Sir Michael Edward Quinlan, GCB (11 August 1930 – 26 February 2009) was a former British defence strategist and former Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence, who wrote and lectured on defence and matters of international security, especially nuclear weapon policies and doctrine, and also on concepts of 'Just War' and related ethical issues.
He was one of the world's foremost experts in deterrence theory, contributing to debate and books in this field.
His contributions were recognised by Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in a speech given on 17 March 2009.
[6] Historian of government Peter Hennessy called him the leading in-house defence intellectual MOD has possessed since World War II.
[1] As part of the 1991 New Year Honours, Quinlan was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB).