Andrew Campbell Bowie (born 28 May 1987) is a

Scottish Conservative Party The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...

politician. He has been the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine since the

2017 general election This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November ...

. He has been serving as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exports The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exports (Minister for Exports) is a junior position in the Department for International Trade of the Government of the United Kingdom ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image ...

since October 2022.

Early life and education

Bowie was born in

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

and educated at

Inverurie Academy (The spirit within sustains) , city = Inverurie , county = Aberdeenshire , postcode = AB51 3PX , pushpin_map = Scotland Aberdeenshire#Scotland#United_Kingdom , country ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

. While studying at Inverurie Academy, Bowie was chosen to join the

National Youth Orchestra of Scotland The National Youth Orchestras of Scotland (NYOS) caters for students aged between 8 and 25, through orchestras, jazz bands, training ensembles and outreach programmes. In addition to organising residential training courses, rehearsals and nati ...

, playing the violin. After leaving school, he joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and attended

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

before serving as an officer, achieving the rank of

Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

. After leaving the Navy, Bowie studied History and Politics at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

, where he was a member of the Aberdeen University Royal Naval Unit and where he was elected Chairman of the

University of Aberdeen Conservative and Unionist Association The Aberdeen University Conservative and Unionist Association (AUCUA) is a student Conservative association formed in 1881. It is the third oldest Conservative student association in the United Kingdom. It comprises an executive committee that co ...

for the 2012/13 academic year.

Career

Early career

After graduating from the

, Bowie was employed as a Military Projects Coordinator for Westhill-based diving equipment supplier

Divex JFD (formerly Divex Ltd) is a subsidiary of James Fisher & Sons () is a Scottish provider of diving equipment and related services. History Whilst Divex publicly traces its roots back to 1790 and the formation of Barry, Henry and Cook (an Aber ...

. Bowie left Divex in January 2014 to assume a post as the North Scotland Campaign Manager for the

Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...

, and was seconded to the Better Together campaign for the duration of the

2014 Scottish Independence Referendum A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side w ...

. Following the referendum, Bowie transitioned to parliamentary politics by serving as a senior advisor to the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MEP for Scotland Ian Duncan MEP. In 2016, following the

Scottish Parliament election, 2016 The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electi ...

, Bowie was hired as office manager to Liam Kerr MSP, who was elected as the

Scottish Conservative and Unionist The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The ad ...

for the North East Scotland region.

Parliamentary career

Bowie was elected as an MP in June 2017, with a majority of 7,950 votes. From October that year until June 2018, he was a member of the

Work and Pensions Select Committee The Work and Pensions Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Work and Pensi ...

. In February 2018, Bowie was appointed

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

(PPS) to the

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

under

Matt Hancock Matthew John David Hancock (born 2 October 1978) is a British politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2015 to 2016, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from January to July 201 ...

, and later under

Jeremy Wright Sir Jeremy Paul Wright , MP (born 24 October 1972) is a British lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General for England and Wales from 2014 to 2018 and as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2018 to 2019. A ...

. In December 2018, he was promoted to

Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister The Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister is a Parliamentary Private Secretary serving the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of the office is widely viewed as the Prime Minister's "eyes and ears" on the backbenche ...

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

until her resignation in July 2019. In July 2019, Bowie was appointed as one of six Vice Chairmen of the Conservative Party and is responsible for the Young Conservatives. Bowie was re-elected as the MP for West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine at the 2019 general election, with a significantly reduced majority of 843 votes. In November 2021, Bowie announced he would resign as a Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party once a replacement was selected, soon after the forced resignation of Owen Paterson from the party, giving the reason "to focus on representing my constituents in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine". He is an advocate of the Down Syndrome Bill, which would recognise people with

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

as a specific minority group. In March 2022, Bowie was elected as the Chairman of the Union 1922 Backbench Policy Committee.

Electoral history

Personal life

He is married to Madeleine Clarke.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowie, Andrew 1987 births Living people Alumni of the University of Aberdeen People educated at Inverurie Academy People from Arbroath Royal Navy officers Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister Scottish Conservative Party MPs UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present