Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

Rodney Burnett Lees, CVO (born 31 December 1944) is a former senior

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

officer who served as

Defence Services Secretary The Defence Services Secretary is a senior member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Responsibilities The Defence Services Secretary is the senior member of the Royal Household responsible for liaison between the Sove ...

from 1998 to 2001.

Naval career

Educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

, Lees joined the Royal Navy in 1962.'' Who's Who 2010'',

A & C Black A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing '' Who's Who'' since 1849. It also published popular travel guides and novels. History The firm was founded in 18 ...

, 2010, He decided to undertake legal training from 1974 and was called to the bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1976. He became Legal Advisor to the

Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command Naval Home Command administered training and garrison functions for the Royal Navy from 1969-2012. Its commander was Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command (CINCNAVHOME). History As the Royal Navy's size decreased during the Cold War, commands we ...

in 1977, Deputy Chief Supply Officer (Pay) at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

in 1980 and Supply Officer for the aircraft carrier HMS ''Illustrious'' in 1982. He went on to be Fleet Legal and Administration Officer in 1984, Secretary to the

Chief of Fleet Support The Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Supplies originally known as the Fourth Naval Lord was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty which controlled the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom the post is currently known ...

in 1986 and Deputy Command Secretary to the

Commander-in-Chief Fleet The Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) was the admiral responsible for the operations of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the British Royal Navy from 1971 until April 2012. The post was subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the professional ...

in 1988. After that he became Secretary to the

First Sea Lord The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed F ...

in 1990, Director of Defence Personnel in 1992 and Chief of Staff to the

Second Sea Lord The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (formerly Second Sea Lord) is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer to currently serve in the Royal Navy and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establish ...

in 1995. He served as

and

Assistant Chief of Defence Staff The Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (ACDS) is a senior British military officer. There are a number of ACDS appointments and they are held by officers of two-star rank (rear admiral, air vice-marshal, or major general). They work in the Ministr ...

(Personnel and Reserves) from 1998 to 2001.

Family

In 1969 he married Rosemary Elizabeth Blake; they had two sons. Following the dissolution of his first marriage, he married Molly McEwen in 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lees, Rodney Royal Navy rear admirals Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Living people People educated at Charterhouse School 1944 births