Who is Philip Hammond?

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Defence IQ profiles the new UK Defence Secretary

Amid the ongoing scandal surrounding Liam Fox’s exit from office on late Friday of last week, Philip Hammond MP steps in to continue Fox’s defence spending reforms and begin repairing the damage to the MoD’s reputation. But who is he?...

Born in Epping, Essex, in 1955, Hammond attended state school, unlike most of his peers, and went on to earn a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from University College, Oxford.

Upon graduation, he became a director of a medical technologies manufacturing company, and progressed through business ventures throughout the 1980s in areas such as property development and oil and gas, before becoming a consultant for the likes of the World Bank in Washington D.C. and the Malawi government.

He was elected to the House of Commons in 1997 as MP of Runnymede and Weybridge which he has held ever since.

The following year, current Foreign Secretary William Hague promoted him to the front bench as part of the Shadow Cabinet’s health team. Under Iain Duncan Smith, he moved to the realm of trade and industry in 2011, and then as a member of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister under Michael Howard’s two year leadership. Howard promoted him further towards the end of his tenure to the position of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Under David Cameron’s fresh leadership in 2005, he temporarily served as Shadow of State for Work and Pensions, and with the creation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government last year, he was appointed Secretary of State for Transport. In this position, he stated that he would back controversial plans for a new High Speed Rail network linking London to Birmingham, which has seen protests outside parliament as recently as last week.

Hammond is married with two daughters, and owns homes in London and Surrey. Based on his previous work before his parliamentary position, The Sunday Times estimated that he is the richest member of the cabinet with a personal wealth of over £7m.

As Defence Secretary, the controversy has already begun, with voices of concern rising over his close working relationship with Chancellor George Osborne. It is feared by some Tory factions that he will be a soft touch, allowing further proposed cuts to the defence budget to go unchallenged. The cuts sanctioned by last year’s Strategic Defence and Security Review has already been criticised by many in the defence industry and armed forces as having compromised operations with its severity.

Meanwhile, Fox is expected to soon rally support behind his successor, as assurances will be sought that Hammond will stand firm on resistance to a joint European-led force and defence policy, and that operations in Libya will be properly completed.

Contributor:   Richard de Silva

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Richard de Silva reports on defence and security at DefenceIQ.com. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and Film and a Master’s Degree in Film from Kingston University, London.

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