British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace in Brussels on October 13, 2022. KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
Ben Wallace, the British Defense Secretary, followed his words with action and officially resigned on Thursday, August 31st. He was a Remain supporter during the 2016 European Union membership referendum, but was still among Boris Johnson’s faithful. He announced his intention to leave in July, citing his desire to have more time for his family at 53. He is expected to finish his term as an MP at Westminster but has indicated he will not stand for re-election at the next general election in 2024.
“That’s it guys!” [C’est tout, les amis !] It has been a privilege to serve this great nation,” the elected official casually posted on the X Network (formerly Twitter) on Thursday. With his departure, the British government is losing a popular and serious minister who played a leading role in Britain’s early and very strong support for Ukraine. Mr Wallace will be replaced by Grant Shapps, 54, a former energy secretary and supporter of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
As the son of a soldier (a member of the 1st King’s Dragoon Guards cavalry regiment), Ben Wallace has a rather atypical background for a conservative of his generation: although he attended a private college, he did not enter “Oxbridge” (the universities of) the political and social elite, Oxford and Cambridge), after a few odd jobs – he was primarily a ski instructor in the Austrian Tyrol – preferred to join the Sandhurst Military Academy. He joined the Scottish Guards, served in Germany, Cyprus or Northern Ireland for about ten years and left active service with the rank of captain.
“Stability” in chaos
His political career began in 1999 when he was elected as a (Conservative) MP in the newly created Scottish regional parliament. He left that chamber in 2005 and moved to the House of Commons after standing for Westminster in a constituency in northeast England. It was Boris Johnson, whose campaign to become Tory leader he supported, who appointed him to the defense portfolio in July 2019. So he stayed there for four years and demonstrated remarkable longevity.
This rather discreet man was not plagued by scandals. Unlike Boris Johnson (or even Rishi Sunak, who was fined in 2022 for making a face at a Downing Street party), he did not compromise by attending Downing Street parties during lockdown. Mr. Johnson’s birthday). “In Europe and NATO, Mr. Wallace was seen as someone who brought stability when conservative British governments were in chaos,” says Camille Grand, researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and former NATO assistant secretary general for defense investment.
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