Ben Wallace (politician)

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Ben Wallace

Secretary of State for Defence
In office
24 July 2019 – 31 August 2023
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Preceded byPenny Mordaunt
Succeeded byGrant Shapps
Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime
In office
17 July 2016 – 24 July 2019
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byJohn Hayes
Succeeded byBrandon Lewis
Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office
12 May 2015 – 17 July 2016
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byAndrew Murrison
Succeeded byKris Hopkins
Member of Parliament
for Wyre and Preston North
Lancaster and Wyre (2005–2010)
Assumed office
5 May 2005
Preceded byHilton Dawson
Majority12,246 (23.3%)
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for North East Scotland
In office
6 May 1999 – 31 March 2003
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byNanette Milne
Personal details
Born
Robert Ben Lobban Wallace

(1970-05-15) 15 May 1970 (age 53)
Farnborough, Kent, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Liza Cooke[1]
Children3
Alma materRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionArmy officer
Websitewww.benwallace.org.uk
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
Years of service1990–1998
RankCaptain
UnitScots Guards
Battles/warsThe Troubles
AwardsMentioned in Despatches

Robert Ben Lobban Wallace (born 15 May 1970) is a British politician. He has been the Secretary of State for Defence from 24 July 2019 to 31 August 2023. He was the UK’s longest-serving Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime from 2016 to 2019. Wallace is a member of the Conservative Party. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wyre and Preston North since the 2010 United Kingdom general election.

Wallace was first elected as the MP for Lancaster and Wyre in the 2005 United Kingdom general election. He was a Captain in the British Army.[2]

On 15 July 2023, Wallace announced his plan to resign as Secretary of State for Defence at the next Cabinet reshuffle and confirmed that he would not be seeking re-election as an MP at the next general election.[3] On 31 August 2023, Wallace formally resigned as Secretary of State for Defence.[4]

References[change | change source]

  1. "House of Commons – The Register of Members' Financial Interests – Part 2: Part 2". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  2. "New defence secretary Ben Wallace has defended Stracathro Hospital and fox hunting". The Courier. The Courier. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  3. Media, P. A. (2023-07-16). "Ben Wallace to quit as defence secretary and stand down as MP at next reshuffle". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  4. "Ben Wallace resigns as defence secretary - read his letter in full". Sky News. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.