Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Sir David George Steel, (born 6 April 1961) is a retired senior

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer who served as

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

between 2012 and 2015. He served as

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of ...

from 2020 to 2024.

Early life

Steel was born on 6 April 1961. He was educated at

Rossall School Rossall School is a private Day school, day and boarding school, boarding school in the United Kingdom for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey, St Vincent Beechey as a ...

in Lancashire and attended

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

where he read law, graduating in 1983. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1988.

Military career

Steel joined the

in 1979. His early career was spent in a variety of sea and shore appointments, including as the Fleet Legal Adviser. In December 1999, while serving in the aircraft carrier , he was awarded a Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in support of operations in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

and

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

earlier that year. In November 2005 he assumed command of HM Naval Base Portsmouth and in that capacity was honoured for his "inspirational leadership" during the Government's savings review of Naval Bases in 2007. He was also appointed Chief Naval Logistics Officer and Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty The Queen. In November 2008 Steel was appointed Director of Service Personnel Policy (Pay and Allowances) at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and, in April 2010, he was promoted to rear admiral and appointed Naval Secretary. He was promoted to vice admiral and appointed

in October 2012. Already a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE), Steel was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE) in the

2015 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2015 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

. He was appointed a Knight of the Order of St John (KStJ) on 11 November 2020.

Later professional life

In 2011 Steel was appointed as a Director of Portsmouth Cultural Trust, a role he held until 2016. In 2015 he became Chief Executive of the

Leeds Castle Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England, southeast of Maidstone. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds and is a historic Grade I listed estate. A castle has existed on the site s ...

Foundation and Enterprises Limited. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, a

Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, and a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. Among his other commitments Steel is a trustee of the Nuffield Trust for the Forces of the Crown, and President and Chairman of Trustees of the Union Jack Club. He is President of the Church of England Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Clubs and Housing Association, Patron of the Boleh Sailing Trust, a vice-president of the Marine Society & Sea Cadets, and an ambassador for the Woodland Trust. Steel served as the

from 11 June 2020 to 23 May 2024.

References

External links

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Steel, David 1961 births Living people Governors of Gibraltar Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service Deputy lieutenants of Hampshire People educated at Rossall School Alumni of Grey College, Durham English lawyers Royal Navy logistics officers