LONDON — Rishi Sunak has reappointed James Cleverly as the U.K.’s foreign secretary and will keep Ben Wallace at the Ministry of Defence in a bid for continuity in key global-facing jobs after weeks of domestic political turmoil.
Cleverly, a Brexiteer well-liked by the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative party, had made no secret of his desire to stay in the job, which he took on after several ministerial roles in the Foreign Office under Boris Johnson’s leadership. It means Sunak has kept a key Liz Truss ally in post.
Last week, Cleverly backed Johnson’s return before quickly pivoting to support Sunak after Johnson withdrew from the Tory leadership race. Penny Mordaunt, Sunak’s leadership contender, had been touted for the role of foreign secretary.
Meanwhile Wallace, who has now served as defense secretary under Johnson, Truss and Sunak, has earned plaudits in his party for leading the U.K.’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
He has been a public advocate of the U.K. increasing its defense spending to 3 percent of GDP, but Sunak — whose government comes to office amid an economic crisis — has so far refused to commit to that level.
