The Lord Houghton of Richmond | |
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 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Born | (1954-10-18)18 October 1954 (age 70) Otley,West Yorkshire, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Service years | 1974–2016 |
| Rank | General |
| Service number | 497441 |
| Commands |
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| Conflicts | The Troubles Iraq War |
| Awards | |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Other work |
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| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Assumed office 20 November 2017 | |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Crossbencher |
GeneralJohn Nicholas Reynolds Houghton, Baron Houghton of Richmond,GCB, CBE, DL (/ˈhɔːtən/HAW-tən; born 18 October 1954) is a retired seniorBritish Army officer and formerChief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of theBritish Armed Forces. He was appointed CDS in July 2013, following the retirement of GeneralSir David Richards. He served asCommanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, theGreen Howards inNorthern Ireland duringThe Troubles and later becameCommander of the39th Infantry Brigade in Northern Ireland. He deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General,Multi-National Force – Iraq during theIraq War. Later, he becameChief of Joint Operations atPermanent Joint Headquarters and served asVice-Chief of the Defence Staff until assuming the position of CDS. Houghton retired from the British Army in July 2016, and was succeeded as CDS by Air Chief MarshalSir Stuart Peach.
Houghton was born on 18 October 1954 inOtley, nearLeeds, and is the son of Frank and Peggy Houghton.[1] He was educated atWoodhouse Grove School, aprivate school nearBradford.[2] In 1977, he graduated fromSt Peter's College,Oxford, having taken an in-ServiceBachelor of Artsdegree inModern History.[3][4]
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After attendingRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst, Houghton wascommissioned into theGreen Howards as asecond lieutenant on 9 March 1974.[5] He was promoted tolieutenant on 9 March 1976,[6] tocaptain on 9 September 1980[7] and tomajor on 30 September 1986.[8] He was appointed Military Assistant to the Chief of StaffBritish Army of the Rhine and subsequently became a member of the Directing Staff at theRoyal Military College of Science, Shrivenham.[9] Promoted tolieutenant colonel on 30 June 1991,[10] he becameCommanding Officer of 1st Battalion The Green Howards in 1991[4] and was deployed toNorthern Ireland in 1993.[11]
Houghton was made Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff at HQLand Command in 1994 and he attended theHigher Command and Staff Course in 1997.[4] Promoted tobrigadier on 31 December 1997 with seniority from 30 June 1997,[12] he becameCommander of39 Infantry Brigade inNorthern Ireland in 1997 and was Director of Military Operations at theMinistry of Defence from December 1999 to July 2002.[4] He was promoted tomajor general on 26 July 2002[13] and was madeChief of Staff of theAllied Rapid Reaction Corps that year[1] before becomingAssistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations) in 2004.[4]
Promoted tolieutenant general on 14 October 2005,[14] Houghton was deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General,Multi-National Force – Iraq in October 2005.[4] He becameChief of Joint Operations atPermanent Joint Headquarters (UK) in 2006[4] and, after being relieved of that post on 13 March 2009,[4] he was promoted togeneral and appointedVice-Chief of the Defence Staff on 5 May 2009.[15]
Houghton took over asChief of the Defence Staff on 18 July 2013.[16] He stated that one of his key objectives was to re-shape the Armed forces in the post-Afghanistan era.[17] Houghton also raised concerns about the Armed Forces' abilities with the personnel and budget cuts.[18] As of 2015, Houghton was paid a salary of between £255,000 and £259,999 by the department, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.[19]
In January 2016, the government announced that Houghton would be replaced bySir Stuart Peach as Chief of the Defence Staff in the summer of 2016.[20] Houghton handed over to Peach on 14 July 2016.[21]
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In 2016, Houghton was appointedConstable of The Tower of London, as the monarch's representative for five years, replacingRichard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt.[22][23] This is primarily a ceremonial post but the Constable is also a trustee of Historic Royal Palaces and the Royal Armouries.[24][25] He left his role in 2022 withSir Gordon Messenger replacing him.[26]
In October 2017, it was announced that a life peerage would be conferred on Houghton.[27][28] On 20 November of the same year, he was createdBaron Houghton of Richmond, ofRichmond in the County ofNorth Yorkshire.[29] He joined theHouse of Lords as acrossbencher.[30] He has been a member of theInternational Relations and Defence Committee, aselect committee of the House of Lords, since January 2024.[30]
He was chosen to carry theSword of Temporal Justice at the2023 Coronation.[31]
On 12 October 1993, Houghton was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "in recognition of distinguished service in Northern Ireland".[32] He was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 14 April 2000 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Northern Ireland during the period 1 April 1999 to 30 September 1999".[33] In 2006, he was made anOfficer of the Legion of Merit by the United States government "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services during coalition operations in Iraq".[34] He was appointedKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the2008 Birthday Honours,[35] andKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the2011 Birthday Honours.[36][37]
Houghton wasColonel of the Regiment of158 (Royal Anglian) Transport Regiment (Volunteers) from 1 November 2003[38] to 1 September 2008[39] and honoraryColonel Commandant of theKing's Division from 10 December 2005[40] to 10 December 2008[41] as well as Colonel of the Regiment ofThe Yorkshire Regiment from 6 June 2006[42] to 6 June 2011.[43] He was appointed Colonel Commandant of theIntelligence Corps on 19 July 2008[44] andAide-de-Camp General (ADC Gen) toThe Queen on 1 October 2009.[45]
In June 2015, Houghton also received an honoraryPanglima Gagah Angkatan Tentera (PGAT) award from the Deputy Minister for Defence of Malaysia.[46]
In 1982 Houghton married Margaret Glover: they have one son, the comedian Tom Houghton (born 1984),[47][48] and one daughter.[1] His interests includegolf,sailing,shooting,cooking andhistory.[4]
Source:[49]
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| Ribbon | Description | Notes |
| Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath | Appointed in 2011[36] |
| Commander of the Order of the British Empire | Appointed in 2000[33] |
| General Service Medal (1962) | |
| UN medal for the Mission in Cyprus | |
| Iraq Medal | |
| Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal | |
| Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal | |
| Accumulated Campaign Service Medal | |
| Officer of the Legion of Merit | Presented in 2006[50] |
| Courageous Commander of the Most Gallant Order of Military Service |
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| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multinational Force, Iraq 2005–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief of Joint Operations 2006–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff 2009–2013 | |
| Preceded by | Chief of the Defence Staff 2013–2016 | |
| New title | Colonel of theYorkshire Regiment 2006–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Constable of the Tower of London 2016–2022 | Followed by |
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron Houghton of Richmond | Followed by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
