Ministerial role

Minister of State for the Armed Forces

Contents

Responsibilities

The minister is responsible for armed forces activity including operations, operational legal matters, force generation and international defence engagement including:

• operations
• perational security and safety
• legacy and operational legal issues
• force generation
• manning, recruitment and retention of regulars and reserves
• NATO
• defending defence
• space, cyber and intelligence
• Permanent Joint Operating Bases
• Africa and Latin America
• international defence engagement
• Northern Ireland
• engagement with parliamentarians

Current role holder: Mark Lancaster TD MP

Mark Lancaster was appointed Minister of State for the Armed Forces on 13 June 2017.

He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence Personnel and Veterans from 12 May 2015 to 13 June 2017. He was elected the Conservative MP for Milton Keynes North in 2005.

Education

Mark was educated at Kimbolton School. He has a BSc in Business Studies from the University of Buckingham and an MBA from the University of Exeter Business School. He was awarded an Honorary PhD by Buckingham University in 2008.

Political career

Mark was a Member of Huntingdonshire District Council (1995–1999) where he served as the Chairman of the Leisure Committee (1996–1999). He was elected as Member of Parliament for the North East Milton Keynes in the 2005 general election.

Mark was a Conservative Party whip between November 2006 until July 2007. Shortly after his re-election in 2010, he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Secretary of State for International Development. In September 2012 he became a government minister when he was made a Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty’s Treasury.

Career outside politics

Mark served in the Army between 1988 and 1990. He was a company director for the family fireworks firm Kimbolton Fireworks before he was elected to Parliament and continues to serve in the Reserves as a Colonel.

Personal life

Mark is married.

More about this person

Previous holders of this role

1. The Rt Hon Mike Penning MP

   • 2016 to 2017

2. Penny Mordaunt MP

   • 2015 to 2016

3. The Rt Hon Mark Francois

   • 2013 to 2015

4. The Rt Hon Andrew Robathan

   • 2012 to 2013

5. Sir Nick Harvey

   • 2010 to 2012

Announcements

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1. Exercise Cambrian Patrol testing the best from around the world

   • 23 October 2017
   • News story

2. Defence Ministers meet US Secretary of the Navy for the first time

   • 11 October 2017
   • News story

3. UK reiterates support to the fight against Boko Haram

   • 6 October 2017
   • News story

4. UK maritime forces complete French naval deployment

   • 3 August 2017
   • Press release

5. Royal Navy and Royal Marines train alongside partner naval forces

   • 14 July 2017
   • News story

6. Armed Forces Minister attends EU meeting

   • 27 April 2017
   • News story

7. UK maritime forces visit Vietnam with French naval task group

   • 21 April 2017
   • News story

8. HMS Enterprise returns home after three years on Navy operations

   • 18 April 2017
   • News story

9. Armed Forces Minister underlines UK commitment to Africa

   • 6 April 2017
   • News story

10. British troops continue support to UN South Sudan mission

    • 3 April 2017
    • News story

View all announcements