Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth MP was appointed Secretary of State for Defence on 5th June 2009. Since 29th June 2007 Mr Ainsworth has been Minister of State for the Armed Forces.
Mr Ainsworth was Coventry City Councillor between 1984 - 1992 when he held the positions of Deputy Leader of the Council and Chairman of the Finance Committee. He was elected to Parliament in 1992 and served on the Environment Select Committee. He was appointed a Whip in 1995.
In Government he has been Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury 1997-2001 (Government Whip), Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions January 2001-June 2001, Home Office Minister with responsibility for Drugs and organised Crime 2001 - June 2003, when he was appointed as Government Deputy Chief Whip.
Responsibilities
The Secretary of State for Defence is the Cabinet Minister charged with making and executing Defence policy, and with providing the means by which it is executed, the Armed Forces. He is Chairman of the Defence Council and of its three Boards, (the Admiralty Board, the Army Board and the Air Force Board).
Although responsible ultimately for all elements of Defence, the Secretary of State is supported by five Ministers: the Minister of State for the Armed Forces; the Minister of State for Strategic Defence Acquisition Reform; the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support; the Minister for International Defence and Security; and the Under Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans. The Secretary of State assigns responsibility to them for specific aspects of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence's business. However, the following are specifically his responsibility:
• Defence Policy and Planning & Budget issues
• Operations in Afghanistan
• Nuclear issues including Ballistic Missile Defence
• Bilateral Defence Relations with North America, Western Europe
and the Middle East
• NATO and EU issues
• Media and Communications