James Cleverly

Lieutenant Colonel The Right Honourable James Cleverly TD VR MP
Official portrait, 2023
Home Secretary
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 November 2023
Prime Minister	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Suella Braverman
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	24,673 (48.9%)
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

Lieutenant Colonel James Spencer Cleverly TD VR (born 4 September 1969) is a British politician and Army Reserve officer who has served as Home Secretary since November 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Braintree in Essex since 2015. He previously served as Foreign Secretary from 2022 to 2023, 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.

Cleverly advocated a vote for Brexit in the 2016 EU membership referendum. 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. When Boris Johnson was appointed prime minister in July 2019, Cleverly was promoted to the Cabinet as minister without portfolio, serving as Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party alongside Ben Elliot from 2019 to 2020. Cleverly was demoted from the Cabinet in the 2020 ministerial reshuffle and served as a junior Foreign Office minister from February 2020 until the July 2022 government crisis, when he was appointed to succeed 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.

As Home Secretary, Cleverly has committed to maintaining the Rwanda asylum plan and has introduced a plan to substantially reduce legal migration to the UK by raising the threshold for family visas.

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