About the database

The IfG Ministers Database provides information on all UK government ministers since Margaret Thatcher became prime minister in 1979. The database provides information on ministers’ role, department, rank and dates in office. 

You can look up individual ministers, specific ministerial roles, the entire government on a specific date or all those who left and entered government between two dates. 

IfG research into government ministers

The IfG Ministers Database is just part of our work looking at the role of government ministers – how they work, how they can achieve their goals and what it means to be good at the job. Read more about our work on ministers. 

Sources

The database draws on a variety of sources, including:

• contemporary news reports
• GOV.UK and earlier departmental websites
• the UK parliament website (information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0)
• Cabinet Office lists of ministerial responsibilities
• Hansard 
• Butler’s British Political Facts.

Considerable efforts have been taken to ensure the information contained in the database is accurate, but the database is an ongoing project. If you spot any errors in or problems with the database, or have any questions or suggestions, please contact us at ministers.database@instituteforgovernment.org.uk. 

We aim to keep the database up to date, but at times such as reshuffles, or where appointments and exits happen outside of business hours, there may be a lag in updating the database.

Attribution

The database is made available under a CC-BY-4.0 licence. This allows reuse with attribution, including for commercial purposes. For full details, see the licence.

The database should be cited as the IfG Ministers Database. Where possible, links to the source (www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/ministers-database) are appreciated.

Minister portraits are sourced from the UK parliament and are covered by a CC-BY-3.0 licence.

Timeline charts are generated by a component built for the Institute by Open Innovations which is available under an MIT licence.

Press enquiries

For any media queries about the database, please get in touch with our press office: press@instituteforgovernment.org.uk 

Limitations

The database includes ministerial appointments since 1979. This means that some ministers’ full experience is not included – such as Margaret Thatcher’s appointment as secretary of state for education and science, 1970–74.

The database excludes non-ministerial roles such as parliamentary private secretary, party chair and trade envoy.

Due to the greater availability of data provided by GOV.UK, we have more precise information on job titles  for appointments since 2012. This means, for instance, that ministers may have moved portfolio within a department before 2012 but we do not have a record of this change in responsibilities. It also means that we have a less clear idea of junior ministers’ briefs in the past – compare, for example, ‘parliamentary under-secretary of state’ in the Home Office in 1979 with ‘parliamentary under-secretary of state (minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls)’ in the same department in 2024.