The minister of state for international development is a ministerial position in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The current postholder is Kirsty McNeill since 21 July 2026.
The officeholder headed the Department for International Development (DFID) as secretary of state from 1997 to 2020 and was a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The Department of International Development was abolished in September 2020 and merged into the Foreign Office. In 2022, the portfolio was restored as a Minister of State attending Cabinet, but was again removed in 2026.
Contents
History
A separate Ministry of Overseas Development was established by Harold Wilson when he came to office in 1964. The first three holders of the office served in the Cabinet, but from 29 August 1967 the office was demoted. Under Edward Heath, the Ministry was re-incorporated into the FCO on 15 October 1970. Wilson again established the Ministry in 1974, but later merged it into the FCO once again: from 10 June 1975 to 8 October 1979 the foreign secretary served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Minister for Overseas Development in the cabinet, while the minister for overseas development held the rank of Minister of State within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The minister of state had day-to-day responsibility. Under the Labour government of the 1970s, Reg Prentice sat in the Cabinet during his term. The post's last and main format was created in 1997 when the Department for International Development was made independent of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
In June 2020, it was announced the Department for International Development would be dissolved, and its operations would be merged into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The process was completed by 2 September 2020, with the last international development secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan remaining in place until that time.
In 2022, the position was revived as a minister of state attending Cabinet during the Truss ministry. From 2022 to 2024 under the Sunak ministry, the position was combined with responsibility for Africa as Minister of State for Development and Africa held by Andrew Mitchell, who continued to attend Cabinet.
Under the Starmer ministry, Anneliese Dodds was appointed as Minister of State for Development attending Cabinet until her resignation in February 2025. Thereafter, Jenny Chapman was given the portfolio as Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean from February to September 2025 and then as Minister of State for International Development and Africa until July 2026.
Under the Burnham ministry, the portfolio was again removed from Cabinet and given to Kirsty McNeill.
Responsibilities
The Minister's responsibilities include:
Africa
Development and humanitarian
International finance
Climate and energy security