Secretary of State for Defence

United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence
Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Flag of the Defence Secretary
Incumbent Michael Fallon since 15 July 2014
Ministry of Defence
Style	The Right Honourable (Formal prefix) Defence Secretary
Member of	British Cabinet Privy Council National Security Council Defence Council Admiralty Board Army Board Air Force Board
Reports to	The Prime Minister
Seat	Westminster, London
Appointer	The British Monarch on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	1 April 1964
First holder	Peter Thorneycroft
Website	www.gov.uk

Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Defence (Defence Secretary) is an official within Her Majesty's Government and head of the Ministry of Defence. The office is a British Cabinet level position.

The post was created in 1964 as successor to the posts of Minister for Coordination of Defence (1936–1940) and Minister of Defence (1940–1964). 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).

Office holders

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

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.

The position was established by Prime Minister Baldwin in response to criticism that Britain's armed forces were understrength compared to those of Nazi Germany. This campaign had been led by Winston Churchill and many expected him to be appointed as the new minister, though nearly every other senior figure in the National Government was also speculated upon by politicians and commentators. Despite this, Baldwin's choice of the Attorney General Sir Thomas Inskip provoked widespread astonishment. A famous comment made in response to Inskip's appointment was "This is the most cynical appointment since Caligula made his horse a consul". The appointment is now regarded as a sign of caution by Baldwin who did not wish to appoint someone like Churchill who would have been interpreted by foreign powers as a sign of the United Kingdom preparing for war, as well as a desire to avoid taking on board a controversial and radical minister.

In 1939 Inskip was succeeded by First Sea Lord Lord Chatfield. When the Second World War broke out, the new Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain formed a small War Cabinet and it was expected that Chatfield 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 Chatfield's role proved increasingly redundant. In April 1940 the position was formally wound up and the functions transferred to other Ministers.

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   none

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Thomas Inskip		13 March 1936	29 January 1939	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.)
height=30 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |						rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Neville Chamberlain (4th National Min.; War Coalition)
style="background-color: Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color" |	The Lord Chatfield		29 January 1939	3 April 1940	none

Ministers of Defence (1940–1964)

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.

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour   Labour Co-op   none

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Winston Churchill		10 May 1940	27 July 1945	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Winston Churchill (War Coalition)
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Clement Attlee		27 July 1945	20 December 1946	Labour	rowspan="3" style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Clement Attlee
style="background-color: Template:Labour Co-operative/meta/color" |	A. V. Alexander		20 December 1946	28 February 1950	Labour Co-op
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Emanuel Shinwell		28 February 1950	26 October 1951	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Winston Churchill		28 October 1951	1 March 1952	Conservative	rowspan="3" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Winston Churchill
style="background-color: Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color" |	The Earl Alexander of Tunis		1 March 1952	18 October 1954	none
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Harold Macmillan	File:Harold Macmillan number 10 official.jpg	18 October 1954	7 April 1955	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Selwyn Lloyd		7 April 1955	20 December 1955	Conservative	rowspan="3" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Anthony Eden
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Walter Monckton		20 December 1955	18 October 1956	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Antony Head		18 October 1956	9 January 1957	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Duncan Sandys		13 January 1957	14 October 1959	Conservative	rowspan="3" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Harold Macmillan
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Harold Watkinson		14 October 1959	13 July 1962	Conservative
height=30 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Peter Thorneycroft		13 July 1962	1 April 1964	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |						style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Alec Douglas-Home

Secretaries of State for Defence (1964–present)

The post of Secretary of State for Defence was created on 1 April 1964. The former Cabinet positions of First Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air (responsible for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force respectively) were incorporated into it and the offices of the Admiralty, War Office and the Air Ministry were abolished and their functions transferred to an expanded Ministry of Defence.

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Peter Thorneycroft		1 April 1964	16 October 1964	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Alec Douglas-Home
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Denis Healey		16 October 1964	19 June 1970	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Harold Wilson
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	The Lord Carrington		20 June 1970	8 January 1974	Conservative	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Edward Heath
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Ian Gilmour		8 January 1974	4 March 1974	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Roy Mason		5 March 1974	10 September 1976	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Harold Wilson
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Fred Mulley		10 September 1976	4 May 1979	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	James Callaghan
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Francis Pym	File:Zconcam61.jpg	5 May 1979	5 January 1981	Conservative	rowspan="5" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Margaret Thatcher
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	John Nott		5 January 1981	6 January 1983	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Michael Heseltine		6 January 1983	7 January 1986	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party/meta/color" |	George Younger		7 January 1986	24 July 1989	Conservative
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Tom King		24 July 1989	10 April 1992	Conservative
rowspan="3" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |						John Major
style="background-color: Template:Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party/meta/color" |	Malcolm Rifkind		10 April 1992	5 July 1995	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Michael Portillo		5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Scottish Labour Party/meta/color" |	George Robertson		3 May 1997	11 October 1999	Labour	rowspan="4" style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Tony Blair
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Geoff Hoon		11 October 1999	6 May 2005	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Scottish Labour Party/meta/color" |	John Reid		6 May 2005	5 May 2006	Labour
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Scottish Labour Party/meta/color" |	Des Browne		5 May 2006	3 October 2008	Labour
rowspan="3" style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |						Gordon Brown
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	John Hutton		3 October 2008	5 June 2009	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Bob Ainsworth		5 June 2009	11 May 2010	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Liam Fox		11 May 2010	14 October 2011	Conservative	rowspan=3 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	David Cameron (Coalition)
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Philip Hammond		14 October 2011	15 July 2014	Conservative
rowspan=3 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Michael Fallon		15 July 2014	Incumbent	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |						David Cameron (II)
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |						Theresa May

External links

• www.gov.uk/mod