Ministerial role

Minister of State for the Armed Forces

Contents

Responsibilities

The minister is responsible for the armed forces, including: operations, operational policy, operational legal matters, training and force generation.

Priority areas:

  • force generation, including ‘military productivity’
  • armed forces operations
  • overseas military capacity building
  • military support to the civil authorities

Other responsibilities include:

  • deputise for the Secretary of State
  • Defence Board member
  • cyber
  • overseas military capacity building
  • Permanent Joint Operating Bases and Overseas Territories
  • defence relations with Africa and South America

Current role holder: The Rt Hon Mark Francois MP

Mark Francois was appointed Minister of State for the Armed Forces in October 2013. He is the Conservative MP for Rayleigh and Wickford.

Education

Mark was born in Islington in 1965 and moved to Basildon in Essex in 1971. He now lives in Rayleigh.

He studied history at Bristol University and War Studies at King’s College, London. He served as an infantry officer in the Territorial Army, including with the local Royal Anglian Regiment, in the 1980s.

Political career

  • Member of Basildon District Council, 1991 and served as the Vice-Chairman of the Housing Committee, 1992 to1995
  • MP for Rayleigh, June 2001 to present
  • Opposition Whips’ office with departmental responsibility for home affairs, health and education, 2002 to 2004
  • Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury, 2004 to 2005, and Shadow Paymaster General, 2005
  • Shadow Minister for Europe 2007, and member of the Shadow Cabinet, 2009
  • Vice Chamberlain of Her Majesty’s Household, a senior position in the Government Whips Office, 2010
  • Member of the Privy Council, 2010

Career outside politics

Before becoming an MP, Mark worked in banking and as a self-employed consultant. In 1988 he joined lobbying company Market Access International, leaving as a director in 1996 to set up his own lobbying firm Francois Associates.

Personal life

Mark enjoys reading, hill walking and history, particularly military history.

More about this person

Previous holders of this role

  1. The Rt Hon Andrew Robathan MP

    • 2012 to 2013

  2. Sir Nick Harvey MP

    • 2010 to 2012

Policies

  1. Preventing and reducing piracy off the coast of Somalia

    • 12 December 2012
View all policies

Announcements

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  1. Political will, military capacity: maritime security in the Middle East

    • 21 June 2012
    • Speech

  2. Address to 15th Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation Conference 2012

    • 22 May 2012
    • Speech

  3. UK 'driving efforts' on global nuclear security

    • 28 March 2012
    • Announcement

  4. Tongan PM visits the MOD as part of three-day visit

    • 22 February 2012
    • Announcement

  5. Royal Navy Club Founder's Day dinner

    • 9 February 2012
    • Speech

  6. Extra talk-time to those back home for troops in Afghanistan this Christmas

    • 22 December 2011
    • Announcement

  7. UK-Norway nuclear disarmament verification initiative workshop

    • 7 December 2011
    • Speech

  8. Cyber security in the UK

    • 21 November 2011
    • Speech

  9. Supporting civilian authority: what role for the Military?

    • 14 October 2011
    • Speech

  10. Review of Continuity of Education Allowance concludes

    • 13 October 2011
    • Announcement
View all announcements