Minister of Defence (United Kingdom)

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.

Minister of Defence
Royal Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Longest serving Winston Churchill 10 May 1940 – 27 July 1945
Ministry of Defence (1947–1964)
Status	Abolished
Member of	Cabinet
Reports to	Prime Minister
Precursor	Minister for Co-ordination of Defence
Formation	10 May 1940
First holder	Winston Churchill
Final holder	Peter Thorneycroft
Abolished	1 April 1964
Succession	Secretary of State for Defence

The Ministry of Defence was created in 1947.

History

Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, 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

Portrait		Name (birth–death)	Term of office		Tenure	Political party	Prime Minister
			Took office	Left office
		Winston Churchill MP for Epping (1874–1965)	10 May 1940	27 July 1945	5 years, 78 days	Conservative	Churchill War
							Churchill Caretaker
		Clement Attlee MP for Limehouse (1883–1967)	27 July 1945	20 December 1946	1 year, 146 days	Labour	Attlee I
		A. V. Alexander MP for Sheffield Hillsborough (1885–1965)	20 December 1946	28 February 1950	3 years, 70 days	Labour Co-op
		Emanuel Shinwell MP for Easington (1884–1986)	28 February 1950	26 October 1951	1 year, 240 days	Labour	Attlee II
		Winston Churchill MP for Woodford (1874–1965)	28 October 1951	1 March 1952	127 days	Conservative	Churchill III
		Harold Alexander 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis (1891–1969)	1 March 1952	18 October 1954	2 years, 231 days	Independent
		Harold Macmillan MP for Bromley (1894–1986)	18 October 1954	7 April 1955	171 days	Conservative
		Selwyn Lloyd MP for The Wirral (1904–1978)	7 April 1955	20 December 1955	257 days	Conservative	Eden
		Walter Monckton MP for Bristol West (1891–1965)	20 December 1955	18 October 1956	303 days	Conservative
		Antony Head MP for Carshalton (1906–1983)	18 October 1956	9 January 1957	83 days	Conservative
		Duncan Sandys MP for Streatham (1906–1987)	13 January 1957	14 October 1959	2 years, 274 days	Conservative	Macmillan I
		Harold Watkinson MP for Woking (1910–1995)	14 October 1959	13 July 1962	2 years, 272 days	Conservative	Macmillan II
		Peter Thorneycroft MP for Monmouth (1909–1994)	13 July 1962	1 April 1964	1 year, 263 days	Conservative
							Douglas-Home

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

See also

• Ministry of Defence (1947–1964)

Principal political leaders of the English/British Armed Forces:

	Royal Navy	British Army	Royal Air Force	Co-ordination
1628	First Lord of the Admiralty (1628–1964)
1794		Secretary of State for War (1794–1801)
1801		Secretary of State for War and the Colonies (1801–1854)
1854		Secretary of State for War (1854–1964)
1919			Secretary of State for Air (1919–1964)
1936				Minister for Co-ordination of Defence (1936–1940)
1940				Minister of Defence (1940–1964)
1964	Secretary of State for Defence (1964–present)