Minister of Defence (UK)

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.

History

Prior to the outbreak of World War II, 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.

Ministers of Defence, 1940–1964

*Winston Churchill 1940–1945
*Clement Attlee 1945–1946
*A. V. Alexander 1946–1950
*Manny Shinwell 1950–1951
*Winston Churchill 1951–1952
*Earl Alexander of Tunis 1952–1954
*Harold Macmillan 1954–1955
*Selwyn Lloyd 1955
*Walter Monckton 1955–1956
*Antony Head 1956–1957
*Duncan Sandys 1957–1959
*Harold Watkinson 1959–1962
*Peter Thorneycroft 1962–1964

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

ee also

* Secretary of State for Defence
* Ministry of Defence