Owen Paterson

The Right Honourable Owen Paterson
Official portrait, 2020
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In office 4 September 2012 – 14 July 2014
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Caroline Spelman
Succeeded by	Liz Truss
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office 12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Shaun Woodward
Succeeded by	Theresa Villiers
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office 2 July 2007 – 11 May 2010
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	David Lidington
Succeeded by	Shaun Woodward
Member of Parliament for North Shropshire
In office 1 May 1997 – 5 November 2021
Preceded by	John Biffen
Succeeded by	Helen Morgan
Personal details
Born	Owen William Paterson (1956-06-24) 24 June 1956 (age 67) Whitchurch, Shropshire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Rose Ridley ​ ​ (m. 1980; died 2020)​
Children	3
Education	Radley College
Alma mater	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Website	owenpaterson.org

Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012 and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2014 under Prime Minister David Cameron. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Shropshire from 1997 until his resignation in 2021. Paterson was also the President of the Northern Ireland Conservatives.

Paterson was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet of David Cameron in 2007 as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. During the formation of the Coalition Government in 2010, he was appointed to the Cabinet as Northern Ireland Secretary, where he remained until being moved to Environment Secretary in 2012. He was dismissed as Environment Secretary by Prime Minister David Cameron as part of the 2014 Cabinet reshuffle, and was replaced by Liz Truss. After returning to the backbenches, Paterson became a leading supporter of Brexit as a member of the European Research Group (ERG).

Paterson resigned from the House of Commons on 5 November 2021 amid controversy surrounding a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards that found that he had broken paid advocacy rules.