Ministerial role

Minister of State

Contents

Responsibilities

Spokesperson in the House of Lords on all defence matters, responsible for corporate governance, international arms control and counter-proliferation, European Union (EU) and Asia/Far East defence engagement.

Responsibilities include:

  • corporate governance including transformation programme; single departmental plan, risk reporting and health, safety and security
  • EU relations, including Brexit (excluding No Deal planning)
  • engagement with retired senior Defence personnel and wider opinion formers
  • arms control and counter-proliferation, including strategic export licensing and chemical and biological weapons
  • UK Hydrographic Office
  • Statutory Instrument programme
  • Australia, Asia and Far East defence engagement
  • Defence Fire and Rescue
  • safety and security
  • Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland devolved authorities
  • ship wrecks, museums and heritage
  • ministerial correspondence and PQs

Current role holder: Baroness Goldie DL

Baroness Goldie is a Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence having been appointed in July, 2019. She was a Baroness in Waiting and Government Whip in the House of Lords for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Exiting the European Union and the Ministry of Defence from July 2016 to July 2019.

Baroness Goldie was a Scottish Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament for the West of Scotland Region from 1999 until 2016. She was the Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2005 until 2011.

She joined the House of Lords in October 2013.

Baroness Goldie has lived most of her life in the village of Bishopton in Renfrewshire. She attended Kilmalcolm Primary school and Greenock Academy. She studied at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, graduating with an LLB in 1971.

She was a solicitor and partner with Glasgow law firm Donaldson, Alexander, Russell and Haddow from 1978 to 2006. She is an Elder in the Church of Scotland and sits on the West of Scotland Advisory Board of the Salvation Army.

More about this person

Previous holders of this role

  1. The Rt Hon Earl Howe

    • 2015 to 2019

  2. Lord Astor of Hever DL

    • 2010 to 2015

Announcements

Get updates to this list  feed

Copy and paste this URL in to your feed reader

  1. UK supports military transparency by hosting visit of 22 countries

    • News story

  2. Defence Medical Services head appointed

    • News story

  3. UK reaffirms commitment to chemical weapon prohibition at international conference in London

    • News story

  4. Defence Secretary sets out ambitious Defence Prosperity Programme

    • News story

  5. Mastercard and MOD join forces to champion employment of ex service personnel

    • News story

  6. 65th Anniversary of Korean War Armistice Agreement

    • Speech

  7. Soldiering on Awards

    • Speech

  8. Bids open to host annual Armed Forces Day National Event in 2019

    • News story

  9. Defence Minister reaffirms UK commitment to European security

    • News story

  10. Hundreds of Service personnel support London Poppy Day

    • News story
View all announcements