# Minister of State for the Armed Forces

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces is a mid-level ministerial position at the Ministry of Defence in the Government of the United Kingdom. It has been held by Luke Pollard since 2024.
The office sometimes acts as the deputy to the secretary of state for defence, when it is of Minister of State rank. In July 2024, the appointment of Luke Pollard reverted the minister’s title to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State.
The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow minister for the armed forces.

## Roles

The responsibilities of the minister of state for the armed forces are:
* Operations and operational legal policy
* Force generation (including exercises)
* Military recruitment and retention policy (regulars and reserves)
* Cyber
* Permanent Joint Operating bases
* International defence engagement strategy
* Lead for defence engagement in Africa and Latin America
* Human security
* Operational public inquiries, inquests
* Youth and cadets
* Commemorations, ceremonial duties, medallic recognition and protocol policy and casework

## List of ministers and under-secretaries

Colour key (for political parties):  Conservative  Labour  Liberal Democrats
| Minister | Minister | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Prime Minister | Defence Secretary |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Army |||||||||
| | Barney Hayhoe | 6 May 1979 | 5 January 1981 | Conservative | Thatcher | Pym |
| | Philip Goodhart | 5 January 1981 | 19 May 1981 | Conservative | Thatcher | Pym |
| Minister of State for the Armed Forces |||||||||
| | Peter Blaker | 29 May 1981 | 13 June 1983 | Conservative | Thatcher | Nott |
| | Peter Blaker | 29 May 1981 | 13 June 1983 | Conservative | Thatcher | Heseltine |
| | John Stanley | 13 June 1983 | 13 June 1987 | Conservative | Thatcher | Heseltine |
| | John Stanley | 13 June 1983 | 13 June 1987 | Conservative | Thatcher | Younger |
| | Ian Stewart | 13 June 1987 | 25 July 1988 | Conservative | Thatcher | Younger |
| | Archie Hamilton | 25 July 1988 | 27 May 1993 | Conservative | Thatcher | Younger |
| | Archie Hamilton | 25 July 1988 | 27 May 1993 | Conservative | Thatcher | King |
| | Archie Hamilton | 25 July 1988 | 27 May 1993 | Conservative | Major | Rifkind |
| | Jeremy Hanley | 27 May 1993 | 14 June 1994 | Conservative | Major | Rifkind |
| | Nicholas Soames | 14 June 1994 | 2 May 1997 | Conservative | Major | Rifkind |
| | Nicholas Soames | 14 June 1994 | 2 May 1997 | Conservative | Major | Portillo |
| | John Reid | 2 May 1997 | 27 July 1998 | Labour | Blair | Robertson |
| | Doug Henderson | 27 July 1998 | 29 July 1999 | Labour | Blair | Robertson |
| | John Spellar | 29 July 1999 | 7 June 2001 | Labour | Blair | Hoon |
| | Adam Ingram | 7 June 2001 | 29 June 2007 | Labour | Blair | Hoon |
| | Adam Ingram | 7 June 2001 | 29 June 2007 | Labour | Blair | Reid |
| | Adam Ingram | 7 June 2001 | 29 June 2007 | Labour | Blair | Browne |
| | Bob Ainsworth | 29 June 2007 | 5 May 2009 | Labour | Brown | Browne |
| | Bob Ainsworth | 29 June 2007 | 5 May 2009 | Labour | Brown | Hutton |
| | Bill Rammell | 5 May 2009 | 11 May 2010 | Labour | Brown | Ainsworth |
| | Nick Harvey | 13 May 2010 | 4 September 2012 | Liberal Democrats | Cameron (Coalition) | Fox |
| | Nick Harvey | 13 May 2010 | 4 September 2012 | Liberal Democrats | Cameron (Coalition) | Hammond |
| | Andrew Robathan | 4 September 2012 | 7 October 2013 | Conservative | Cameron (Coalition) | Hammond |
| | Mark Francois | 7 October 2013 | 11 May 2015 | Conservative | Cameron (Coalition) | Hammond |
| | Mark Francois | 7 October 2013 | 11 May 2015 | Conservative | Cameron (Coalition) | Fallon |
| | Penny Mordaunt | 11 May 2015 | 15 July 2016 | Conservative | Cameron (II) | Fallon |
| | Mike Penning | 15 July 2016 | 12 June 2017 | Conservative | May | Fallon |
| | Mark Lancaster | 12 July 2017 | 16 December 2019 | Conservative | May | Fallon |
| | Mark Lancaster | 12 July 2017 | 16 December 2019 | Conservative | May | Williamson |
| | Mark Lancaster | 12 July 2017 | 16 December 2019 | Conservative | May | Mordaunt |
| | Mark Lancaster | 12 July 2017 | 16 December 2019 | Conservative | Johnson | Wallace |
| | Anne-Marie Trevelyan | 16 December 2019 | 13 February 2020 | Conservative | Johnson | Wallace |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces Feb 2020 to July 2022 Minister of State for the Armed Forces July to Sept 2022 Minister of State for the Armed Forces and Veterans Sept to Oct 2022 |||||||||
| | James Heappey | 13 February 2020 | 25 October 2022 | Conservative | Johnson Truss | Wallace |
| Minister of State for the Armed Forces |||||||||
| | James Heappey | 25 October 2022 | 26 March 2024 | Conservative | Sunak | Wallace |
| | Leo Docherty | 26 March 2024 | 5 July 2024 | Conservative | Sunak | Shapps |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces |||||||||
| | Luke Pollard | 9 July 2024 | Present | Labour | Starmer | Healey |

## Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces

* Member of Parliament
* Kevan Jones (2015 to 2016)
* Kate Hollern (2016)
* Wayne David (2016 to 2020)
* Stephen Morgan (2020 to 2021)
* Stephen Kinnock (2021 to 2022)
* Luke Pollard (2022 to 2024)