Our Theresa May biography is now live.
Who is Theresa May? She’s the new prime minister of the United Kingdom. She replaces her fellow Conservative David Cameron, who is stepping down after last month’s embarrassing (to him) Brexit vote.
Theresa May has been the MP from Maidenhead since 1997, so she’s no newcomer to politics. She has been Home Secretary since Cameron became PM in 2010. The Home Secretary doesn’t have an exact parallel in the US government, although Attorney General comes closest. The Home Secretary runs the Home Office, which covers crime, prisons, security, immigration and citizenship.
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Before entering government, Theresa May studied geography at Oxford University (St. Hugh’s College, to be precise) and worked for the Bank of England. She has been married since 1980 to Peter May; they have no children. Theresa May turns 60 this year.
They do things a little differently in the UK, so no formal election for prime minister is needed. The Conservative Party is in power in Parliament, and the leader of the party serves as prime minister. Essentially, Cameron is stepping down as party leader and Theresa May is taking his place, so she also replaces him as prime minister. (Editor’s note: Would that we could do things so simply in the United States.)
Photo: WENN.com
Theresa May will take over at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday evening, after David Cameron holds one last Question Time. She becomes Britain’s second female prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher. May has already been called a “bloody difficult woman,” which seems to mean she may have the right stuff to be PM. Good luck to her!
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