Background
Gavin was born in Scarborough on 25th June 1976.
He gained a Bachelor of Science from the University of Bradford, and after graduating he began a career in manufacturing, successfully turning around a struggling pottery in Staffordshire. He then became the Managing Director of an architectural design firm which has been involved in the design of many schools, public sector and commercial buildings.
Parliamentary Career
In 2010, Gavin ran for and was successful in winning the seat of South Staffordshire. In October 2013, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, David Cameron, and in May 2015, he was appointed as a Privy Counsellor by Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
In July 2016, the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, appointed Gavin as Chief Whip (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury). Following the 2017 general election, he negotiated and signed the “confidence and supply” deal with the Democratic Unionist Party, which helped keep the Conservative Party in power.
Gavin became Secretary of State for Defence in November 2017. During this time, he pioneered the strategy of tilting British naval resources more towards the Indo Pacific, directed the first British freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea in more than a generation, increased the UK’s commitment to NATO and staved off cuts to British armed forces. He was an outspoken critic of both Russian aggression and moves by the People’s Republic of China to increase their economic, military and political reach.
In July 2019, Gavin was appointed Secretary of State for Education. He worked to promote skills-based education, protect academic freedom and free speech in universities, and steered England’s schools through the pandemic. Following this, he held the position of Minister without Portfolio under Rishi Sunak.
Aside from his positions in Government, Gavin has also run leadership campaigns for Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
In 2024, he was re-elected to Parliament for the new seat of Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge.
Honours
In August 2016, as part of David Cameron’s Resignation Honours, Gavin was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for political and public service. He then went on to be knighted in 2022 for political service.
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