Secretary of State for Defence explained

Post:
Secretary of State for Defence
Insignia:Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government) (2022).svg
Insigniacaption:Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Flag:Flag of the British Secretary of State for Defence.svg
Flagcaption:Flag of the Secretary of State for Defence
Incumbent:John Healey
Incumbentsince:5 July 2024
Department:Ministry of Defence
Type:Minister of the Crown
Status:Secretary of State
Member Of:
Reports To:The Prime Minister
Seat:Westminster
Nominator:The Prime Minister
Appointer:The Monarch
Termlength:At His Majesty's pleasure
Constituting Instrument:Defence (Transfer of Functions) Act 1964 section 1(1)(a)
Formation:1 April 1964
First:Peter Thorneycroft
Salary:£159,038 per annum [1]
(including £86,584 MP salary)[2]
Website:Defence Secretary

The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence.[3] As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

The post of secretary of state for defence was created on 1 April 1964, replacing the positions of Minister of Defence, First Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Air, while the individual offices of the British Armed Forces were abolished and their functions transferred to the Ministry of Defence. In 2019, Penny Mordaunt became the UK's first female defence secretary.[4]

The secretary of state is supported by the other ministers in the Defence Ministerial Team and the MOD permanent secretary. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for defence, and the secretary of state is also scrutinised by the Defence Select Committee.[5]

The current secretary of state for defence is John Healey, who was appointed on 5 July 2024 following the 2024 United Kingdom general election.[6]

Responsibilities

In contrast to what is generally known as a defence minister in many other countries, the Defence Secretary's remit includes:

History

Minister for Co-ordination of Defence (1936–1940)

See main article: Minister for Co-ordination of Defence. The position of Minister for Co-ordination of Defence was a British Cabinet-level position established in 1936 to oversee and co-ordinate the rearmament of Britain's defences. It was established by the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin in response to criticism that Britain's armed forces were understrength compared to those of Nazi Germany. When the Second World War broke out, the new Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain formed a small War Cabinet and it was expected that the Minister would serve as a spokesperson for the three service ministers, the Secretary of State for War, the First Lord of the Admiralty and the Secretary of State for Air; however, political considerations resulted in all three posts being included in the Cabinet, and this role proved increasingly redundant. In April 1940 the position was formally wound up and the functions transferred to other Ministers.

MinisterTerm of officePartyMinistry
Thomas Inskip
13 March 193629 January 1939ConservativeBaldwin III
Chamberlain I
Ernle Chatfield
1st Baron Chatfield
29 January 19393 April 1940Independent
(National)
Chamberlain War

Minister of Defence (1940–1964)

See main article: Ministry of Defence (1947–1964) and Minister of Defence (United Kingdom).

The post of Minister of Defence was responsible for co-ordination of defence and security from its creation in 1940 until its abolition in 1964. The post was a Cabinet level post and generally ranked above the three service ministers, some of whom, however, continued to also serve in Cabinet.

On his appointment as Prime Minister in May 1940, Winston Churchill created for himself the new post of Minister of Defence. The post was created in response to previous criticism that there had been no clear single minister in charge of the prosecution of World War II. In 1946, the post became the only cabinet-level post representing the military, with the three service ministers – the Secretary of State for War, the First Lord of the Admiralty, and the Secretary of State for Air, now formally subordinated to the Minister of Defence.

PortraitName
Term of officeTenurePolitical partyPrime Minister
Took officeLeft office
Winston Churchill
10 May 194027 July 1945ConservativeChurchill War
Churchill Caretaker
Clement Attlee
27 July 194520 December 1946LabourAttlee I
A. V. Alexander
MP for Sheffield Hillsborough
(1885–1965)		20 December 194628 February 1950Labour Co-op
Emanuel Shinwell
MP for Easington
(1884–1986)		28 February 195026 October 1951LabourAttlee II
Winston Churchill
MP for Woodford
(1874–1965)		28 October 19511 March 1952ConservativeChurchill III
Harold Alexander
1st Earl Alexander of Tunis
(1891–1969)		1 March 195218 October 1954Independent
Harold Macmillan
MP for Bromley
(1894–1986)		18 October 19547 April 1955Conservative
Selwyn Lloyd
MP for The Wirral
(1904–1978)		7 April 195520 December 1955ConservativeEden
Walter Monckton
MP for Bristol West
(1891–1965)		20 December 195518 October 1956Conservative
Antony Head
MP for Carshalton
(1906–1983)		18 October 19569 January 1957Conservative
Duncan Sandys
MP for Streatham
(1906–1987)		13 January 195714 October 1959ConservativeMacmillan I
Harold Watkinson
MP for Woking
(1910–1995)		14 October 195913 July 1962ConservativeMacmillan II
Peter Thorneycroft
MP for Monmouth
(1909–1994)		13 July 19621 April 1964Conservative
Douglas-Home

Secretary of State for Defence (1964–present)

The post was created in 1964 as successor to the posts of Minister for Coordination of Defence and Minister of Defence. It replaced the positions of First Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air, as the Admiralty, War Office and Air Ministry were merged into the Ministry of Defence (the Secretary of State for War had already ceased to be a cabinet position in 1946, with the creation of the cabinet-level Minister of Defence).

Secretaries of State for Defence (1964–present)

Portrait! Name
! colspan=2
Term of officeTenurePartyMinistry
Peter Thorneycroft
[8] 		1 April 196416 October 1964ConservativeDouglas-Home
Denis Healey
[9] 		16 October 196419 June 1970LabourWilson
Peter Carrington

20 June 19708 January 1974ConservativeHeath
Ian Gilmour
[10] 		8 January 19744 March 1974Conservative
Roy Mason
[11] 		5 March 19749 September 1976LabourWilson
Fred Mulley
[12] 		10 September 19764 May 1979LabourCallaghan
Francis Pym
[13] 		5 May 19794 January 1981ConservativeThatcher I
John Nott
[14] 		5 January 19815 January 1983Conservative
Michael Heseltine
[15] 		6 January 19838 January 1986ConservativeThatcher II
George Younger
[16] [17] 		9 January 198623 July 1989Conservative
Thatcher III
Tom King
[18] 		28 July 19899 April 1992Conservative
Major I
Malcolm Rifkind
[19] 		10 April 19924 July 1995ConservativeMajor II
Michael Portillo
[20] 		5 July 19952 May 1997Conservative
George Robertson
[21] 		3 May 199711 October 1999LabourBlair I
Geoff Hoon
[22] 		11 October 19996 May 2005Labour
Blair II
John Reid
[23] 		6 May 20055 May 2006LabourBlair III
Des Browne
[24] 		5 May 20063 October 2008Labour
Brown
John Hutton
[25] 		3 October 20085 June 2009Labour
Bob Ainsworth
[26] 		5 June 200911 May 2010Labour
Liam Fox
[27] [28] 		12 May 201014 October 2011ConservativeCameron–Clegg
Philip Hammond
[29] [30] 		14 October 201115 July 2014Conservative
Michael Fallon
[31] [32] 		15 July 20141 November 2017Conservative
Cameron II
May I
May II
Gavin Williamson
[33] [34] 		2 November 20171 May 2019Conservative
Penny Mordaunt
[35] [36] 		1 May 201924 July 2019Conservative
Ben Wallace
[37] [38] 		24 July 201931 August 2023ConservativeJohnson I
Johnson II
Truss
Sunak
Grant Shapps
[39] 		31 August 20235 July 2024Conservative
John Healey
5 July 2024IncumbentLabourStarmer

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Salaries of Members of His Majesty's Government – Financial Year 2022–23 . 15 December 2022.
  2. Web site: Pay and expenses for MPs . 15 December 2022 . parliament.uk.
  3. Web site: Secretary of State for Defence. 30 June 2021. gov.uk.
  4. Web site: Penny Mordaunt - the UK's first female defence secretary . BBC News . 2 May 2019 . 10 June 2021 . Penny Mordaunt has become the UK's first female defence secretary after Gavin Williamson was sacked..
  5. Web site: Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, faces questioning from Defence Committee . parliament.uk . 18 June 2021 . 29 December 2021 .
  6. Web site: Ministerial Appointments: July 2024 . 2024-07-05 . GOV.UK . en.
  7. Web site: Secretary of State for Defence - GOV.UK. www.gov.uk.
  8. Web site: Mr Peter Thorneycroft . . 2 November 2017.
  9. Web site: Lord Healey . UK Parliament . 2 November 2017.
  10. Web site: Lord Gilmour of Craigmillar . UK Parliament . 2 November 2017.
  11. Web site: Lord Mason of Barnsley . UK Parliament . 2 November 2017.
  12. Web site: Lord Mulley . UK Parliament . 2 November 2017.
  13. Web site: Lord Pym . UK Parliament . 2 November 2017.
  14. Web site: Rt Hon Sir John Nott . UK Parliament . 2 November 2017.
  15. Web site: Lord Heseltine . UK Parliament . 25 July 2021.
  16. Web site: Rt Hon Sir George Younger . UK Parliament . 2 November 2017.
  17. News: George Jones . Thatcher's ally George Younger dies at 71 . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1420172/Thatchers-ally-George-Younger-dies-at-71.html . 12 January 2022 . subscription . live . 27 January 2003 . The Telegraph . 3 November 2017 .
  18. Web site: Lord King of Bridgwater . UK Parliament . 25 July 2021.
  19. Web site: Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind QC . UK Parliament . 2 November 2017.
  20. Web site: Rt Hon Michael Portillo . UK Parliament . 2 November 2017.
  21. Web site: Lord Robertson of Port Ellen . UK Parliament . 25 July 2021.
  22. Web site: Mr Geoffrey Hoon . UK Parliament . 2 November 2017.
  23. Web site: Lord Reid of Cardowan . UK Parliament . 25 July 2021.
  24. Web site: Lord Browne of Ladyton . UK Parliament . 25 July 2021.
  25. Web site: Lord Hutton of Furness . UK Parliament . 25 July 2021.
  26. Web site: Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth . UK Parliament . 25 July 2021.
  27. Web site: Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP . UK Parliament . 25 July 2021.
  28. News: Who's who in the coalition cabinet . The Guardian . 13 May 2010 . 3 November 2017 .
  29. Web site: Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP . UK Parliament . 25 July 2021.
  30. News: Liam Fox quits as defence secretary . 14 October 2011 . BBC News . 3 November 2017 .
  31. Web site: Rt Hon Sir Michael Fallon MP . UK Parliament . 2 November 2017.
  32. News: Reshuffle at-a-glance: In, out and moved about . 15 July 2014 . BBC News . 3 November 2017 .
  33. Web site: Rt Hon Gavin Williamson MP . UK Parliament . 2 November 2017.
  34. News: Gavin Williamson replaces Michael Fallon as defence secretary . 2 November 2017 . BBC News . 2 November 2017 .
  35. Web site: Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP . UK Parliament . 25 July 2021.
  36. News: Gavin Williamson sacked over Huawei leak. 2019-05-01. 2019-05-02. en-GB.
  37. Web site: Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP . UK Parliament . 25 July 2021.
  38. News: Ben Wallace Named New Defence Secretary. Forces Network. 24 July 2019. 24 July 2019.
  39. Web site: Grant Shapps . UK Parliament . 2 September 2023.

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