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
Succeeded by	Graham Stuart
Minister of State for Middle East, North Africa and North America
In office 13 February 2020 – 8 February 2022
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Andrew Murrison
Succeeded by	Amanda Milling
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

4 September 1969 (age 54)
Lewisham, London, England

Political party

Conservative

Spouse

Susannah Sparks

(m. 2000)

Children

Residence

Blackheath, London

Alma mater

Ealing College of Higher Education

Occupation

Politician
Army Reserve officer

Signature

Military service

Allegiance

United Kingdom

Branch/service

British Army (Reserve)

Years of service

1989–present

Rank

Lieutenant colonel

Unit

Royal Artillery

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, Secretary of State for Education 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.

Early life and education
Military service
Political career
Personal life
Honours and decorations
See also

Early life and education

Cleverly was born on 4 September 1969 at Lewisham, London, to James Philip and Evelyn Suna Cleverly. His father is British and worked as a surveyor and his mother worked as a midwife and is from Sierra Leone. He was privately educated at Riverston School and Colfe's School, both in Lee, London. Cleverly then trained in the army, but his training was cut short by a leg injury in 1989. He then pursued hospitality management studies at Ealing College of Higher Education (now University of West London) graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1991.

After graduation, he worked for the publishing company Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeverijen; he joined Informa as international sales manager in 2002. Two years later, Cleverly joined Crimson Publishing as an advertising manager. He became online commercial manager for Caspian Publishing in 2006. The following year, he co-founded web publishing company Point and Fire.

Military service

His initial training at Sandhurst was curtailed by injury.

On 6 October 1991, Cleverly was commissioned into the Army Reserve, as a second lieutenant (acting). In January 1993, his commission was confirmed and he was appointed substantive second lieutenant. He was promoted to lieutenant on 6 October 1993, to captain on 26 May 1998, and to major on 1 November 2003. Until 2005, he was Battery Commander of 266 (Para) Battery Royal Artillery (Volunteers).

Cleverly was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 March 2015.

Cleverly currently serves with National Reserve Headquarters, Royal Artillery, working as a Staff Officer in 1st (UK) Armoured Division.

Political career

London Assembly

In March 2007, Cleverly was selected as the candidate for the Bexley and Bromley constituency of the London Assembly in a very tightly fought selection contest. The London Assembly election was held on 1 May with the count and declaration on 2 May, where he received 105,162 votes (52.6% of the vote) and a majority of 75,237.

In January 2009, Cleverly was appointed as the Mayor of London's youth ambassador, a newly created role which was seen as being a replacement post for the deputy mayor for young people, a post left vacant after the resignation of Ray Lewis.

In February 2010, Cleverly was appointed as the chairman of the London Waste and Recycling Board, replacing Boris Johnson who had stood down.

In August 2010, Cleverly posted a tweet saying: "We may be coalition partners but it doesn't stop me thinking Simon Hughes is a dick," in response to a suggestion by Hughes, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader, that backbench MPs should be able to veto Coalition policies. He later apologised.

In November 2010, Cleverly was re-selected to be the Conservative candidate for Bexley and Bromley at the 2012 London Assembly election, going on to win the seat with 88,482 votes (once again 52.6% of the votes) and a majority of 47,768. After the defeat of Brian Coleman at the election, Cleverly was appointed to the chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.

House of Commons

In January 2015, Cleverly was selected to be the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Braintree for the 2015 general election.

Cleverly was re-elected, with an increased majority (62.8% of the votes cast), at the 2017 general election. In January 2018 he was appointed as a deputy chairman of the Conservative Party before becoming a junior minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union in April 2019.

Following the appointment of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, Cleverly was appointed Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, serving alongside Ben Elliot.

In the 2020 cabinet reshuffle, Cleverly was removed from Johnson's cabinet and appointed Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa. He became Minister of State for Middle East, North Africa and North America in December 2021, before being appointed Minister of State for Europe and North America in February 2022.

On 7 July 2022, Cleverly succeeded Michelle Donelan as Secretary of State for Education, a post that he held for almost two months.

Foreign Secretary

Cleverly receiving the guard of honour as Foreign Secretary at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris, 2023

Cleverly was promoted Foreign Secretary by incoming Prime Minister Liz Truss on 6 September 2022. Sunak re-appointed him to his cabinet as Foreign Secretary on 25 October 2022.

Cleverly with Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on 8 December 2022

Cleverly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, 11 September 2023

Cleverly in Washington DC with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in 2023

In August 2023, Cleverly made his first visit to China as the first UK Government minister to visit the country since 2018. The trip is reportedly to promote bilateral trade and climate change policy and challenge China's response to the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Cleverly with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, 13 September 2023

On 13 September 2023, he met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara and stated that Turkey is an "indispensable partner" to the UK and "has truly significant commitments to NATO."

Cleverly expressed support for Israel during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. On 11 October 2023, he visited Israel "to show solidarity to Israeli people". He rejected calls for a ceasefire but supported "humanitarian pauses" to provide aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Home Secretary

In Sunak's cabinet reshuffle on 13 November 2023, Cleverly was appointed Home Secretary, succeeding Suella Braverman.

Personal life

Cleverly married Susannah Sparks in 2000; the couple have two sons. Cleverly lives in Blackheath, Southeast London.

His cousin Chris Cleverly is a lawyer and businessman.

Cleverly is a fan of the miniature wargame Warhammer 40,000; he has a private YouTube channel dedicated to painting the game's miniatures.

Cleverly is atheist.

Honours and decorations

Cleverly was awarded the Efficiency Decoration (TD) for 12 years' commissioned service in the Territorial Army in January 2012, as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022 and the King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2023.

He was sworn of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom on 8 October 2019 at Buckingham Palace as part of his appointment as Minister without portfolio and Conservative Party Chairman in the Johnson ministry. Membership of the Privy Council affords the honorary prefix "the Right Honourable" for life.

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal	2002 UK version of this medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	2012 UK version of this medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal	2022 UK version of this medal
	King Charles III Coronation Medal	2023 UK version of this medal
	Efficiency Decoration (TD)	2012 12 Years Commissioned Service in the Territorial Army
	Volunteer Reserves Service Medal (VR)	10 years Commissioned Service in the Territorial Army/Army Reserves

James Cleverly facts for kids

Contents

Early life and education

Military service

Political career

London Assembly

House of Commons

Foreign Secretary

Home Secretary

Personal life

Honours and decorations

See also