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. 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.
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.
The current secretary of state for defence is Wes Streeting. He was appointed on 20 July 2026 following Keir Starmers' resignation.
Responsibilities In contrast to what is generally known as a defence minister in many other countries, the Defence Secretary's remit includes:
strategic policy and operational oversight, including as a member of the National Security Council nuclear deterrent (CASD) and operations policy and enterprise strategic overview of the Strategic Defence Review Implementation and Defence Investment Plan Defence budget Euro-Atlantic strategy and planning Defence strategy, planning, programme, and resource allocation maintaining and developing relationships with strategic international partners: US, France, Germany, Australia, Ukraine One Defence Reform Programme oversight of Veterans programmes Service Personnel deaths on duty and letters of condolence strategic multilateral programmes – AUKUS and GCAP regulatory functions Independent Afghan Inquiry
History
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. 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 officePartyMinistryThomas Inskip13 March 193629 January 1939ConservativeBaldwin IIIChamberlain IErnle Chatfield1st Baron Chatfield29 January 19393 April 1940Independent(National)Chamberlain War
Minister 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. PortraitName Term of officeTenurePolitical partyMinistryTook officeLeft officeWinston Churchill10 May 194027 July 1945 ConservativeChurchill WarChurchill Caretaker Clement Attlee 27 July 1945 20 December 1946 LabourAttlee I A. V. AlexanderMP for Sheffield Hillsborough(1885–1965) 20 December 1946 28 February 1950 Labour Co-op Emanuel ShinwellMP for Easington(1884–1986) 28 February 1950 26 October 1951 Labour Attlee II Winston ChurchillMP for Woodford(1874–1965) 28 October 1951 1 March 1952 ConservativeChurchill III Harold Alexander1st Earl Alexander of Tunis(1891–1969) 1 March 1952 18 October 1954 Independent Harold MacmillanMP for Bromley(1894–1986) 18 October 1954 7 April 1955 Conservative Selwyn LloydMP for The Wirral(1904–1978) 7 April 1955 20 December 1955 ConservativeEdenWalter MoncktonMP for Bristol West(1891–1965)20 December 195518 October 1956 ConservativeAntony HeadMP for Carshalton(1906–1983)18 October 19569 January 1957 ConservativeDuncan SandysMP for Streatham(1906–1987)13 January 195714 October 1959 ConservativeMacmillan IHarold WatkinsonMP for Woking(1910–1995)14 October 195913 July 1962 ConservativeMacmillan IIPeter ThorneycroftMP for Monmouth(1909–1994)13 July 19621 April 1964 ConservativeDouglas-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)
+Secretary of State for Defence Portrait Name Term of office Tenure Party Ministry Peter Thorneycroft 1 April 1964 16 October 1964 Conservative Douglas-Home Denis Healey 16 October 1964 19 June 1970 Labour Wilson Peter Carington 20 June 1970 8 January 1974 Conservative Heath Ian Gilmour 8 January 1974 4 March 1974 Conservative Roy Mason 5 March 1974 9 September 1976 Labour Wilson Fred Mulley 10 September 1976 4 May 1979 Labour Callaghan Francis Pym 5 May 1979 4 January 1981 Conservative Thatcher I John Nott 5 January 1981 5 January 1983 Conservative Michael Heseltine 6 January 1983 8 January 1986 Conservative Thatcher II George Younger 9 January 1986 23 July 1989 Conservative Thatcher III Tom King 28 July 1989 9 April 1992 Conservative Major I Malcolm Rifkind 10 April 1992 4 July 1995 Conservative Major II Michael Portillo 5 July 1995 2 May 1997 Conservative George Robertson 3 May 1997 11 October 1999 Labour Blair I Geoff Hoon 11 October 1999 6 May 2005 Labour Blair II John Reid 6 May 2005 5 May 2006 Labour Blair III Des Browne 5 May 2006 3 October 2008 Labour Brown John Hutton 3 October 2008 5 June 2009 Labour Bob Ainsworth 5 June 2009 11 May 2010 Labour Liam Fox 12 May 2010 14 October 2011 Conservative Cameron–Clegg Philip Hammond 14 October 2011 15 July 2014 Conservative Michael Fallon 15 July 2014 1 November 2017 Conservative Cameron II May I May II Gavin Williamson 2 November 2017 1 May 2019 Conservative Penny Mordaunt 1 May 2019 24 July 2019 Conservative Ben Wallace 24 July 2019 31 August 2023 Conservative Johnson I Johnson II Truss Sunak Grant Shapps 31 August 2023 5 July 2024 Conservative John Healey 5 July 2024 11 June 2026 Labour Starmer Dan Jarvis 11 June 2026 20 July 2026 Labour Wes Streeting 20 July 2026 Incumbent Labour Burnham
Timeline
References
External links
www.gov.uk/mod