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The Northern Ireland secretary Karen Bradley has been sacked by the new prime minister, Boris Johnson.
Mrs Bradley had been in the post since January 2018. She is one of a host of big cabinet names to go.
In a statement she said in had been "an enormous privilege to... represent this special nation and integral part of our precious union".
"I personally regret that I will not conclude the current talks process," she added.
Mrs Bradley has been an MP since 2006, representing Staffordshire Moorlands.
She was secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport before moving to the Northern Ireland Office.
One of Theresa May's closest allies, she remained faithful to the former PM.
In her 19 months as secretary of state she came under heavy criticism.
During her time in the job there has been no progress on restoring the Northern Ireland executive, despite numerous talks.
Mrs Bradley often refused to take questions from the media on those talks.
She was accused of using delaying tactics to stall legislation to compensate victims of institutional abuse by victims' groups.
She was also accused of having a limited understanding of Northern Ireland, after admitting she did not know nationalists did not vote for unionist parties or vice-versa in elections when she took the job.
In March there were calls for her to resign over comments she made about the Troubles.
Karen Bradley said that killings at the hands of the security forces were "not crimes".
She later clarified that "where there is evidence of wrongdoing, it should always be investigated".
She explained she had "said the wrong thing".
"I know how raw that pain is and I'm devastated to think that I have made it worse," she added.
'Decent and honourable'
DUP Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds, whose party props up the Conservatives in government, said the sacking was "no great surprise" given the extent of the cabinet clear out.
"I always got on well with Karen. She is a decent and honourable lady," he said.
"Clearly there were things we disagreed on like the backstop.
"There were things we felt she could have done in terms of Westminster action on Northern Ireland.
"But I wish her well for the future."