Nick Houghton

Sir Nick Houghton
General Sir Nicholas Houghton in 2013
Born	18 October 1954 Otley, West Yorkshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1974–
Rank	General
Service number	497441
Commands held	Chief of the Defence Staff Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff Chief of Joint Operations 39th Infantry Brigade 1st Battalion, the Green Howards
Battles/wars	The Troubles Iraq War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States) Knight Grand Commander of the Order of Military Service (Malaysia)

General Sir John Nicholas Reynolds "Nick" Houghton GCB, CBE, ADC Gen (born 18 October 1954) is the Chief of the Defence Staff of the British Armed Forces.^[1] He was appointed in 2013, following the retirement of former Chief of Defence Staff Sir David Richards. He served as Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion, the Green Howards in Northern Ireland during The Troubles and later became Commander of 39 Infantry Brigade in Northern Ireland. He was deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq during the Iraq War. Later, he became Chief of Joint Operations at Permanent Joint Headquarters and served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff until assuming his current position. In January 2016, the government announced that Houghton would be replaced by Sir Stuart Peach as Chief of the Defence Staff in the Summer of 2016.^[2]

Early life

Houghton was born on 18 October 1954 in Otley near Leeds and is the son of Frank and Margaret Houghton.^[3] He was educated at Woodhouse Grove School, an independent school near Bradford.^[4] In 1977, he graduated from St Peter's College, Oxford, having taken an in-Service Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern History.^[5][6]

Military career

After attending Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Houghton was commissioned into the Green Howards as a second lieutenant on 9 March 1974.^[7] He was promoted to lieutenant on 9 March 1976,^[8] to captain on 9 September 1980^[9] and to major on 30 September 1986.^[10] He was appointed Military Assistant to the Chief of Staff British Army of the Rhine and subsequently became a member of the Directing Staff at the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham.^[11] Promoted to lieutenant colonel on 30 June 1991,^[12] he became Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion The Green Howards in 1991^[6] and was deployed to Northern Ireland in 1993.^[13]

Houghton was made Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff at HQ Land Command in 1994 and he attended the Higher Command and Staff Course in 1997.^[6] Promoted to brigadier on 31 December 1997 with seniority from 30 June 1997,^[14] he became Commander of 39 Infantry Brigade in Northern Ireland in 1997 and was Director of Military Operations at the Ministry of Defence from December 1999 to July 2002.^[6] He was promoted to major general on 26 July 2002^[15] and was made Chief of Staff of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps that year^[3] before becoming Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations) in 2004.^[6]

Promoted to lieutenant general on 14 October 2005,^[16] Houghton was deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq in October 2005.^[6] He became Chief of Joint Operations at Permanent Joint Headquarters (UK) in 2006^[6] and, after being relieved of that post on 13 March 2009,^[6] he was promoted to general and appointed Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff on 5 May 2009.^[17]

Houghton took over as Chief of the Defence Staff on 18 July 2013.^[18] He has stated that one of his key objectives is to re-shape the Armed forces in the post-Afghanistan era.^[19] Houghton has also raised concerns about the Armed Forces' abilities with the personnel and budget cuts.^[20] As of 2015, Houghton was paid a salary of between £255,000 and £259,999 by the department, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.^[21]

Retirement

In March 2016, it was announced that Houghton would be the next Constable of the Tower of London in succession to Lord Dannatt. Houghton will take up the appointment on 31 July 2016 following his retirement from the British Army.^[22]

Honours and decorations

On 12 October 1993, Houghton was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "in recognition of distinguished service in Northern Ireland".^[13] He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 14 April 2000 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Northern Ireland during the period 1 April 1999 to 30 September 1999".^[23] In 2006, he was made an Officer of the Legion of Merit "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services during coalition operations in Iraq.^[24] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2008 Birthday Honours^[25] and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the 2011 Birthday Honours.^[26][27]

Houghton was Colonel of the Regiment of 158 (Royal Anglian) Transport Regiment (Volunteers) from 1 November 2003^[28] to 1 September 2008^[29] and honorary Colonel Commandant of the King's Division from 10 December 2005^[30] to 10 December 2008^[31] as well as Colonel of the Regiment of The Yorkshire Regiment from 6 June 2006^[32] to 6 June 2011.^[33] He was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps on 19 July 2008^[34] and Aide-de-Camp General (ADC Gen) to The Queen on 1 October 2009.^[35]

In June 2015, Hougton also received an honorary Panglima Gagah Angkatan Tentera (PGAT) award from the Deputy Minister for Defence of Malaysia.^[36]

	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB)	2011[26]
	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB)	2008[25]
	Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)	2000[23]
	Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)	1993[13]
	General Service Medal (1962)
	UNFICYP medal
	Iraq Medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal	2002
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	2012
	Accumulated Campaign Service Medal
	Officer of the Legion of Merit	2006 (United States)[24]
	Knight Grand Commander of the Order of Military Service	2015 (Malaysia)[36]

Personal life

In 1982 Houghton married Margaret Glover: they have one son and one daughter.^[3] His interests include golf, sailing, shooting, cooking and history.^[6]

References

1. "Outgoing Chief of the Defence Staff honoured at farewell ceremony". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
2. BBC News (22 January 2016). "Sir Stuart Peach named as new head of UK armed forces". BBC News. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
3. 'Houghton, General Sir Nicholas' in Who's Who 2010, A & C Black, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-1414-8
4. "John Nicholas Reynolds Houghton". Burke's Peerage. Burke's Peerage (UK) Limited. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
5. "Notable Alumni". St Peter's College, Oxford. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
6. "Biography at mod.com as Vice Chief of the Defence Staff". Retrieved 2013-03-16.
7. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46270. p. 5057. 22 April 1974. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
8. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46845. p. 3579. 8 March 1976. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
9. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48331. p. 13956. 6 October 1980. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
10. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 50677. p. 12945. 6 October 1986. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
11. "General Sir Nicholas Houghton GCB CBE ADC Gen, Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (VCDS)". Newcastle University. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
12. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 52615. p. 11597. 29 July 1991. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
13. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 53453. p. 16387. 11 October 1993. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
14. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 55006. p. 101. 5 January 1998. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
15. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 56646. p. 9095. 30 July 2002. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
16. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57789. p. 13419. 18 October 2005. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
17. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59052. p. 7596. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
18. "Sir David Richards to become a lord – after overseeing the sacking of 20,000 troops". 13 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
19. "Exclusive interview with the new Chief of the Defence Staff" (PDF). Defence Focus. August 2013. p. 8. Retrieved 2013-08-22.
20. "BBC News – Chief of defence staff warns of military expectations". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-08-22.
21. "Senior officials 'high earners' salaries as at 30 September 2015 - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. 2015-12-17. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
22. "Constable of the Tower of London: General Sir Nicholas Houghton". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
23. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 55819. p. 4251. 14 April 2000. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
24. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58183. p. 17361. 15 December 2006. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
25. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58729. p. 2. 14 June 2008. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
26. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59808. p. 2. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
27. "Queen's Birthday Honours List 2011" (PDF). Direct Gov.UK. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
28. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57122. p. 14549. 25 November 2003. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
29. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58844. p. 15296. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
30. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57887. p. 1364. 31 January 2006. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
31. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58912. p. 19637. 16 December 2008. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
32. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58191. p. 17824. 27 December 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
33. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59803. p. 10703. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
34. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58771. p. 11005. 22 July 2008. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
35. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59216. p. 17989. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
36. UKK. "Majlis Pemakaian Pingat Oleh Timbalan Menteri Pertahanan". mod.gov.my. Retrieved 3 June 2015.

External links