Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

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

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. 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. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

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 hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

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 to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. He went on to be Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and then Commander-in-Chief Fleet. He served as

First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...

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, Worthing High School for Boys (since 1974 first Worthing Sixth-Form College and more recently Worthing College), and then St Peter's College, Oxford, where he gained a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in physics.

Naval career

Stanhope joined the Royal Navy in 1970, was confirmed in the rank of sub-lieutenant on 1 September 1972, and was promoted to full lieutenant on 1 May 1977. Promoted to lieutenant commander 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 as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

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), is a training course for naval officers preparing to take command of a submarine. It is informally known as The Perisher. Created by the ...

in 1989. Promoted to

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

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 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 ...

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 flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

, he became Director of Operational Management at

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Regional Command North in 2000 and was seconded to the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

in 2002 before being promoted to

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 ...

and becoming Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet in July 2002. Promoted to full

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

on 10 July 2004, Stanhope became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation at NATO that year. In November 2007 he became Commander-in-Chief Fleet and took the honorary position of

Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom is an honorary office generally held by a senior Royal Navy admiral. The title holder is the official deputy to the Lord High Admiral, an honorary (although once operational) office which was vested in the S ...

. Stanhope succeeded Admiral Sir Jonathon Band as

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 British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' 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

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. The council is based at Devon County Hall in the city of Exeter. The area administered by the county council is termed the non-metropolitan county, which is ...

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 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 ...

in the

1989 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1989 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

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 King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in the 2004 New Year Honours. He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of that order in the

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, The Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

. Stanhope is an Honorary Fellow of St. Peter's College, Oxford, a Deputy Lieutenant of Devon, a Freeman 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 ...

, The President of the Marine Society & Sea Cadets and a Liveryman of the Upholders' Company as well as a Younger Brother of

Trinity House The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond, also known as Trinity House (and formally as The Master, Wardens and Assistants of the Guild Fraternity or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity and of St Clement in the ...

. He reports his interests in ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'' 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 the ...

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 Military personnel from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham People from Hammersmith People from Worthing Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy submarine commanders Members of Trinity House Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies