Matt Hancock

The Right Honourable Matt Hancock MP
Official portrait, 2020
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
In office 9 July 2018 – 26 June 2021
Prime Minister	Theresa May Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Jeremy Hunt
Succeeded by	Sajid Javid
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
In office 8 January 2018 – 9 July 2018
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Karen Bradley
Succeeded by	Jeremy Wright
Minister for the Cabinet Office Paymaster General
In office 11 May 2015 – 14 July 2016
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Francis Maude
Succeeded by	Ben Gummer
Junior ministerial offices Minister of State for Digital and Culture In office 15 July 2016 – 8 January 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May Preceded by Ed Vaizey Succeeded by Margot James Minister of State for Business and Enterprise In office 15 July 2014 – 11 May 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron Preceded by Michael Fallon Succeeded by Anna Soubry Minister of State for Energy In office 15 July 2014 – 11 May 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron Preceded by Michael Fallon Succeeded by Andrea Leadsom Minister of State for Portsmouth In office 15 July 2014 – 11 May 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron Preceded by Michael Fallon Succeeded by Mark Francois Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise[a] In office 6 September 2012 – 15 July 2014 Prime Minister David Cameron Preceded by John Hayes Succeeded by Nick Boles
Member of Parliament for West Suffolk
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	Richard Spring
Majority	23,194 (45.1%)
Personal details
Born	Matthew John David Hancock (1978-10-02) 2 October 1978 (age 45) Chester, Cheshire, England
Political party	Conservativea
Spouse	Martha Hoyer Millar ​ ​ (m. 2006; sep. 2021)​
Domestic partner	Gina Coladangelo (2021–present)
Children	3
Education	The King's School, Chester
Alma mater	Exeter College, Oxford (BA) Christ's College, Cambridge (MPhil)
Signature
Website	matt-hancock.com
Matt Hancock's voice Hancock on the National Health Service (NHS) Recorded 4 October 2020
a.^ Whip suspended since 1 November 2022

Matthew John David Hancock (born 2 October 1978) is a British politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2015 to 2016, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from January to July 2018, and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from 2018 to 2021. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for West Suffolk since 2010. He is a member of the Conservative Party, but now sits in the House of Commons as an independent, having had the whip suspended since November 2022.

Hancock was born in Cheshire, with his family running a software business. He studied a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Exeter College, Oxford, and an MPhil in Economics at Christ's College, Cambridge. He was an economist at the Bank of England before serving as a senior economic adviser and later chief of staff to MP, George Osborne. Hancock was first elected as MP for West Suffolk at the 2010 general election.

Once in Parliament, Hancock served as a junior minister at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills from 2012 to 2015, and was the United Kingdom Anti-Corruption Champion from 2014 to 2015. He attended David Cameron's cabinet as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2015 to 2016. After Theresa May became prime minister following Cameron's resignation, Hancock was moved to the post of Minister of State for Digital and Culture. He was promoted to May's cabinet as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. In July 2018, after the promotion of Jeremy Hunt to Foreign Secretary, Hancock replaced him as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. After May's resignation, Hancock stood in the Conservative Party leadership election to replace her, but withdrew shortly after the first ballot and subsequently endorsed Boris Johnson. After Johnson became prime minister, Hancock retained his position as health secretary in his cabinet.

Hancock's tenure as health secretary was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which he played a prominent role in the UK government's response to. Hancock oversaw efforts to procure PPE, but the absence of a competitive tendering process for the award of some contracts proved controversial. He expanded COVID-19 testing and tracing, and also oversaw the early stage of the UK's COVID-19 vaccination programme. In June 2021, it was shown that he had breached COVID-19 social distancing restrictions by kissing and embracing Gina Coladangelo in his office. Coladangelo was at that time a director at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and Hancock was having an extramarital affair with her. Following this controversy, Hancock resigned as health secretary and returned to the backbenches. He was succeeded by Sajid Javid.

In November 2022, Hancock had the whip suspended after announcing he would be appearing as a contestant in the twenty-second series of the survival reality television show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, in which he finished in third place. In December 2022, he announced his intention to stand down at the next UK general election.

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