Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, also referred to as the Culture Secretary, is a cabinet rank office with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.[1] The office has been dubbed "Minister of Fun".[2]

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Royal Arms of HM Government
Incumbent Oliver Dowden since 13 February 2020
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Style	Culture Secretary (informal) The Right Honourable (within the UK and the Commonwealth)
Appointer	The Monarch on advice of the Prime Minister
Formation	11 April 1992
First holder	David Mellor
Website	www.culture.gov.uk

On 13 February 2020, Boris Johnson appointed Oliver Dowden to the office.[1]

Responsibilities

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary has overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.[1] Responsibilities include:[1]

• Arts and Culture
• Broadcasting
• Creative industries
• Creative Industries Council
• Cultural property, heritage and the historic environment
• Cultural Renewal Taskforce
• Culture, sports and arts sector recovery from COVID-19
• Gambling and racing
• Libraries
• Media ownership and mergers
• Museums and galleries
• The National Lottery
• Sport
• Telecommunications and online
• Tourism

History

The office was created in 1992 by Prime Minister John Major, as Secretary of State for National Heritage.[3] In his autobiography, Major says that, before the office was created, responsibility for cultural interests was shared among various departments, but important to none of them.[4] For instance, arts and libraries, although a separate department, had no minister in the Cabinet, sport was part of the Department for Education, film was part of the Department of Trade and Industry, broadcasting was part of the Home Office, tourism was part of the Department for Employment and heritage was part of the Department of the Environment.[4] He also wrote that the system tended to favour the interests of the articulate and well-connected London-based arts lobby.[4]

Thus, when he became Prime Minister, Major said that he saw that the only way to give culture and sport the higher profile that he thought that they deserved was to establish a new department, under a minister of Cabinet rank, to bring together all aspects of the arts, sport and heritage.[5]

List of Secretaries of State

Secretaries of State for National Heritage (1992–1997)

Secretary of State for National Heritage

Portrait		Name	Term of office		Party	Prime Minister
		David Mellor MP for Putney	11 April 1992	22 September 1992	Conservative		John Major
		Peter Brooke MP for Cities of London and Westminster	25 September 1992	20 July 1994	Conservative
		Stephen Dorrell MP for Loughborough	20 July 1994	5 July 1995	Conservative
		Virginia Bottomley MP for South West Surrey	5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative
		Chris Smith MP for Islington South and Finsbury	2 May 1997	22 July 1997	Labour		Tony Blair

Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1997–2010)

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Portrait		Name	Term of office		Party	Prime Minister
		Chris Smith MP for Islington South and Finsbury	22 July 1997	8 June 2001	Labour		Tony Blair
		Tessa Jowell MP for Dulwich and West Norwood	8 June 2001	27 June 2007	Labour
		James Purnell MP for Stalybridge and Hyde	28 June 2007	24 January 2008	Labour		Gordon Brown
		Andy Burnham MP for Leigh	24 January 2008	5 June 2009	Labour
		Ben Bradshaw MP for Exeter	5 June 2009	11 May 2010	Labour

Secretaries of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (2010–2012)

Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport

Portrait		Name	Term of office		Party	Prime Minister
		Jeremy Hunt MP for South West Surrey	12 May 2010	4 September 2012	Conservative		David Cameron (I)

Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2012–2017)

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Portrait		Name	Term of office		Party	Prime Minister
		Maria Miller MP for Basingstoke	4 September 2012	9 April 2014	Conservative		David Cameron (I)
		Sajid Javid MP for Bromsgrove	9 April 2014	11 May 2015	Conservative
		John Whittingdale MP for Maldon	11 May 2015	14 July 2016	Conservative		David Cameron (II)
		Karen Bradley MP for Staffordshire Moorlands	14 July 2016	3 July 2017	Conservative		Theresa May (I)

Secretaries of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2017–present)

In 2017 the DCMS was renamed to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in acknowledgement of the increasing responsibility the department had gained for Digital affairs.[6] Karen Bradley continued as Secretary of State for the department.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Portrait		Name	Term of office		Party	Prime Minister
		Karen Bradley MP for Staffordshire Moorlands	3 July 2017	8 January 2018	Conservative		Theresa May (II)
		Matt Hancock MP for West Suffolk	8 January 2018	8 July 2018	Conservative
		Jeremy Wright MP for Kenilworth and Southam	9 July 2018	24 July 2019	Conservative
		The Baroness Morgan of Cotes MP for Loughborough (until 2019)	24 July 2019	13 February 2020	Conservative		Boris Johnson
		Oliver Dowden MP for Hertsmere	13 February 2020	Incumbent	Conservative

See also

• Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
• Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

References

1. "Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
2. "Interview: David Mellor - A more mellow fellow? Mellor's not for". The Independent. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
3. The Transfer of Functions (National Heritage) Order 1992.
4. Major, John (1999). John Major: The Autobiography. HarperCollins Publishers. p. 404. ISBN 0-06-019614-9. OCLC 42751073.
5. Major, John (1999). John Major: The Autobiography. HarperCollins Publishers. p. 405. ISBN 0-06-019614-9. OCLC 42751073.
6. "Change of name for DCMS". GOV.UK. Retrieved 11 November 2017.