Sir Mark Stanhope | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope in 2013 | |
| Born | (1952-03-26)26 March 1952 (age 73) Hammersmith, London, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1970–2013 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | First Sea Lord Commander-in-Chief Fleet HMS Illustrious HMS London HMS Splendid HMS Orpheus |
| Battles / wars | Sierra Leone Civil War Libyan Civil War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States) |
AdmiralSir Mark Stanhope,GCB, OBE, DL (born 26 March 1952) is a retiredRoyal Navy officer. After serving as a submarine commander, he commanded afrigate and then commanded anaircraft carrier on operational patrol offSierra Leone. He went on to be Deputy SupremeAllied Commander Transformation and thenCommander-in-Chief Fleet. He served asFirst 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 duringoperations around Libya. He was succeeded by AdmiralSir George Zambellas in April 2013.
Born the son of Frederick William Stanhope and Shiela Mary Hattemore (née Cutler), Stanhope was educated at theLondon Nautical School, Worthing High School for Boys (since 1974 first Worthing Sixth-Form College and more recentlyWorthing College), and thenSt Peter's College, Oxford, where he gained aMaster of Arts in physics.[1]
Stanhope joined the Royal Navy in 1970, was confirmed in the rank ofsub-lieutenant on 1 September 1972,[2] and was promoted to full lieutenant on 1 May 1977.[3] Promoted tolieutenant commander on 16 October 1982,[4] he commanded the submarineHMS Orpheus from 1982 to 1984.[1] After receiving promotion tocommander on 30 June 1986,[5] he commanded the submarineHMS Splendid from 1987 to 1988.[1] He became a teaching officer on theSubmarine Command Course in 1989.[1]
Promoted tocaptain on 30 June 1991,[6] Stanhope then went on to command the frigateHMS London from 1991 to 1992 before becoming Captain, Submarine Sea Training in 1993.[1] He was appointed Deputy Principal staff Officer to theChief of the Defence staff at theMinistry of Defence in 1994 and then attended theRoyal College of Defence Studies in 1997.[1] He commanded the aircraft carrierHMS Illustrious from 1998 to 2000 during which time that ship was deployed on operational patrol offSierra Leone.[7] Promoted torear admiral, he became Director of Operational Management atNATORegional Command North in 2000 and was seconded to theCabinet Office in 2002 before being promoted tovice admiral and becomingDeputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet in July 2002.[8]
Promoted to fulladmiral on 10 July 2004,[9] Stanhope became Deputy SupremeAllied Commander Transformation at NATO that year.[1] In November 2007 he becameCommander-in-Chief Fleet[8] and took the honorary position ofVice-Admiral of the United Kingdom.[1]
Stanhope succeededAdmiral Sir Jonathon Band asFirst 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, duringoperations 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 2011The Daily Telegraph confirmed that Stanhope, in common with theChief of the Air Staff and theChief 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 asFirst Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval staff by AdmiralSir George Zambellas in April 2013.[15]
In 1975 Stanhope married Janet Anne Flynn; they have one daughter.[1] Lady Stanhope was the Director of Resources atDevon County Council for four years.[16]
Stanhope was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire in the1989 New Year Honours list.[17] He was appointed be a Knight Commander of theOrder of the Bath in the2004 New Year Honours.[18] He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of that order in the2010 Birthday Honours.[19]
Stanhope is an Honorary Fellow ofSt. Peter's College, Oxford, a Deputy Lieutenant of Devon, a Freeman of theCity of London, The President of theMarine Society & Sea Cadets and a Liveryman of theUpholders' Company as well as a Younger Brother ofTrinity House.[1] He reports his interests inWho's Who as family life, reading and sailing.[1]
Stanhope was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science fromPlymouth University in 2012.[20]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet 2002–2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation 2004–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief Fleet 2007–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Sea Lord 2009–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom 2007–2009 | Succeeded by |
