Grant Shapps has been appointed UK defence secretary on Thursday.
Gatekeepers News reports that Shapps will be succeeding Ben Wallace, who formally stood down after playing a significant role in defining the country’s military support for Ukraine against Russia.
Wallace was the longest-serving Conservative defence secretary since Winston Churchill.
In July, he declared in a newspaper interview that he would stand down before the next cabinet reshuffle and would not run in the 2024 general election.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office confirmed Shapps’ appointment about an hour after he was photographed entering 10 Downing Street.
On his part, Shapps expressed his “honour” on social media, adding Wallace had made an “enormous contribution” to UK defence and world security.
He wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “I am looking forward to working with the brave men and women of our armed forces who defend our nation’s security.
“And continuing the UK’s support for Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s barbaric invasion.”
The 54-year-old briefly served as Home Secretary last October in Liz Truss’s short-lived government and was the Transport Secretary under Boris Johnson.
Shapps was also Business Secretary under Sunak before taking over as minister responsible for energy security and net zero.
