- (often capitals)
a cabinet minister who is responsible for a country's dealings with other countries
US equivalent: secretary of state
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
for′eign sec′retary, [Chiefly Brit.]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- GovernmentSee foreign minister.
- 1650–60
for′eign min′ister,
for′eign min′istry.
- Government(in countries other than the U.S.) a cabinet minister who conducts and supervises foreign and diplomatic relations with other states. Also called,[esp. Brit.,] foreign secretary. Cf. secretary of state (def. 1).
- 1700–10
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'foreign secretary' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Aberdeen
- Beckett
- Brown
- Butler
- Cameron
- Canning
- Carrington
- Castlereagh
- Chamberlain
- Cook
- Eden
- Granville
- Grey
- Hague
- Halifax
- Henderson
- Home of the Hirsel
- Howe
- Hurd
- Lansdowne
- Owen
- Palmerston
- Rizzio
- Simon
- Straw
- Truss
- foreign minister