Labouchere | 29 August 1839 | 30 August 1841 | Whig | ||||||
| F. J. Robinson Earl of Ripon | 3 September 1841 | 15 May 1843 | Conservative | Peel II | |||||
| William Ewart Gladstone | 15 May 1843 | 5 February 1845 | Conservative | ||||||
| James Broun-Ramsay Earl of Dalhousie | 5 February 1845 | 27 June 1846 | Conservative | ||||||
| George Villiers 4th Earl of Clarendon | 6 July 1846 | 22 July 1847 | Whig | Russell I | |||||
| Henry Labouchere | 22 July 1847 | 21 February 1852 | Whig | ||||||
| J. W. Henley | 27 February 1852 | 17 December 1852 | Conservative | Derby–Disraeli I | |||||
| Edward Cardwell | 28 December 1852 | 31 March 1855 | Peelite | Aberdeen | |||||
| Edward Stanley 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley | 31 March 1855 | 21 February 1858 | Whig | Palmerston | |||||
| J. W. Henley | 26 February 1858 | 3 March 1859 | Conservative | Derby–Disraeli II | |||||
| Richard Hely-Hutchinson 4th Earl of Donoughmore | 3 March 1859 | 11 June 1859 | Conservative | ||||||
| Thomas Milner Gibson | 6 July 1859 | 26 June 1866 | Liberal | Palmerston II | |||||
| Russell III | |||||||||
| Stafford Northcote 1st Earl of Iddesleigh | 6 July 1866 | 8 March 1867 | Conservative | Derby–Disraeli III | |||||
| Charles Gordon-Lennox 6th Duke of Richmond | 8 March 1867 | 1 December 1868 | Conservative | ||||||
| John Bright | 9 December 1868 | 14 January 1871 | Liberal | Gladstone I | |||||
| Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue | 14 January 1871 | 17 February 1874 | Liberal | ||||||
| Charles Adderley 1st Baron Norton | 21 February 1874 | 4 April 1878 | Conservative | Disraeli II | |||||
| Viscount Sandon | 4 April 1878 | 21 April 1880 | Conservative | ||||||
| Joseph Chamberlain | 3 May 1880 | 9 June 1885 | Liberal | Gladstone II | |||||
| Charles Gordon-Lennox 6th Duke of Richmond | 24 June 1885 | 19 August 1885 | Conservative | Salisbury I | |||||
| Edward Stanhope | 19 August 1885 | 28 January 1886 | Conservative | ||||||
| A. J. Mundella | 17 February 1886 | 20 July 1886 | Liberal | Gladstone III | |||||
| Frederick Stanley Lord Stanley of Preston | 3 August 1886 | 21 February 1888 | Conservative | Salisbury II | |||||
| Michael Hicks Beach 1st Earl St Aldwyn | 21 February 1888 | 11 August 1892 | Conservative | ||||||
| A. J. Mundella | 18 August 1892 | 28 May 1894 | Liberal | Gladstone IV | |||||
| James Bryce | 28 May 1894 | 21 June 1895 | Liberal | Rosebery | |||||
| Charles Ritchie | 29 June 1895 | 7 November 1900 | Conservative | Salisbury III | |||||
| Gerald Balfour | 7 November 1900 | 12 March 1905 | Conservative | Salisbury IV | |||||
| Edward VII | |||||||||
| Balfour | |||||||||
| James Gascoyne-Cecil 4th Marquess of Salisbury | 12 March 1905 | 4 December 1905 | Conservative | ||||||
| David Lloyd George | 10 December 1905 | 12 April 1908 | Liberal | Campbell-Bannerman | |||||
| Winston Churchill | 12 April 1908 | 14 February 1910 | Liberal | Asquith I | |||||
| Sydney Buxton | 14 February 1910 | 11 February 1914 | Liberal | Asquith II | |||||
| George V | |||||||||
| Asquith III | |||||||||
| John Burns | 11 February 1914 | 5 August 1914 | Liberal | ||||||
| Walter Runciman | 5 August 1914 | 5 December 1916 | Liberal | ||||||
| Asquith Coalition | |||||||||
| Albert Stanley | 10 December 1916 | 26 May 1919 | Conservative | Lloyd George I | |||||
| Lloyd George II | |||||||||
| Auckland Geddes | 26 May 1919 | 19 March 1920 | Conservative | ||||||
| Robert Horne | 19 March 1920 | 1 April 1921 | Conservative | ||||||
| Stanley Baldwin | 1 April 1921 | 19 October 1922 | Conservative | ||||||
| Philip Cunliffe-Lister | 24 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | Law | |||||
| Baldwin I | |||||||||
| Sidney Webb | 22 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 | Labour | MacDonald I | |||||
| Philip Cunliffe-Lister | 6 November 1924 | 4 June 1929 | Conservative | Baldwin II | |||||
| William Graham | 7 June 1929 | 24 August 1931 | Labour | MacDonald II | |||||
| Philip Cunliffe-Lister | 25 August 1931 | 5 November 1931 | Conservative | National I | |||||
| Walter Runciman | 5 November 1931 | 28 May 1937 | Liberal National | National II | |||||
| scope=row style="text-align:center;" | Edward VIII | ||||||||
| George VI | |||||||||
| National III | |||||||||
| Oliver Stanley | 28 May 1937 | 5 January 1940 | Conservative | National IV | |||||
| Chamberlain War | |||||||||
| Andrew Rae Duncan | 5 January 1940 | 3 October 1940 | Independent | ||||||
| Churchill War | |||||||||
| Oliver Lyttelton | 3 October 1940 | 29 June 1941 | Conservative | ||||||
| Andrew Rae Duncan | 29 June 1941 | 4 February 1942 | Independent | ||||||
| John Jestyn Llewellin | 4 February 1942 | 22 February 1942 | Conservative | ||||||
| Hugh Dalton | 22 February 1942 | 23 May 1945 | Labour | ||||||
| Oliver Lyttelton | 25 May 1945 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | Churchill Caretaker | |||||
| Stafford Cripps | 27 July 1945 | 29 September 1947 | Labour | Attlee I | |||||
| Harold Wilson | 29 September 1947 | 23 April 1951 | Labour | ||||||
| Attlee II | |||||||||
| Hartley Shawcross | 24 April 1951 | 26 October 1951 | Labour | ||||||
| Peter Thorneycroft | 30 October 1951 | 13 January 1957 | Conservative | Churchill III | |||||
| Elizabeth II | |||||||||
| Eden | |||||||||
| David Eccles | 13 January 1957 | 14 October 1959 | Conservative | Macmillan I | |||||
| Reginald Maudling | 14 October 1959 | 9 October 1961 | Conservative | Macmillan II | |||||
| Frederick Erroll | 9 October 1961 | 20 October 1963 | Conservative | ||||||
| Term of office | Concurrent office(s) | Party | Ministry | Monarch | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Heath | 1963 | 1964 | Industry, Trade and Regional Development | Conservative | Douglas-Home | scope=row style="text-align:center;" rowspan=43 | Elizabeth II | |||||
| Douglas Jay | 1964 | 1967 | None | Labour | Wilson I | |||||||
| Wilson II | ||||||||||||
| Anthony Crosland | 1967 | 1969 | Labour | |||||||||
| Roy Mason | 1969 | 1970 | Labour | |||||||||
| Michael Noble | 1970 | 1970 | Conservative | Heath | ||||||||
| John Davies | 1970 | 1972 | Trade and Industry | Conservative | ||||||||
| Peter Walker | 1972 | 1974 | Conservative | |||||||||
| Peter Shore | 1974 | 1976 | Trade | Labour | Wilson III | |||||||
| Wilson IV | ||||||||||||
| Edmund Dell | 1976 | 1978 | Labour | Callaghan | ||||||||
| John Smith | 1978 | 1979 | Labour | |||||||||
| John Nott | 1979 | 1981 | Conservative | Thatcher I | ||||||||
| John Biffen | 1981 | 1982 | Conservative | |||||||||
| Arthur Cockfield Baron Cockfield | 1982 | 1983 | Conservative | |||||||||
| Cecil Parkinson | 1983 | 1983 | Trade and Industry | Conservative | Thatcher II | |||||||
| Norman Tebbit | 1983 | 1985 | Conservative | |||||||||
| Leon Brittan | 1985 | 1986 | Conservative | |||||||||
| Paul Channon | 1986 | 1987 | Conservative | |||||||||
| David Young Baron Young of Graffham | 1987 | 1989 | Conservative | Thatcher III | ||||||||
| Nicholas Ridley | 1989 | 1990 | Conservative | |||||||||
| Peter Lilley | 1990 | 1992 | Conservative | |||||||||
| Conservative | Major I | |||||||||||
| Michael Heseltine | 1992 | 1995 | Conservative | Major II | ||||||||
| Ian Lang | 1995 | 1997 | Conservative | |||||||||
| Margaret Beckett | 1997 | 1998 | Labour | Blair I | ||||||||
| Peter Mandelson | 1998 | 1998 | Labour | |||||||||
| Stephen Byers | 1998 | 2001 | Labour | |||||||||
| Patricia Hewitt | 2001 | 2005 | Labour | Blair II | ||||||||
| Alan Johnson | 2005 | 2006 | Labour | Blair III | ||||||||
| Alistair Darling | 2006 | 2007 | Labour | |||||||||
| John Hutton | 2007 | 2008 | Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform | Labour | Brown | |||||||
| Peter Mandelson | 2008 | 2010 | Labour | |||||||||
Business, Innovation and Skills | ||||||||||||
| Vince Cable | 2010 | 2015 | Liberal Democrats | Cameron–Clegg | ||||||||
| Sajid Javid | 2015 | 2016 | Conservative | Cameron II | ||||||||
| Greg Clark | 2016 | 2016 | Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | Conservative | rowspan="2" | May I | ||||||
| Liam Fox | 2016 | 2019[7] | International Trade | Conservative | ||||||||
| May II | ||||||||||||
| Liz Truss | 2019 | 2021 | Conservative | Johnson I | ||||||||
| Johnson II | ||||||||||||
| Anne-Marie Trevelyan | 2021 | 2022 | Conservative | |||||||||
| Kemi Badenoch | 2022 | 2024 | Conservative | Truss | ||||||||
| scope=row style="text-align:center;" rowspan=4 | Charles III | |||||||||||
| Sunak | ||||||||||||
| Jonathan Reynolds | 2024 | Incumbent | Labour | Starmer | ||||||||