Secretary of State for Defence

Secretary of State for Defence
Incumbent: Bob Ainsworth
Style:	The Right Honourable
Appointed by:	Elizabeth II as Queen of the United Kingdom
First :	Peter Thorneycroft
Formation:	1 April 1964

United Kingdom

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the United Kingdom

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The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position.

The post was created on 1 April 1964 and replaced the previous office of Minister of Defence. 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.

Secretaries of State for Defence

Name		Portrait	Entered office	Left office	Political party
	Peter Thorneycroft		1 April 1964	16 October 1964	Conservative
	Denis Healey		16 October 1964	19 June 1970	Labour
	Peter Carington, Lord Carrington		20 June 1970	8 January 1974	Conservative
	Ian Gilmour		8 January 1974	4 March 1974	Conservative
	Roy Mason		5 March 1974	10 September 1976	Labour
	Frederick Mulley		10 September 1976	4 May 1979	Labour
	Francis Pym		5 May 1979	5 January 1981	Conservative
	John Nott		5 January 1981	6 January 1983	Conservative
	Michael Heseltine		6 January 1983	7 January 1986	Conservative
	George Younger		9 January 1986	24 July 1989	Conservative
	Tom King		24 July 1989	10 April 1992	Conservative
	Malcolm Rifkind		10 April 1992	5 July 1995	Conservative
	Michael Portillo		5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative
	George Robertson		3 May 1997	11 October 1999	Labour
	Geoff Hoon		11 October 1999	6 May 2005	Labour
	John Reid		6 May 2005	5 May 2006	Labour
	Des Browne		5 May 2006	3 October 2008	Labour
	John Hutton		3 October 2008	5 June 2009	Labour
	Bob Ainsworth		5 June 2009		Labour

v • d • e Secretaries of State for Defence of the United Kingdom Ministers for Defence (1940–1964) Churchill · Attlee · A. V. Alexander · Shinwell · Churchill · H. Alexander · Macmillan · Lloyd · Monckton · Head · Sandys · Watkinson · Thorneycroft Secretaries of State for Defence (1964–present) Thorneycroft · Healey · Carrington · Gilmour · Mason · Mulley · Pym · Nott · Heseltine · Younger · King · Rifkind · Portillo · Robertson · Hoon · Reid · Browne · Hutton · Ainsworth