Ministerial role

Secretary of State for Defence

Organisations: Ministry of Defence
Current role holder: The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP

Responsibilities

The Secretary of State for Defence has overall responsibility for the business of the department.

Responsibilities include:

  • strategic operations and operational strategy, including as a member of the National Security Council
  • defence planning, programme and resource allocation
  • strategic international partnerships: US, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, NATO
  • nuclear operations, policy and organisations
  • strategic communications

Current role holder

The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP

The Rt Hon Grant Shapps was appointed Secretary of State for Defence on 31 August. Previously he was Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero from 7 February 2023 to 31 August 2023.

He was previously Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 25 October 2022, Secretary of State for the Home Department from 19 October 2022 to 25 October 2022, Secretary of State for Transport between 24 July 2019 and 6 September 2022, and Minister of State at the Department for International Development from 11 May 2015 until 28 November 2015.

He was elected the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield in 2005.

Political career

Grant was appointed Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party in 2005, before being made Shadow Housing Minister in June 2007. Following the 2010 election, he served as Minister of State for Housing and Local Government in the Department for Communities and Local Government. Grant was appointed to the Privy Council in June 2010. In September 2012 he was appointed as co-chairman to the Conservative Party. At the same time he held the position of Minister without Portfolio at the Cabinet Office. In 2015, Grant was appointed a Minister of State in the Department for International Development. Following the 2019 election, Grant was appointed Secretary of State for Transport, a role he retained until 2022. After serving as the Home Secretary during 2022, Grant was appointed the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, becoming Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero after the creation of the department.

Career outside politics

In 1990, Grant founded PrintHouse Corporation, a design, print, website creation and marketing business in London.

Education

Grant studied at Cassio College, Watford before graduating from Manchester Polytechnic with a business and finance diploma.

Personal life

Grant is married with 3 children.

More about this person

Previous holders of this role

  1. The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP

    2019 to 2023

  2. The Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP

    2019 to 2019

  3. The Rt Hon Sir Gavin Williamson CBE MP

    2017 to 2019

  4. The Rt Hon Sir Michael Fallon

    2014 to 2017

  5. The Rt Hon Philip Hammond

    2011 to 2014

  6. The Rt Hon Liam Fox MP

    2010 to 2011