Minister of Defence (United Kingdom)

Minister of Defence
Royal Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Longest serving Winston Churchill 10 May 1940 – 27 July 1945
Ministry of Defence (1947–1964)
Status	Abolished
Member of	Cabinet
Reports to	Prime Minister
Appointer	The Monarch (on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Precursor	Minister for Co-ordination of Defence
Formation	10 May 1940
First holder	Winston Churchill
Final holder	Peter Thorneycroft
Abolished	1 April 1964
Superseded by	Secretary of State for Defence

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.

The Ministry of Defence was created in 1947. ^[1]

History

Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, concerns about British forces being understrength led in 1936 to the creation of the post of Minister for Coordination of Defence by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin. The post was abolished by Baldwin's successor Neville Chamberlain in April 1940.

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 the war. 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.

In 1964, the creation of a single, merged Ministry of Defence and the abolition of the separate service ministries in the UK led to the creation of the new post of Secretary of State for Defence, more popularly known as Defence Secretary.

Principal political leaders of the English/British Armed Forces:

	Royal Navy	British Army	Royal Air Force	Co-ordination
1628	First Lord of the Admiralty (1628–1964)
1794		Secretary of State for War (1794–1801)
1801		Secretary of State for War and the Colonies (1801–1854)
1854		Secretary of State for War (1854–1964)
1919			Secretary of State for Air (1919–1964)
1936				Minister for Co-ordination of Defence (1936–1940)
1940				Minister of Defence (1940–1964)
1964	Secretary of State for Defence (1964–present)

Ministers of Defence, 1940–1964

Portrait	Name (born–died)	Term of office			Political party		Cabinet
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
	Winston Churchill MP for Epping (1874–1965)	10 May 1940	27 July 1945	5 years, 78 days		Conservative	Churchill War
							Churchill Caretaker
	Clement Attlee MP for Limehouse (1883–1967)	27 July 1945	20 December 1946	1 year, 146 days		Labour	Attlee I
	A. V. Alexander MP for Sheffield Hillsborough (1885–1965)	20 December 1946	28 February 1950	3 years, 70 days		Labour Co-op
	Emanuel Shinwell MP for Easington (1884–1986)	28 February 1950	26 October 1951	1 year, 240 days		Labour	Attlee II
	Winston Churchill MP for Woodford (1874–1965)	28 October 1951	1 March 1952	127 days		Conservative	Churchill III
	Harold Alexander 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis (1891–1969)	1 March 1952	18 October 1954	2 years, 231 days		Independent
	Harold Macmillan MP for Bromley (1894–1986)	18 October 1954	7 April 1955	171 days		Conservative
	Selwyn Lloyd MP for The Wirral (1904–1978)	7 April 1955	20 December 1955	257 days		Conservative	Eden
	Walter Monckton MP for Bristol West (1891–1965)	20 December 1955	18 October 1956	303 days		Conservative
	Antony Head MP for Carshalton (1906–1983)	18 October 1956	9 January 1957	83 days		Conservative
	Duncan Sandys MP for Streatham (1906–1987)	13 January 1957	14 October 1959	2 years, 274 days		Conservative	Macmillan I
	Harold Watkinson MP for Woking (1910–1995)	14 October 1959	13 July 1962	2 years, 272 days		Conservative	Macmillan II
	Peter Thorneycroft MP for Monmouth (1909–1994)	13 July 1962	1 April 1964	1 year, 263 days		Conservative
							Douglas-Home

The post of Minister of Defence was abolished in 1964 and replaced by the new post of Secretary of State for Defence.

See also

• Ministry of Defence (1947–1964)

References

1. Records of the Ministry of Defence. Ministry of Defence. 1808–2022.