Secretary of State for Defence

Secretary of State for Defence
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Flag of the Secretary of State for Defence
Incumbent
Wes Streeting
since 20 July 2026
Ministry of Defence
Style
TypeMinister of the Crown
StatusSecretary of state
AbbreviationSoSDef
Member of
Reports toThe Prime Minister
SeatWestminster
NominatorThe Prime Minister
AppointerThe Crown
on advice of the Prime Minister
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
Constituting instrumentDefence (Transfer of Functions) Act 1964 section 1(a)
PrecursorMinister of Defence
Formation1 April 1964
First holderPeter Thorneycroft
Unofficial namesDefence Secretary
DeputyMinister for Defence Procurement (since 2020)
Minister of State for the Armed Forces (before 2020)
Salary£154,089 per annum (2022)
(including £86,584 MP salary)
Websitewww.gov.uk

The secretary of state for defence (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 current secretary of state for defence is Wes Streeting who was appointed on 20 July 2026 by Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

List of Secretaries (1964–present)

The role was created in 1964 as a replacement to the roles of minister for coordination of defence and minister of defence. It replaced the roles 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.

Secretary of State for Defence
Portrait Name
(birth–death)		 Term of office Tenure Party Ministry
Peter Thorneycroft
MP for Monmouth
(1909–1994)		 1 April 1964 16 October 1964 198 days Conservative Douglas-Home
Denis Healey
MP for Leeds East
(1917–2015)		 16 October 1964 19 June 1970 5 years, 246 days Labour Wilson
(I & II)
Peter Carington
6th Baron Carrington
(1919–2018)		 20 June 1970 8 January 1974 3 years, 202 days Conservative Heath
Ian Gilmour
MP for Central Norfolk
(1926–2007)		 8 January 1974 4 March 1974 55 days Conservative
Roy Mason
MP for Barnsley
(1924–2015)		 5 March 1974 9 September 1976 2 years, 188 days Labour Wilson
(III & IV)
Fred Mulley
MP for Sheffield Park
(1918–1995)		 10 September 1976 4 May 1979 2 years, 236 days Labour Callaghan
Francis Pym
MP for Cambridgeshire
(1922–2008)		 5 May 1979 4 January 1981 1 year, 244 days Conservative Thatcher I
John Nott
MP for St Ives
(1932–2024)		 5 January 1981 5 January 1983 2 years, 0 days Conservative
Michael Heseltine
MP for Henley
(born 1933)		 6 January 1983 8 January 1986 3 years, 2 days Conservative Thatcher II
George Younger
MP for Ayr
(1931–2003)		 9 January 1986 23 July 1989 3 years, 195 days Conservative
Thatcher III
Tom King
MP for Bridgwater
(born 1933)		 28 July 1989 9 April 1992 2 years, 256 days Conservative
Major I
Malcolm Rifkind
MP for Edinburgh Pentlands
(born 1946)		 10 April 1992 4 July 1995 3 years, 85 days Conservative Major II
Michael Portillo
MP for Enfield Southgate
(born 1953)		 5 July 1995 2 May 1997 1 year, 301 days Conservative
George Robertson
MP for Hamilton South
(born 1946)		 3 May 1997 11 October 1999 2 years, 161 days Labour Blair I
Geoff Hoon
MP for Ashfield
(born 1953)		 11 October 1999 6 May 2005 5 years, 207 days Labour
Blair II
John Reid
MP for Airdrie and Shotts
(born 1947)		 6 May 2005 5 May 2006 364 days Labour Blair III
Des Browne
MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun
(born 1952)		 5 May 2006 3 October 2008 2 years, 151 days Labour
Brown
John Hutton
MP for Barrow and Furness
(born 1955)		 3 October 2008 5 June 2009 245 days Labour
Bob Ainsworth
MP for Coventry North East
(born 1952)		 5 June 2009 11 May 2010 340 days Labour
Liam Fox
MP for North Somerset
(born 1961)		 12 May 2010 14 October 2011 1 year, 156 days Conservative Cameron–Clegg
(Con.–L.D.)
Philip Hammond
MP for Runnymede and Weybridge
(born 1955)		 14 October 2011 15 July 2014 2 years, 274 days Conservative
Michael Fallon
MP for Sevenoaks
(born 1952)		 15 July 2014 1 November 2017 3 years, 109 days Conservative
Cameron II
May I
May II
Gavin Williamson
MP for South Staffordshire
(born 1976)		 2 November 2017 1 May 2019 1 year, 180 days Conservative
Penny Mordaunt
MP for Portsmouth North
(born 1973)		 1 May 2019 24 July 2019 84 days Conservative
Ben Wallace
MP for Wyre and Preston North
(born 1970)		 24 July 2019 31 August 2023 4 years, 38 days Conservative Johnson I
Johnson II
Truss
Sunak
Grant Shapps
MP for Welwyn Hatfield
(born 1968)		 31 August 2023 5 July 2024 309 days Conservative
John Healey
MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough
(born 1960)		 5 July 2024 11 June 2026 1 year, 341 days Labour Starmer
Dan Jarvis
MP for Barnsley North
(born 1972)		 11 June 2026 20 July 2026 39 days Labour
Wes Streeting
MP for Ilford North
(born 1983)		 20 July 2026 Incumbent 110 days Labour Burnham

References

  1. ↑ "Salaries of Members of His Majesty's Government – Financial Year 2022–23" (PDF). 15 December 2022.
  2. ↑ "Pay and expenses for MPs". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  3. ↑ "Secretary of State for Defence". gov.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  4. ↑ "Wes Streeting named to top UK defense role". Politico. 11 June 2026. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Mr Peter Thorneycroft". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "Lord Healey". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  7. ↑ "Lord Gilmour of Craigmillar". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  8. ↑ "Lord Mason of Barnsley". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  9. ↑ "Lord Mulley". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  10. ↑ "Lord Pym". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  11. ↑ "Rt Hon Sir John Nott". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  12. ↑ "Lord Heseltine". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  13. ↑ "Rt Hon Sir George Younger". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  14. ↑ George Jones (27 January 2003). "Thatcher's ally George Younger dies at 71". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Lord King of Bridgwater". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind QC". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  17. ↑ "Rt Hon Michael Portillo". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  18. ↑ "Lord Robertson of Port Ellen". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  19. ↑ "Mr Geoffrey Hoon". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  20. ↑ "Lord Reid of Cardowan". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  21. ↑ "Lord Browne of Ladyton". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  22. ↑ "Lord Hutton of Furness". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  23. ↑ "Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  24. ↑ "Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  25. ↑ "Who's who in the coalition cabinet". The Guardian. 13 May 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  26. ↑ "Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  27. ↑ "Liam Fox quits as defence secretary". BBC News. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  28. ↑ "Rt Hon Sir Michael Fallon MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  29. ↑ "Reshuffle at-a-glance: In, out and moved about". BBC News. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  30. ↑ "Rt Hon Gavin Williamson MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  31. ↑ "Gavin Williamson replaces Michael Fallon as defence secretary". BBC News. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  32. ↑ "Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  33. ↑ "Gavin Williamson sacked over Huawei leak". 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  34. ↑ "Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  35. ↑ "Ben Wallace Named New Defence Secretary". Forces Network. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  36. ↑ "Grant Shapps". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 September 2023.