The secretary of public safety and homeland security is a Virginia government executive that serves as a member of the Virginia Governor's Cabinet.
In 1972, on the recommendation of Governor A. Linwood Holton Jr., the Virginia General Assembly established the Virginia Governor's Cabinet, which included a Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety.
On April 12, 1976, the General Assembly established two separate secretariats for transportation and for public safety, effective July 1, 1976.
The secretariats were merged again from 1984 to 1990 only to be split up again.
The next major change to the office would not be until 2014, when Governor Terry McAuliffe transferred duties related to homeland security from the Virginia Secretary of Veterans Affairs to the Secretary of Public Safety.