Sir

Mark Stanhope
Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope in 2013
Born (1952-03-26) 26 March 1952
Hammersmith, London, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1970–2013
RankAdmiral
Commands heldFirst Sea Lord
Commander-in-Chief Fleet
HMS Illustrious
HMS London
HMS Splendid
HMS Orpheus
Battles/warsSierra Leone Civil War
Libyan Civil War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)

Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, GCB, OBE, DL (born 26 March 1952) is a retired Royal Navy officer. After serving as a submarine commander, he commanded a frigate and then commanded an aircraft carrier on operational patrol off Sierra Leone. He went on to be Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and then Commander-in-Chief Fleet. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval staff, the professional head of the Royal Navy, from July 2009 to April 2013. In this role he advised the British Government on the deployment of naval forces during operations around Libya. He was succeeded by Admiral Sir George Zambellas in April 2013.

Early life

Born the son of Frederick William Stanhope and Shiela Mary Hattemore (née Cutler), Stanhope was educated at the London Nautical School, Worthing High School for Boys (since 1974 first Worthing Sixth-Form College and more recently Worthing College), and then St Peter's College, Oxford, where he gained a Master of Arts in physics.[1]

The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious which Stanhope commanded during an operational deployment off Sierra Leone
Stanhope on board the submarine HMS Astute

Stanhope joined the Royal Navy in 1970, was confirmed in the rank of sub-lieutenant on 1 September 1972,[2] and was promoted to full lieutenant on 1 May 1977.[3] Promoted to lieutenant commander on 16 October 1982,[4] he commanded the submarine HMS Orpheus from 1982 to 1984.[1] After receiving promotion to commander on 30 June 1986,[5] he commanded the submarine HMS Splendid from 1987 to 1988.[1] He became a teaching officer on the Submarine Command Course in 1989.[1]

Promoted to captain on 30 June 1991,[6] Stanhope then went on to command the frigate HMS London from 1991 to 1992 before becoming Captain, Submarine Sea Training in 1993.[1] He was appointed Deputy Principal staff Officer to the Chief of the Defence staff at the Ministry of Defence in 1994 and then attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1997.[1] He commanded the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious from 1998 to 2000 during which time that ship was deployed on operational patrol off Sierra Leone.[7] Promoted to rear admiral, he became Director of Operational Management at NATO Regional Command North in 2000 and was seconded to the Cabinet Office in 2002 before being promoted to vice admiral and becoming Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet in July 2002.[8]

Promoted to full admiral on 10 July 2004,[9] Stanhope became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation at NATO that year.[1] In November 2007 he became Commander-in-Chief Fleet[8] and took the honorary position of Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom.[1]

Stanhope succeeded Admiral Sir Jonathon Band as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval staff in July 2009.[10][11] On 11 March 2011, Stanhope addressed the crew of HMS Ark Royal for the final time, lamenting the loss of carrier strike capability, commenting that "the decision to gap the United Kingdom’s Carrier Strike capability was not one taken lightly, or easily." Paying tribute to the crew upon "the dignity with which you have greeted this difficult news." [12] In June 2011, during operations around Libya, he warned that the fleet would only be able to sustain operations for around 90 days after which the Government would have to rebalance priorities.[13] On 24 June 2011 The Daily Telegraph confirmed that Stanhope, in common with the Chief of the Air Staff and the Chief of the General Staff, would lose his position on the Defence Board, the highest non-ministerial Ministry of Defence committee, which makes decisions on all aspect of military policy.[14] He was succeeded as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval staff by Admiral Sir George Zambellas in April 2013.[15]

Family

In 1975 Stanhope married Janet Anne Flynn; they have one daughter.[1] Lady Stanhope was the Director of Resources at Devon County Council for four years.[16]

Awards and decorations

Stanhope was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1989 New Year Honours list.[17] He was appointed be a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 2004 New Year Honours.[18] He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of that order in the 2010 Birthday Honours.[19]

Stanhope is an Honorary Fellow of St. Peter's College, Oxford, a Deputy Lieutenant of Devon, a Freeman of the City of London, The President of the Marine Society & Sea Cadets and a Liveryman of the Upholders' Company as well as a Younger Brother of Trinity House.[1] He reports his interests in Who's Who as family life, reading and sailing.[1]

Stanhope was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Plymouth University in 2012.[20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "STANHOPE, Adm. Sir Mark". Who's Who 2013. A & C Black. December 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "No. 46398". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 November 1974. p. 10996.
  3. ↑ "No. 47227". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1977. p. 6963.
  4. ↑ "No. 49136". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 October 1982. p. 13231.
  5. ↑ "No. 50617". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 August 1986. p. 10285.
  6. ↑ "No. 52591". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 July 1991. p. 10085.
  7. ↑ "UK Forces Deployed in Sierra Leone". Britain's small wars. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Senior Royal Navy Appointments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  9. ↑ "No. 57359". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 July 2004. p. 9027.
  10. ↑ "Admiral Sir Trevor Soar takes up Navy fleet position". The Portsmouth News. 11 June 2009. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  11. ↑ Ministry of Defence (21 July 2009). "New First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval staff takes command" (Press release). Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  12. ↑ what do they know (11 March 2011). "Freedom of Information request for 1SL speech onboard HMS Ark Royal 11 Mar 2011" (Press Release). Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  13. ↑ "Prolonged Libya effort unsustainable, warns Navy chief". TheGuardian.com. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  14. ↑ "Top military chiefs "sidelined" after Afghanistan row". The Daily Telegraph. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  15. ↑ "New senior military officers appointed". gov.uk. HM Government. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  16. ↑ "Jan Stanhope". Devon & Cornwall Police Authority. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  17. ↑ "No. 51578". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1988. p. 5.
  18. ↑ "No. 57155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2003. p. 2.
  19. ↑ "No. 59446". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2010. p. 2.
  20. ↑ "Honorary Doctorate". Plymouth University. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
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