British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who is also a Member of Parliament, has announced that he will not stand again in the next parliamentary election and will resign from his government post in the next reshuffle.

Wallace, who has represented the Wyre and Preston North constituency in northwest England since 2005 and served as defense secretary for four years, made the announcement in an interview published in The Times on Saturday, Agerpres reported.

Conservative Party member Ben Wallace played a key role in Britain’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and was a close associate of former prime minister Boris Johnson.

The next parliamentary elections in Great Britain are expected in a year and a half at most. His constituency will disappear after some administrative changes.

According to The Times, personnel changes in the government are expected in September.

“I entered politics in the Scottish Parliament in 1999, 24 years ago. I spent more than seven years with three phones by the bed,” he admitted to the newspaper.

Wallace had previously expressed interest in the post of NATO secretary general before it was announced that current NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg would stay on for another year, until this fall, and later downplayed the prospect. The economist stated that there are “numerous unresolved issues” within the Alliance.

Last week, Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dismissed comments from the defense minister who suggested Ukraine should be “grateful” for the military support it has received.

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