The Department > Ministers > Secretary of State and the Lord Chancellor
Lord Falconer of Thoroton
Lord Falconer of Thoroton was appointed as Secretary of State for Constitutional
Affairs and Lord Chancellor in June 2003. He was educated at Trinity College,
Glenalmond, and Queens' College, Cambridge.
He was called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1974 and was appointed Solicitor
General in May 1997.
He served as Minister of State at the Cabinet Office from July 1998 to
June 2001.
In June 2001 he joined the Department for Transport, Local Government and
the Regions, where he was appointed Minister for Housing, Planning and Regeneration.
He moved to the Home Office in May 2002 as Minister of State for Criminal
Justice, Sentencing and Law Reform.
He is married with three sons and one daughter
Responsibilities
The Secretary of State will deal personally with:
- the resourcing of his Departments
- major constitutional issues
- appointments, including all judicial appointments
- Royal, Church and Hereditary issues, and Lord Lieutenants
- making or approving rules of court
- Privy Counsellors (other than Cabinet Ministers) who have addressed
their query to the Secretary of State personally. Where a Privy Counsellor
writes to another Minister by name that Minister may respond personally
- correspondence with Cabinet Ministers, and the higher Judiciary
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