Grant Shapps appointed Secretary of State for Defence
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Prior to this Grant Shapps (above) was the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero from 7th February 2023 to 31st August 2023.
He was previously Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 25th October 2022, Secretary of State for the Home Department from 19th October 2022 to 25th October 2022, Secretary of State for Transport between 24th July 2019 and 6th September 2022 and Minister of State at the Department for International Development from 11th May 2015 until 28th November 2015.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: "It’s a huge honour to be appointed as Defence Secretary. I pay tribute to my predecessor, Ben Wallace. His steadfast commitment to supporting Ukraine is matched only by his ongoing commitment to our own brave armed forces and their families.
"I look forward to continuing the government’s unwavering support to Ukrainians at this important time for European and global security, and working with our armed forces who closely defend our nation’s security."
Permanent Secretary David Williams said: "On behalf of the Ministry of Defence, I was pleased to extend a warm welcome to our new Secretary of State for Defence, Grant Shapps MP. He brings extensive knowledge and experience from his previous Cabinet roles, including as a Foreign Office Minister, and most recently the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and from his membership of the National Security Council.
"The department and I look forward to working with the new Defence Secretary on his priorities for defence as we uphold our commitment to protecting our nation and contributing to its prosperity."
Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said: "I welcome our new Defence Secretary Grant Shapps. My message to him is that the nation is safe thanks to the extraordinary commitment of our servicemen and women and our place within NATO, the world’s largest and strongest defensive alliance.
"This Coronation year has demonstrated how much the Armed Forces contribute to our nation and we are ready to do more. I look forward to working with the Secretary of State to both learn and implement the lessons from Ukraine and to continue our journey to become more lethal, faster at deploying and to embrace technology at scale."
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
Grant Shapps was elected the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield in 2005.
