The Minister of State for Trade is a mid-level role at the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade in the Government of the United Kingdom. It is currently held by Anas Sarwar, who was appointed on 22 July 2026.
History Although a Minister of State position, it was considered to be one of the most important jobs outside Cabinet rank as when Douglas Alexander became Minister of State for Trade in September 2004, he was given a special provision to attend the Cabinet meetings.
This position replaced the office of Secretary for Overseas Trade, created in 1917.
The subsequent role of Minister of State for Investment was created in 2021.
The minister formerly worked at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Department for International Trade.
List of ministers Minister Entered office Left office Political party Prime Minister Minister of State for Trade Derick Heathcoat-Amory 3 September 1953 18 October 1954 Conservative Winston Churchill Derek Walker-Smith 18 October 1954 6 April 1955 Conservative Derick Heathcoat-Amory 6 April 1955 16 January 1957 Conservative Anthony Eden Derek Walker-Smith 16 January 1957 17 September 1957 Conservative Harold Macmillan John Vaughan-Morgan 17 September 1957 22 October 1959 Conservative Frederick Erroll 22 October 1959 9 October 1961 Conservative Keith Joseph 9 October 1961 16 July 1962 Conservative Alan Green 16 July 1962 23 October 1963 Conservative Patrick Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone, 4th Baron Derwent 6 September 1962 23 October 1963 Conservative Niall Macpherson, 1st Baron Drumalbyn 23 October 1963 16 October 1964 Conservative Alec Douglas-Home Edward du Cann 23 October 1963 16 October 1964 Conservative George Darling 20 October 1964 6 April 1968 Labour Harold Wilson Edward Redhead 20 October 1964 11 October 1965 Labour Roy Mason 20 October 1964 7 January 1967 Labour Wilfred Brown, Baron Brown 11 October 1965 19 June 1970 Labour Joseph Mallalieu 7 January 1967 1 July 1968 Labour Edmund Dell 6 April 1968 13 October 1969 Labour William Rodgers 1 July 1968 13 October 1969 Labour Goronwy Roberts 13 October 1969 19 June 1970 Labour Frederick Corfield 24 June 1970 15 October 1970 Conservative Edward Heath Michael Noble 15 October 1970 5 November 1972 Conservative Geoffrey Howe 5 November 1972 4 March 1974 Conservative Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade Eric Deakins 4 March 1974 5 April 1976 Labour Harold Wilson Stanley Clinton-Davis 4 March 1974 4 May 1979 Labour Michael Meacher 5 April 1976 4 May 1979 Labour James Callaghan Minister of State for Trade Cecil Parkinson 7 May 1979 14 September 1981 Conservative Margaret Thatcher Peter Rees 14 September 1981 9 June 1983 Conservative Paul Channon 9 June 1983 24 January 1986 Conservative Alan Clark 24 January 1986 25 July 1989 Conservative David Trefgarne, 2nd Baron Trefgarne 25 July 1989 23 July 1990 Conservative Tim Sainsbury 23 July 1990 14 April 1992 Conservative John Major Richard Needham 14 April 1992 6 July 1995 Conservative Anthony Nelson 6 July 1995 2 May 1997 Conservative Stanley Clinton Davis, Baron Clinton-Davis 2 May 1997 28 July 1998 Labour Tony Blair Brian Wilson 28 July 1998 28 July 1999 Labour Richard Caborn 28 July 1999 11 June 2001 Labour Elizabeth Symons, Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean 11 June 2001 13 June 2003 Labour Mike O'Brien 13 June 2003 9 September 2004 Labour Douglas Alexander 9 September 2004 11 May 2005 Labour Ian Pearson 11 May 2005 8 May 2006 Labour Ian McCartney 8 May 2006 28 June 2007 Labour Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham 29 June 2007 3 October 2008 Independent Gordon Brown Gareth Thomas 3 October 2008 5 June 2009 Labour Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Business Mervyn Davies, Baron Davies of Abersoch 14 January 2009 11 May 2010 Labour Gordon Brown Minister of State for Business and Enterprise Mark Prisk 11 May 2010 11 January 2011 Conservative David Cameron Minister of State for Trade and Investment Stephen Green, Baron Green of Hurstpierpoint 11 January 2011 11 December 2013 Conservative David Cameron Ian Livingston, Baron Livingston of Parkhead 11 December 2013 11 May 2015 Conservative Francis Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham 11 May 2015 10 February 2016 Conservative David Cameron Joyce Anelay, Baroness Anelay of St John's11 March 20164 April 2016Conservative Mark Price, Baron Price 4 April 2016 3 September 2017 Conservative Theresa May Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion Rona Fairhead, Baroness Fairhead 28 September 2017 7 May 2019 Conservative Theresa May Minister of State for Trade Policy Greg Hands 15 July 2016 21 June 2018 Conservative Theresa May George Hollingbery 21 June 2018 25 July 2019 Conservative Conor Burns 25 July 2019 4 May 2020 Conservative Boris Johnson Greg Hands 13 February 2020 15 September 2021 Conservative Penny Mordaunt 16 September 2021 6 September 2022 Conservative Conor Burns 7 September 2022 7 October 2022 Conservative Liz Truss Greg Hands 9 October 2022 7 February 2023 Conservative Rishi Sunak Vacant7 February 202313 November 2023 Greg Hands13 November 2023 5 July 2024 Conservative Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security Douglas Alexander 6 July 2024 6 September 2025 Labour Keir Starmer Minister of State for Trade Sir Chris Bryant 6 September 2025 20 July 2026 LabourKeir Starmer Anas Sarwar, Baron Sarwar22 July 2026IncumbentLabour Andy Burnham
Notes
References
External links Official UKTI website Gov.uk Minister of State for Trade and Investment