Alan West, Baron West of Spithead

Alan West, Baron West of Spithead

Alan William John West, Baron West of Spithead GCB DSC PC (* 21st April 1948 in Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth , London ) is a former British Admiral of the Royal Navy and politician of the Labor Party , the 2002-2006 last First Sea Lord was and Member of the House of Lords since 2007 .

Life

Military career

Ascent to the sea captain

After visiting the Windsor Grammar School and the Clydebank High School , he entered in 1965 into the Royal Navy and found after the end of training as an officer at the Royal Naval College (BRNC) in Dartmouth use as a naval officer on numerous naval vessels such as aircraft carriers HMS Albion during the Biafran war and the anti-submarine - frigate HMS Whitby . After he was in command of the HMS Yarnton in Hong Kong , he worked as an operations officer on two frigates and one destroyer and completed numerous courses as part of further officer training.

In 1980 he was promoted to frigate captain and appointed commander of the frigate HMS Ardent . He also commanded this during the Falklands War , before the frigate was attacked and sunk by Argentine armed forces on May 22, 1982 . As the commander, he was the last to disembark and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for this.

After he was promoted to sea captain in 1986 , he took over command of the destroyer HMS Bristol , which has been used since 1987 for the training of midshipmen of the Britannia Royal Naval College and replaced the previous training ship HMS Kent . Later he was head of Naval Intelligence for three years and also completed a course at the Royal College of Defense Studies (RCDS).

Promotion to Admiral and First Sea Lord

1994 Alan West was appointed Rear Admiral promoted and took over as such, succeeding Rear Admiral Malcolm Rutherford the office of Navy Secretary ( Naval Secretary ). In this role he was responsible for the appointment of naval officers and the recruitment of naval personnel until his replacement by Rear Admiral Fabian Malbon . During his tenure, the Naval Secretary's Office was relocated from London to Portsmouth . In February 1996 he was instead Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces .

After his promotion to Vice Admiral in October 1997 West successor was John Foley as chief of military intelligence ( Defense Intelligence ). He held this position until he was replaced by Air Marshal Joe French in 2000. During this time, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 2000 and has since had the suffix "Sir".

Shortly thereafter, in 2000, he was promoted to admiral. As such, he succeeded Admiral Nigel Essenhigh as Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) and thus responsible for operations, procurement and training of ships, submarines and aircraft as well as the naval personnel.

In this position he was replaced by Admiral Jonathon Band in 2002 , while he himself was once again the successor to Admiral Nigel Essenhigh First Sea Lord and thus held the highest position in the Royal Navy. In 2004 he was raised to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. On February 6, 2006, he retired from the military and handed the post of First Sea Lord back to Admiral Jonathon Band.

Member of the House of Lords and "Junior Minister"

After his retirement, Sir Alan West became Chancellor of Southampton Solent University on June 28, 2006 . He still holds this office.

On July 9, 2007, he was raised to the nobility as a life peer with the title Baron West of Spithead , of Seaview in the County of Isle of Wight . Shortly after its introduction was carried out ( Introduction ) as a member of the House of Lords ; He belongs there, the faction of the Labor Party.

On August 1, 2007, Lord West was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Home Office by Prime Minister Gordon Brown . As such, he was "junior minister" for security and counter-terrorism until the Labor Party was defeated in the general election on May 6, 2010 .

In addition, he is involved in several companies of the private sector and institutions such as CEO of the restoration company Magic Industries Limited and strategic adviser to the security firm plc Prime rigging . Lord West, trustee of the Imperial War Museum , also serves as Chairman of the Cadet Vocational Qualification Organization and President of the Merchant Navy Medal Fund .

Web links

• Entry on Parliament's homepage
• Entry in They Work For You (accessed July 10, 2012)
• w.htm Cracroft's Peerage