Minister of State for the Armed Forces

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United Kingdom
Minister of State for the Armed Forces
Royal Arms as used by His Majesty's Government
Incumbent
Leo Docherty
since 26 March 2024
Ministry of Defence
Member ofDefence Council
Admiralty Board
Army Board
Air Force Board
Reports toSecretary of State for Defence
NominatorSecretary of State for Defence
AppointerPrime Minister
Subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council
Term lengthNo fixed term
Inaugural holderPeter Blaker
Formation1981
Websitewww.mod.uk

The minister of state for the armed forces is a mid-level ministerial position at the Ministry of Defence in the Government of the United Kingdom. It has been held by Leo Docherty since 2024.

The office acts as the deputy to the secretary of state for defence, when it is of Minister of State rank.[1] The appointment of James Heappey as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in 2020 temporarily broke this tiering, until in July 2022 when Heappey was promoted to Minister of State, and the title of the position reverted to its former name.

The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow minister for the armed forces.

Roles[edit]

The responsibilities of the minister of state for the armed forces are:

  • Operations and operational legal policy
  • Force generation (including exercises)
  • Military recruitment and retention policy (regulars and reserves)
  • Cyber
  • Permanent Joint Operating bases
  • International defence engagement strategy
  • Lead for defence engagement in Africa and Latin America
  • Human security
  • Operational public inquiries, inquests
  • Youth and cadets
  • Commemorations, ceremonial duties, medallic recognition and protocol policy and casework

List of ministers and under-secretaries[edit]

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour   Liberal Democrats

Minister Term of office Political party Prime Minister Defence Secretary

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Army[edit]

Barney Hayhoe 6 May 1979 5 January 1981 Conservative Thatcher Pym
Philip Goodhart 5 January 1981 19 May 1981

Minister of State for the Armed Forces[edit]

Peter Blaker 29 May 1981 13 June 1983 Conservative Thatcher Nott
Heseltine
John Stanley 13 June 1983 13 June 1987
Younger
Ian Stewart 13 June 1987 25 July 1988
Archie Hamilton 25 July 1988 27 May 1993
King
Conservative Major Rifkind
Jeremy Hanley 27 May 1993 14 June 1994
Nicholas Soames 14 June 1994 2 May 1997
Portillo
John Reid 2 May 1997 27 July 1998 Labour Blair Robertson
Doug Henderson 27 July 1998 29 July 1999
John Spellar 29 July 1999 7 June 2001 Hoon
Adam Ingram 7 June 2001 29 June 2007
Reid
Browne
Bob Ainsworth 29 June 2007 5 May 2009 Labour Brown
Hutton
Bill Rammell 5 May 2009 11 May 2010 Ainsworth
Nick Harvey 13 May 2010 4 September 2012 Liberal Democrats Cameron
(Coalition)
Fox
Hammond
Andrew Robathan 4 September 2012 7 October 2013 Conservative
Mark Francois 7 October 2013 11 May 2015
Fallon
Penny Mordaunt 11 May 2015 15 July 2016 Cameron
(II)
Mike Penning 15 July 2016 12 June 2017 May
Mark Lancaster 12 July 2017 16 December 2019
Williamson
Mordaunt
Johnson Wallace
Anne-Marie Trevelyan 16 December 2019 13 February 2020

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces Feb 2020 to July 2022[edit]

Minister of State for the Armed Forces July to Sept 2022[edit]

Minister of State for the Armed Forces and Veterans Sept to Oct 2022[edit]

James Heappey 13 February 2020 25 October 2022 Conservative Johnson
Truss
Wallace

Minister of State for the Armed Forces[edit]

James Heappey 25 October 2022 26 March 2024 Conservative Sunak Wallace
Leo Docherty 26 March 2024 Incumbent Conservative Sunak Shapps

Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces[edit]

Member of Parliament
Kevan Jones (2015 to 2016)
Kate Hollern (2016)
Wayne David (2016 to 2020)
Stephen Morgan (2020 to 2021)
Stephen Kinnock (2021 to 2022)
Luke Pollard (2022 - present)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ministry of Defence". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2021-04-12.

External links[edit]