Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

Sir Mark Stanhope, (born 26 March 1952) is a retired

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

officer. After serving as a submarine commander, he commanded a

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

and then commanded an

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

on operational patrol off

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

. He went on to be Deputy Supreme Allied Command Transformation, Allied Commander Transformation and then

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 he ...

. 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 The London Nautical School (LNS) is an 11–18 foundation secondary school for boys and mixed sixth form in Blackfriars, Greater London, England. It was established in 1915. History The London Nautical School was established in 1915 in res ...

, Worthing High School for Boys (since 1974 first Worthing Sixth-Form College and more recently

Worthing College Worthing College is a sixth form college. The College is situated in Broadwater, in the town of Worthing on the south coast of England. History Grammar school The school directly descends from the former Worthing High School for Boys on ''Bols ...

), and then St Peter's College, Oxford, where he gained a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in physics.

Naval career

Stanhope joined the Royal Navy in 1970, was confirmed in the rank of

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second hig ...

on 1 September 1972, and was promoted to full lieutenant on 1 May 1977. Promoted to

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

on 16 October 1982, he commanded the submarine from 1982 to 1984. After receiving promotion to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on 30 June 1986, he commanded the submarine from 1987 to 1988. He became a teaching officer on the

Submarine Command Course The Submarine Command Course (SMCC), previously known as the Commanding Officers Qualifying Course (COQC), and informally known as The Perisher is a training course for naval officers preparing to take command of a submarine. Created by the Royal ...

in 1989. Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 30 June 1991, Stanhope then went on to command the frigate from 1991 to 1992 before becoming Captain, Submarine Sea Training in 1993. He was appointed Deputy Principal staff Officer to the Chief of the Defence staff 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 1994 and then attended the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

in 1997. He commanded the aircraft carrier from 1998 to 2000 during which time that ship was deployed on operational patrol off

. Promoted to

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 ...

, he became Director of Operational Management at

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

Regional Command North In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and ...

in 2000 and was seconded to the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government object ...

in 2002 before being promoted to vice admiral and becoming Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet in July 2002. Promoted to full

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

on 10 July 2004, Stanhope became Deputy Supreme Allied Command Transformation, Allied Commander Transformation at NATO that year. In November 2007 he became

and took the honorary position of Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom. Stanhope succeeded Admiral Sir Jonathon Band as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval staff in July 2009. 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." 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. On 24 June 2011 ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' 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. He was succeeded as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval staff by Admiral Sir George Zambellas in April 2013.

Family

In 1975 Stanhope married Janet Anne Flynn; they have one daughter. Lady Stanhope was the Director of Resources at

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. Based in the city of Exeter, the council covers the non-metropolitan county area of Devon. Members of the council (councillors) are elected every four years to ...

for four years.

Awards and decorations

Stanhope was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the 1989 New Year Honours list. He was appointed be a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) a ...

in the 2004 New Year Honours. He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of that order in the 2010 Birthday Honours. Stanhope is an Honorary Fellow of

St. Peter's College, Oxford St Peter's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom. It occupies the site of two of the university's medieval halls, dating back to at least the 14th c ...

, a Deputy Lieutenant of Devon, a Freeman of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, The President of the Marine Society & Sea Cadets and a Liveryman of the Upholders' Company as well as a Younger Brother of Trinity House. He reports his interests in ''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a group of not ...

'' as family life, reading and sailing. Stanhope was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from

Plymouth University The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is th ...

in 2012.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanhope, Mark 1952 births Alumni of St Peter's College, Oxford Deputy Lieutenants of Devon First Sea Lords and Chiefs of the Naval Staff Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at the London Nautical School People educated at Worthing High School People from Hammersmith People from Worthing Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy submarine commanders Military personnel from London Members of Trinity House