Secretary of State for Defence

Secretary of State for Defence
Secretary of State for Defence
	Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
	Flag of the Secretary of State for Defence
	Incumbent; John Healey; since 5 July 2024
	Ministry of Defence
Style	Defence Secretary; (informal); The Right Honourable; (UK and the Commonwealth);
Type	Minister of the Crown
Status	Secretary of state
Abbreviation	SoSDef
Member of	Cabinet; Privy Council; National Security Council; Defence Council; Admiralty Board; Army Board; Air Force Board;
Reports to	The Prime Minister
Seat	Westminster
Nominator	The Prime Minister
Appointer	The Crown; on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Constituting instrument	Defence (Transfer of Functions) Act 1964 section 1(a)
Precursor	Minister of Defence
Formation	1 April 1964
First holder	Peter Thorneycroft
Unofficial names	Defence Secretary
Deputy	Minister for Defence Procurement (since 2020); Minister of State for the Armed Forces (before 2020)
Salary	£154,089 per annum (2022); (including £86,584 MP salary)
Website	www.gov.uk

The secretary of state for defence (defence secretary) is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence.^[3] As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

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The current secretary of state for defence is John Healey who was appointed on 5 July 2024 by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.^[4]

References