Secretary of State for Defence

Ministers 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 the Prime Minister, Stanley 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".^[1] 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.

Minister for Co-ordination of Defence

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party	Ministry
		The Right Honourable Sir Thomas Inskip CBE KC MP for Fareham (1876–1947)	13 March 1936	29 January 1939	Conservative	National III (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.)
						National IV (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.)
		The Right Honourable Ernle Chatfield 1st Baron Chatfield GCB OM KCMG CVO PC (1873–1967)	29 January 1939	3 April 1940	Independent (National)
						Chamberlain War (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.)

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.

Minister of Defence

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party	Ministry
		The Right Honourable Winston Churchill CH TD FRS MP for Epping (1874–1965)	10 May 1940	27 July 1945	Conservative	Churchill War (All parties)
						Churchill Caretaker (Con.–N.Lib.)
		The Right Honourable Clement Attlee CH MP for Limehouse (1883–1967)	27 July 1945	20 December 1946	Labour	Attlee (I & II)
		The Right Honourable A. V. Alexander CH MP for Sheffield Hillsborough (1885–1965)	20 December 1946	28 February 1950	Labour (Co-op)
		The Right Honourable Emanuel Shinwell MP for Easington (1884–1986)	28 February 1950	26 October 1951	Labour
		The Right Honourable Winston Churchill OM CH TD DL FRS RA MP for Woodford (1874–1965)	28 October 1951	1 March 1952	Conservative	Churchill III
		Field Marshall The Right Honourable Harold Alexander 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis KG GCB GCMG CSI DSO MC CD PC (1891–1969)	1 March 1952	18 October 1954	Independent
		The Right Honourable Harold Macmillan MP for Bromley (1894–1986)	18 October 1954	7 April 1955	Conservative
		The Right Honourable Selwyn Lloyd CBE QC MP for Wirral (1904–1978)	7 April 1955	20 December 1955	Conservative	Eden
		The Right Honourable Sir Walter Monckton GCVO KCMG MC MP for Bristol West (1891–1965)	20 December 1955	18 October 1956	Conservative
		The Right Honourable Antony Head MC MP for Carshalton (1906–1983)	18 October 1956	9 January 1957	Conservative
		The Right Honourable Duncan Sandys MP for Streatham (1908–1987)	13 January 1957	14 October 1959	Conservative	Macmillan (I & II)
		The Right Honourable Harold Watkinson MP for Woking (1910–1995)	14 October 1959	13 July 1962	Conservative
		The Right Honourable Peter Thorneycroft MP for Monmouth (1909–1994)	13 July 1962	1 April 1964	Conservative
						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.

Secretary of State for Defence

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party	Ministry	Ref.
		The Right Honourable Peter Thorneycroft MP for Monmouth (1909–1994)	1 April 1964	16 October 1964	Conservative	Douglas-Home	[2]
		The Right Honourable Denis Healey MBE MP for Leeds East (1917–2015)	16 October 1964	19 June 1970	Labour	Wilson (I & II)	[3]
		The Right Honourable Peter Carrington 6th Baron Carrington KCMG MC PC DL (1919-2018)	20 June 1970	8 January 1974	Conservative	Heath
		The Right Honourable Ian Gilmour MP for Central Norfolk (1926–2007)	8 January 1974	4 March 1974	Conservative		[4]
		The Right Honourable Roy Mason MP for Barnsley (1924–2015)	5 March 1974	10 September 1976	Labour	Wilson (III & IV)	[5]
		The Right Honourable Fred Mulley MP for Sheffield Park (1918–1995)	10 September 1976	4 May 1979	Labour	Callaghan	[6]
		The Right Honourable Francis Pym MC MP for Cambridgeshire (1922–2008)	5 May 1979	5 January 1981	Conservative	Thatcher I	[7]
		The Right Honourable John Nott MP for St Ives (born 1932)	5 January 1981	6 January 1983	Conservative		[8]
		The Right Honourable Michael Heseltine MP for Henley (born 1933)	6 January 1983	7 January 1986	Conservative	Thatcher II	[9]
		The Right Honourable George Younger TD MP for Ayr (1931–2003)	7 January 1986	24 July 1989	Conservative		[10] [11]
						Thatcher III
		The Right Honourable Tom King MP for Bridgwater (born 1933)	24 July 1989	10 April 1992	Conservative		[12]
						Major I
		The Right Honourable Malcolm Rifkind QC MP for Edinburgh Pentlands (born 1946)	10 April 1992	5 July 1995	Conservative	Major II	[13]
		The Right Honourable Michael Portillo MP for Enfield Southgate (born 1953)	5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative		[14]
		The Right Honourable George Robertson MP for Hamilton South (born 1946)	3 May 1997	11 October 1999	Labour	Blair (I–III)	[15]
		The Right Honourable Geoff Hoon MP for Ashfield (born 1953)	11 October 1999	6 May 2005	Labour		[16]
		The Right Honourable John Reid MP for Airdrie and Shotts (born 1947)	6 May 2005	5 May 2006	Labour		[17]
		The Right Honourable Des Browne MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (born 1952)	5 May 2006	3 October 2008	Labour		[18]
						Brown
		The Right Honourable John Hutton MP for Barrow and Furness (born 1955)	3 October 2008	5 June 2009	Labour		[19]
		The Right Honourable Bob Ainsworth MP for Coventry North East (born 1952)	5 June 2009	11 May 2010	Labour		[20]
		The Right Honourable Liam Fox MP for North Somerset (born 1961)	11 May 2010	14 October 2011	Conservative	Cameron–Clegg (Con.–L.D.)	[21] [22]
		The Right Honourable Philip Hammond MP for Runnymede and Weybridge (born 1955)	14 October 2011	15 July 2014	Conservative		[23] [24]
		The Right Honourable Sir Michael Fallon KCB MP for Sevenoaks (born 1952)	15 July 2014	1 November 2017	Conservative		[25] [26]
						Cameron II
						May I
						May II
		The Right Honourable Gavin Williamson CBE MP for South Staffordshire (born 1976)	2 November 2017	Incumbent	Conservative		[27] [28]