Mark Harper

Mark Harper
Official portrait, 2020
Secretary of State for Transport
Assumed office
25 October 2022
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byAnne-Marie Trevelyan
Chair of the COVID Recovery Group
In office
10 November 2020 – 25 October 2022
DeputySteve Baker
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Chief Whip of the House of Commons
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office
9 May 2015 – 14 July 2016
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byMichael Gove
Succeeded byGavin Williamson
Minister of State for Disabled People
In office
15 July 2014 – 8 May 2015
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byMike Penning
Succeeded byJustin Tomlinson
Minister of State for Immigration
In office
4 September 2012 – 8 February 2014
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byDamian Green
Succeeded byJames Brokenshire
Parliamentary Secretary for Political and Constitutional Reform
In office
11 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byChloe Smith
Shadow Minister for Disabled People
In office
3 July 2007 – 11 May 2010
LeaderDavid Cameron
Preceded byJeremy Hunt
Succeeded byMargaret Curran
Member of Parliament
for Forest of Dean
Assumed office
5 May 2005
Preceded byDiana Organ
Majority15,869 (30.8%)
Personal details
Born
Mark James Harper

(1970-02-26) 26 February 1970 (age 54)
Swindon, Wiltshire, England
Political partyConservative
SpouseMargaret Harper
Alma materBrasenose College, Oxford

Mark James Harper (born 26 February 1970) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Transport since 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire since 2005.

Harper was born in Swindon and studied philosophy, politics and economics at Brasenose College, Oxford. He was a chartered accountant before his election to Parliament. Under the coalition government of David Cameron he served as Parliamentary Secretary for Political and Constitutional Reform before being promoted to Minister of State for Immigration in the 2012 reshuffle. During his tenure at the Home Office, he devised a controversial campaign in which advertising vans told illegal migrants to "go home".[1] He resigned as Immigration Minister in February 2014, but quickly returned to government as Minister of State for Disabled People in the July 2014 reshuffle.

Harper was promoted to Cameron's cabinet as Chief Whip of the House of Commons following the 2015 general election; he served in the role for a year before being sacked by incoming Prime Minister Theresa May in 2016. Harper was a candidate for leader of the Conservative Party in the 2019 leadership contest, finishing ninth out of 10 candidates with 10 votes.[2] During the Johnson premiership, he was the chair of the COVID Recovery Group of Conservative MPs advocating for looser COVID-19 restrictions. After Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister, Harper was appointed to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Transport.[3]

  1. ^ "Immigration minister Mark Harper resigns over illegal immigrant cleaner". The Guardian. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey out of race to be Tory leader". The Guardian. 13 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Rishi Sunak reshuffle: Braverman named home secretary, Gove returns as levelling up secretary, Mordaunt not promoted – live". The Guardian. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.

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