Tony Radakin

Radakin was born on 10 November 1965 in Oldham, Lancashire, England.[2][3] He was educated at St. Brendan's College.[2] He studied law at the University of Southampton, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 1989.[2] He qualified as a barrister,[4] and was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1996.[2] He later studied international relations and defence studies at King's College London, completing a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 2000.[4][5]

Vice Admiral Radakin as Second Sea Lord

Radakin gained his commission in the Royal Navy on 20 October 1990.[6][7] He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1 November 1996,[8] and went on to become commanding officer of the frigate HMS Norfolk in 2003, commanding officer of the US/UK Iraqi Naval Transition Team in 2006, and commanding officer of the US/UK Combined Task Force Iraqi Maritime in 2010.[6] For this tour he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal by the President of the United States.[9]

Promoted to commodore on 30 August 2011,[10] Radakin became commander of HMNB Portsmouth in October 2011.[11] He was appointed Director of Force Development at the Ministry of Defence in November 2012.[12] Promoted to rear admiral on 3 December 2014,[13] he became Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces and Rear Admiral Surface Ships in December 2014,[6][14] and Chief of Staff, Joint Forces Command, in March 2016.[12][15]

Promoted to the rank of vice admiral on 27 March 2018 on appointment as Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff,[16][17] Radakin was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2018 Birthday Honours three months later.[18] He was promoted to admiral and succeeded Admiral Sir Philip Jones as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in June 2019.[3][19][20]

In 2019, Radakin initiated a programme of reform across the Royal Navy under the banner of Royal Navy Transformation. The initiative encompassed increasing the UK's operational advantage in the North Atlantic, developing carrier strike operations using the newly constructed aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, increasing the Royal Navy's forward presence around the world, reforming the Royal Marines into the Future Commando Force and improving the Navy's use of technology and innovation.[21] Controversially, this also included a 40% reduction in Admirals across the Royal Navy and a 40% cut in headquarters staff.[22]

In 1995, Radakin married Louise. Together they have four sons.[2] Radakin is also President of the Royal Navy Squash Association and the Armed Forces Tennis Association.[23]