Secretary of State for the Home Department
- noun
- UK
:
Secretario de Estado para el Departamento del Interior
- The Secretary of State for the Home Department announced new immigration policies.
Examples
-
The Prime Minister met with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to discuss national security matters.
-
The Secretary of State for the Home Department announced new measures to tackle online crime.
-
In Parliament, the Secretary of State for the Home Department faced questions about immigration policy.
-
Did the Secretary of State for the Home Department address the security concerns?
-
In Parliament, the Secretary of State for the Home Department faced questions about immigration policy.
-
The Secretary of State for the Home Department announced new measures to tackle online crime.
-
The Prime Minister met with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to discuss national security matters.
Synonyms
5
4.6
A senior government minister who leads the Home Office and handles security, law and immigration
Surface Forms
Morphology
secretary + of + state + for + the + home + department
The phrase is largely compositional — combining 'secretary' (a senior official) with 'of state' and 'for the Home Department' indicates a government official responsible for internal affairs. However, the exact institutional status (that this is a British cabinet ministerial title) and the conventional legal phrasing are culturally specific and may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words, so some prior exposure or world knowledge is needed.
Etymology
Secretary of State for the Home Department comes from old government language: a Secretary was a trusted official who handled important papers, State showed a senior government role, and the Home Department was the part that looked after things 'at home', that is, inside the country rather than abroad. So the title means the senior minister in charge of internal matters like security and immigration.