Theresa May's first cabinet: Who's who

Theresa May's first cabinet: Who's who
Published: 14 July 2016
Theresa May took over as prime minister on Wednesday and has set about appointing her first cabinet.

The key questions are how far she will go to stamp her own mark on the top team by bringing in fresh faces and what balance she chooses to strike between ministers who supported the Remain camp and those that backed the successful Leave campaign in the EU referendum.

The UK's second female prime minister is expected to give more senior jobs to women. In contrast, Margaret Thatcher had no women in her first cabinet and only one - Baroness Young - during the 11-year term of the country's first female prime minister.
Chancellor of the exchequer

Philip Hammond
Previous position: Foreign secretary
Mr Hammond, 60, is seen as a low-key fiscal hawk and a safe pair of hands to help guide the economy through uncertain times. His job will also be to manage Mrs May's plans to relax austerity and boost social mobility. An MP since 1997, he joined the cabinet in 2010 as transport secretary before taking over the defence brief and then serving as foreign secretary.
Foreign secretary

Boris Johnson
Previous positions: Backbench MP and Mayor of London
The surprise appointment of the former London mayor to the Foreign Office will give the Leave campaign leader the job of building economic ties beyond Europe. The 52-year-old newspaper columnist has a history of diplomatic gaffes, and recently won a competition by writing a rude poem about the president of Turkey. But with new cabinet jobs for other Brexiters covering trade and relations with the EU, the role may prove less significant than in previous governments.
Home secretary

Amber Rudd
Previous position: Energy secretary
Mrs May has picked the prominent Remain campaigner and rising star of the Tory party to replace her at the Home Office. Seen as relatively liberal, Ms Rudd will be charged with overseeing Mrs May's plans for reducing immigration and pressing ahead with reforms of the police. Ms Rudd, 52, also becomes the most senior woman in government after the prime minister.
‘Brexit' secretary

David Davis
Previous position: Backbench MP
The task of managing the UK's exit from the EU — via a newly formed cabinet post — will fall to one of parliament's longstanding Eurosceptics. His recent noises on negotiations suggest he will prioritise relations with Berlin rather than Brussels, and seek to keep British access to the single market. Mr Davis, 67, was a frontrunner to lead the party in 2005, but was ultimately defeated by David Cameron. He has repeatedly clashed in the past with Mrs May over what he saw as an aggressive approach to civil liberties.
International trade

Liam Fox
Previous position: Backbench MP
Another prominent Brexiter, Mr Fox, 54, will be responsible for securing trade deals beyond Europe — something touted by the Leave campaign as a key benefit of quitting the EU. He resigned his previous cabinet post as defence secretary in disgrace in 2011 following a scandal, and has twice run for leadership of the Tory party, including in the most recent contest won by Mrs May.
Defence

Michael Fallon
Previous position: Defence secretary
A Remainer, who argued that although Nato is "the cornerstone" of UK security "the EU adds to that". Mr Fallon, 64, is one of the few in the cabinet to retain his job. A backer of Mrs May's leadership bid, he is well-respected by the military top brass, who see him as a strong representative of their views in cabinet. His early confirmation on Tuesday night was also seen as sending a signal to allies that the UK was keeping one of its Russia hawks in place, following the promotion of Philip Hammond from the Foreign Office to the Treasury.
Education

Justine Greening
Previous position: International development secretary
A leading backer of Mrs May, who was by her side during her acceptance speech on Monday, she replaces Nicky Morgan, who was a protégée of former chancellor George Osborne. Ms Greening, 47, arrived in Westminster in 2005 after a career in accountancy, working for PwC and GlaxoSmithKline. She was removed from her first cabinet post as transport secretary in 2012 over opposition to the expansion of Heathrow. Ms Greening made history last month as the first female cabinet minister to say she is in a same-sex relationship.
Health

Jeremy Hunt
Previous position: Health secretary
Another one of the few to survive the transition from Mr Cameron to Mrs May, Mr Hunt, 49, will continue his controversial reforms of the NHS. Another backer of Mrs May's leadership bid, he announced last week that he would impose a new contract on England's 50,000 junior doctors from October. This could lead to more industrial action as the doctors rejected the contract in an earlier ballot. Should he succeed, his next big job is taking on the powerful consultants.
Justice

Liz Truss
Previous position: Environment secretary
Liz Truss, 40, is the first woman to take the role of justice secretary and lord chancellor, replacing Michael Gove who was sacked. A Remainer, she came into government in 2012 as a junior education minister before taking over as environment secretary in 2014. She originally backed Boris Johnson in the leadership race.
Work and pensions

Damian Green
Previous position: Backbench MP
A key figure in Mrs May's campaign to become prime minister, Mr Green, 60, was tipped for promotion. This is his first cabinet post having previously served as minister of state in the Home Office until he was moved to the backbenches in 2014. A Remain supporter, he was a board member of the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign.
Transport

Chris Grayling
Previous position: Leader of the House of Commons
One of the prominent Brexiters, Mr Grayling was widely tipped for one of the bigger cabinet posts after helping to lead Mrs May's leadership campaign but he has ultimately ended up with a sideways move into transport. His less than successful spell as justice secretary, which saw him demoted in a reshuffle last year, may have weighed on the new PM's thinking.
Business, energy and industrial strategy

Greg Clark
Previous position: Communities secretary
Another cabinet survivor, Mr Clark, 48, has been promoted to run a new department that combines the now-defunct department for business, industry & skills with energy. It remains unclear how far the new brief will extend in term of oversight of infrastructure, which currently resides within the Treasury.
Northern Ireland

James Brokenshire
Previous position: Home Office minister
Mr Brokenshire, 48, worked closely with Mrs May in the Home Office, where his last job was immigration minister. He caused a a storm with his first speech in that role by criticising the "wealthy metropolitan elite" for relying on cheap overseas labour. His comments came after it emerged that Mr Cameron had hired two nannies from outside the EU.

Prior to that he served as minister for security, where his responsibilities included Northern Ireland and national and international counter-terrorism. A trained lawyer, he was was a supporter of the Remain campaign.
- FT

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