Dan Jarvis

Daniel Owen Woolgar Jarvis (born 30 November 1972) is a British politician and former Army officer who has served as Minister of State for Security since July 2026, having previously held the role from 2024 to June 2026. He previously served as Secretary of State for Defence from June to July 2026. A member of the Labour and Co-operative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Barnsley North, formerly Barnsley Central, since 2011. Born in Nottingham, Jarvis attended Rushcliffe School in West Bridgford. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in international politics and strategic studies at University of Wales, Aberystwyth, before earning a Master of Arts (MA) from King's College, London. Jarvis was commissioned from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1997 into the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment. He was promoted to Captain in 2001 and Major in 2003. Jarvis was platoon commander with the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment during the Kosovo War, and in 2000 was deployed to Sierra Leone after Operation Barras. He served in the Iraq War during Operation Telic and in the War in Afghanistan during Operation Herrick. Jarvis was also deployed to Northern Ireland, before he resigned his commission in March 2011. In the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the military division. Jarvis joined the Labour Party while at university, and was his party's candidate for Barnsley Central during the 2011 by-election. He was elected for the constituency, succeeding Eric Illsley. In October of the same year, Jarvis joined the opposition frontbench under Ed Miliband as shadow minister for culture. In the 2013 shadow cabinet reshuffle, he was moved to become shadow youth justice and victims minister. Following Labour's defeat in the 2015 general election, Jarvis became shadow minister for foreign...