James Cleverly

Lieutenant Colonel The Right Honourable James Cleverly TD VR MP
Official portrait, 2023
Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 July 2024
Leader	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Yvette Cooper
Home Secretary
In office 13 November 2023 – 5 July 2024
Prime Minister	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Suella Braverman
Succeeded by	Yvette Cooper
Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
In office 6 September 2022 – 13 November 2023
Prime Minister	Liz Truss Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Liz Truss
Succeeded by	David Cameron
Secretary of State for Education
In office 7 July 2022 – 6 September 2022
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Michelle Donelan
Succeeded by	Kit Malthouse
Minister without Portfolio
In office 24 July 2019 – 13 February 2020
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Brandon Lewis
Succeeded by	Amanda Milling
Junior ministerial offices Minister of State for Europe and North America In office 8 February 2022 – 7 July 2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson Preceded by Chris Heaton-Harris[a] Succeeded by Graham Stuart[b] Minister of State for Middle East, North Africa and North America[c] In office 13 February 2020 – 8 February 2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson Preceded by Andrew Murrison Succeeded by Amanda Milling[d] Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union In office 4 April 2019 – 24 July 2019 Prime Minister Theresa May Preceded by Chris Heaton-Harris Succeeded by Office abolished
Party political offices Chairman of the Conservative Party In office 24 July 2019 – 13 February 2020 Serving with Ben Elliot Leader Boris Johnson Preceded by Brandon Lewis Succeeded by Amanda Milling Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party In office 8 January 2018 – 4 April 2019 Leader Theresa May Preceded by Amanda Sater Succeeded by Helen Whately
Member of Parliament for Braintree
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2015
Preceded by	Brooks Newmark
Majority	3,670 (7.5%)
London Assembly offices Leader of the Conservative Party in the London Assembly In office 2011–2012 Preceded by Roger Evans Succeeded by Andrew Boff Member of the London Assembly for Bexley and Bromley In office 4 May 2008 – 5 May 2016 Preceded by Bob Neill Succeeded by Gareth Bacon
Personal details
Born	James Spencer Cleverly (1969-09-04) 4 September 1969 (age 54) Lewisham, London, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Susannah Sparks ​ (m. 2000)​
Children	2
Residence	Blackheath, London
Alma mater	Ealing College of Higher Education
Occupation	Politician Army Reserve officer
Signature
Website	cleverly4braintree.com
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army (Reserve)
Years of service	1989–present
Rank	Lieutenant colonel
Unit	Royal Artillery
James Cleverly's voice Cleverly outlines his foreign policy priorities as Foreign Secretary Recorded 15 December 2022

James Spencer Cleverly TD VR (born 4 September 1969) is a British politician and Army Reserve officer who has been Shadow Home Secretary since July 2024. He previously served as Home Secretary from November 2023 to July 2024 and as Foreign Secretary from 2022 to 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Braintree in Essex since 2015. He previously served as Education Secretary from July to September 2022, Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party alongside Ben Elliot from 2019 to 2020, and in other junior ministerial positions.

Born in Lewisham, Cleverly attended Riverston School and Colfe's School. He went on to study hospitality management studies at the Ealing College of Higher Education, before he pursued a military career after he was commissioned into the Army Reserve in 1991. Cleverly was elected to the London Assembly for Bexley and Bromley in the 2008 election for the Conservative party, and served as the party's leader in the assembly from 2011 to 2012. He was elected to the House of Commons for Braintree in 2015 general election, and later stood down from the London Assembly in the 2016 election. He advocated a vote for Brexit in the 2016 EU membership referendum and was reelected to parliament in the 2017 general election.

In the second May ministry, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2018 to 2019 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union from April to July 2019. Cleverly was promoted to the Cabinet as minister without portfolio in the First Johnson ministry, serving as co-chairman of the Conservative Party alongside Ben Elliot from 2019 to 2020. Cleverly was demoted from the Cabinet in the 2020 cabinet reshuffle; serving as Minister of State for Middle East, North Africa and North America from February 2020 to February 2022 and as Minister of State for Europe and North America from February to July 2022. During the July 2022 government crisis, Cleverly returned to Cabinet; succeeding Michelle Donelan as Secretary of State for Education.

In September 2022, he was appointed foreign secretary by then–Prime Minister Liz Truss, making him the first British foreign secretary of African heritage. Retained as foreign secretary when Rishi Sunak became prime minister in October 2022, Cleverly was then appointed home secretary in the November 2023 cabinet reshuffle, being succeeded by former prime minister David Cameron. As Home Secretary, Cleverly committed to maintaining the Rwanda asylum plan and introduced a plan to substantially reduce legal migration to the UK by raising the threshold for family visas. After Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, Cleverly was appointed Shadow Home Secretary in Sunak's shadow cabinet, and later launched his bid to become Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election.

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