Penny Mordaunt

**Penelope Mary Mordaunt** (; born 4 March 1973) is a British Conservative politician who was the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council. She was the Secretary of State for Defence in 2019, and has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Portsmouth North from 2010 until she lost her seat after the 2024 election.

Mordaunt was Secretary of State for International Development from 2017 to 2019.

In May 2019, Mordaunt was appointed Defence Secretary after Gavin Williamson was fired. She is the first woman to hold this post.

In July 2022, Mordaunt announced her candidacy to replace Boris Johnson as Leader of the Conservative Party in the 2022 leadership election. She was eliminated in the fifth round of voting on 20 July 2022.

After Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister in October 2022, Mordaunt announced her candidacy for Conservative Party leader again for the October leadership election. She withdrew from the race on 23 October 2022 and supported Rishi Sunak, who won the election unopposed.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **embed**: yes
- **office**: Minister of State for Trade Policy
- **primeminister**: Boris Johnson
- **term start**: 16 September 2021
- **term end**: 6 September 2022
- **predecessor**: Greg Hands
- **successor**: Conor Burns
- **office1**: Paymaster General
- **primeminister1**: Boris Johnson
- **term start1**: 13 February 2020
- **term end1**: 16 September 2021
- **predecessor1**: Oliver Dowden
- **successor1**: Michael Ellis (British politician), Michael Ellis
- **office2**: Minister of State for Disabled People, Work and Health
- **primeminister2**: Theresa May
- **term start2**: 15 July 2016
- **term end2**: 9 November 2017
- **predecessor2**: Justin Tomlinson
- **successor2**: Sarah Newton
- **office3**: Minister of State for the Armed Forces
- **primeminister3**: David Cameron
- **term start3**: 11 May 2015
- **term end3**: 15 July 2016
- **predecessor3**: Mark François
- **successor3**: Mike Penning
- **office4**: Department for Communities and Local Government, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
- **primeminister4**: David Cameron
- **term start4**: 14 July 2014
- **term end4**: 11 May 2015
- **predecessor4**: Nick Boles
- **successor4**: James Wharton (politician), James Wharton


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **honorific-prefix**: The Right Honourable
- **name**: Penny Mordaunt
- **image**: Penny Mordaunt Official Cabinet Portrait, September 2022 (cropped).jpg
- **caption**: Official portrait, 2022
- **office1**: Leader of the House of Commons
Lord President of the Council
- **primeminister1**: Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
- **term start1**: 6 September 2022
- **term end1**: 5 July 2024
- **predecessor1**: Mark Spencer (British politician), Mark Spencer
- **successor1**: Lucy Powell
- **office2**: Secretary of State for Defence
- **primeminister2**: Theresa May
- **term start2**: 1 May 2019
- **term end2**: 24 July 2019
- **predecessor2**: Gavin Williamson
- **successor2**: Ben Wallace (politician), Ben Wallace
- **office3**: Secretary of State for International Development
- **primeminister3**: Theresa May
- **term start3**: 9 November 2017
- **term end3**: 1 May 2019
- **predecessor3**: Priti Patel
- **successor3**: Rory Stewart
- **office4**: Minister for Women and Equalities
- **primeminister4**: Theresa May
- **term start4**: 30 April 2018
- **term end4**: 24 July 2019
- **predecessor4**: Amber Rudd
- **successor4**: Amber Rudd
- **office5**: Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament
 for Portsmouth North
- **predecessor5**: Sarah McCarthy-Fry
- **successor5**: Amanda Martin
- **term start5**: 6 May 2010
- **term end5**: 30 May 2024
- **birth name**: Penelope Mary Mordaunt
- **birth place**: Torquay, Devon, England
- **party**: Conservative Party (UK), Conservative
- **unit**: Royal Naval Reserve
- **serviceyears**: 2010–2019
- **rank**: Acting Sub-Lieutenant
(Honorary rank, Honorary Captain (Royal Navy), Captain)
- **alma mater**: University of Reading (Bachelor of Arts, BA)