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Gillian Keegan (born 13 March 1968) is a British politician serving as
Secretary of State for Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the C ...
. A member of the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, she previously served as
Minister of State for Care and Mental Health The Minister of State for Care and Mental Health was a ministerial position within the Government of the United Kingdom, in charge of mental health and social care policy. History Social care In 2006, Ivan Lewis was appointed Minister of S ...
from 2021 to 2022 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Africa in 2022. She has been
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 o ...
(MP) for
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
since 2017. Keegan grew up in Huyton,
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...
. She studied at
Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public university, public research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts, established in 1823. This lat ...
and
London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degrees in management and finance, MBA and PhD). Its motto is " ...
. She held senior positions in various business sectors, including as chief marketing officer for
Travelport Travelport Worldwide Ltd provides distribution, technology, payment solutions for the travel and tourism industry. It is the smallest, by revenue, of the top three global distribution systems (GDS) after Amadeus IT Group and Sabre Corporation. ...
. Keegan was a councillor on Chichester District Council from 2014 to 2018. She was elected to Parliament for Chichester at the 2017 general election. She was appointed
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills (also known as Apprenticeships and Skills Minister) is a junior ministerial position in the Department for Education in the British government. It was held by Alex Burghart ...
in February 2020 during the second Johnson ministry. In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle she was promoted to
Minister of State for Care and Mental Health The Minister of State for Care and Mental Health was a ministerial position within the Government of the United Kingdom, in charge of mental health and social care policy. History Social care In 2006, Ivan Lewis was appointed Minister of S ...
. In 2022, she was appointed
Secretary of State for Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the C ...
by Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, lastly as ...
.


Early life

Keegan (née Gibson) was born in
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staff ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...
, to an office manager father and a mother who did secretarial work. She went to
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
. She grew up in Knowsley,
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...
, and went to St Augustine of Canterbury Secondary School in
Huyton Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Belle Vale, and the neighbouring village of Roby, with which ...
. She was the only pupil to get 10
O-Levels The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...
at her school. She has a bachelor's degree in
Business Studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, ...
from
Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public university, public research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts, established in 1823. This lat ...
and a Master of Science in Strategy and Leadership (Sloan Fellowship) from
London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degrees in management and finance, MBA and PhD). Its motto is " ...
in 2011.


Professional career

Keegan started her career aged 16 as an apprentice at a car factory in Kirkby and went on to have a business career working at Delco Electronics (part of the
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
Group),
NatWest Bank National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...
(senior buyer), MasterCard International (commercial director), Amadeus IT Group (group vice president of Multinational Customer Group based in Madrid) and
Travelport Travelport Worldwide Ltd provides distribution, technology, payment solutions for the travel and tourism industry. It is the smallest, by revenue, of the top three global distribution systems (GDS) after Amadeus IT Group and Sabre Corporation. ...
(chief marketing officer) for over 27 years.


Political career

Keegan has said that it was her experiences of trade unionism and the
Militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin ...
-controlled
Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor J ...
while working in Kirkby in her youth during the 1980s that convinced her to support the Conservative Party. However, she did not become active in politics until 2014. In 2015, she was advised in her ambitions to become an MP by
Justine Greening Justine Greening (born 30 April 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2010 to 2011, Secretary of State for Transpor ...
, whom she met by chance at a London Business School (LBS) reunion; according to her, this demonstrated the power of the LBS network. Keegan's father-in-law was the late Conservative MP,
Denis Keegan Denis Michael Keegan (26 January 1924 – 9 October 1993) was a British barrister and company manager who served a single term as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament. He became known as a moderate politician who opposed capital punishment ...
. She unsuccessfully contested the constituency of St Helens South and Whiston at the 2015 general election. In 2015 she became director of
Women2Win Women2Win is a mentoring and pressure group within the British Conservative Party that promotes the election of more Conservative women MPs and increased involvement of Conservative women in public life. Women2Win was founded in 2005 by Theresa ...
an organisation founded by
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 ...
and
Anne Jenkin, Baroness Jenkin of Kennington Anne Caroline Jenkin, Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (born 8 December 1955) is a Conservative member of the House of Lords. Early life Jenkin was born Anne Caroline Strutt on 8 December 1955 to the Hon. Charles Richard Strutt and the Hon. Jean El ...
in 2005 to help elect more women Conservative MPs to Parliament. She had left that position by September 2017. Keegan was elected as a councillor for the
Rogate Rogate is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, in the Western Rother valley. The village is on the A272 road west of Midhurst and east of Petersfield, Hampshire. The civil parish includes the villages o ...
ward on Chichester District Council in 2014. She was appointed cabinet member for commercial services in May 2015. She stood down as a councillor in February 2018 and in the election that followed in April 2018, the seat was taken by the Liberal Democrat candidate Kate O'Kelly. Keegan went on to beat O'Kelly by 21,490 votes at the 2019 general election. Keegan was selected as the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
in May 2017, and was elected to the House of Commons at the 2017 general election. She is the constituency's first female MP. In September 2017, she was appointed to the Public Accounts Committee. In February 2019, Keegan was appointed as MP Apprenticeship Ambassador by
Anne Milton Anne Frances Milton (''née'' Turner; born 3 November 1955) is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Skills and Apprenticeships from 2017 to 2019. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Guildford from 2005 to 2019. Elected as ...
, with responsibility to support apprenticeship schemes and promote them both within Parliament and to businesses within the UK, working alongside the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network consisting of various advocates of apprenticeship schemes.


Government

Keegan 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 ...
(PPS) to
HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Government ...
in September 2018. In January 2019, she became PPS to the
secretary of state for defence The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...
. Keegan became PPS to the
home secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all nationa ...
in May 2019. Keegan endorsed
Rory Stewart Roderick James Nugent Stewart (born 3 January 1973) is a British academic, diplomat, author, broadcaster, former soldier and former politician. He is the president of GiveDirectly, a visiting fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for ...
during the
2019 Conservative Party leadership election The 2019 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered when Theresa May announced on 24 May 2019 that she would resign as leader of the Conservative Party on 7 June and as prime minister of the United Kingdom once a successor had been el ...
. She became PPS to the
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The incumbent ...
in September 2019. In February 2020, she was appointed
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills (also known as Apprenticeships and Skills Minister) is a junior ministerial position in the Department for Education in the British government. It was held by Alex Burghart ...
, a junior ministerial role at the
Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Departme ...
, and was the first former apprentice to hold the office. In August 2020, Keegan was criticised for being on holiday during the GCSE and A-Level grading controversy. She defended herself by stating that she was not the minister responsible for
A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...
and
GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
qualifications. She said that although she had been the duty minister for the first two weeks of summer recess, she had obtained special permission to take her government computer with her to continue working during this period. In the September 2021 reshuffle, Keegan was appointed
Minister of State for Care and Mental Health The Minister of State for Care and Mental Health was a ministerial position within the Government of the United Kingdom, in charge of mental health and social care policy. History Social care In 2006, Ivan Lewis was appointed Minister of S ...
. During the
July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis In early July 2022, 62 of the United Kingdom's 179 government ministers, parliamentary private secretaries, trade envoys, and party vice-chairmen resigned from their positions in the second administration formed by Boris Johnson as Prime Mini ...
, Keegan did not respond to a press enquiry by the '' Chichester Observer'' to comment on her decision not to resign. Following the announcement by
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...
that he intended to resign as party leader, Keegan released a statement in which she praised the prime minister's leadership and announced that she would remain a minister in his government. Keegan endorsed
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, lastly as ...
in the
July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election The July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Boris Johnson's announcement on 7 July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party after a series of political controversies. The leadership ele ...
and was subsequently demoted when
Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped dow ...
became Prime Minister in September 2022, serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Africa. Keegan endorsed Sunak again in the October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election and was appointed
Secretary of State for Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the C ...
. She was sworn as a member of the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...
on 27 October 2022.


Personal life

Keegan lives in
Petworth Petworth is a small town and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 east–west road from Heathfield to Winchester and the A283 Milford to Shoreham-by-Sea road. Some twe ...
in
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
with her second husband, Michael, and has two stepsons. Michael was the CEO of Fujitsu UK and Ireland from May 2014 to June 2015, then UK Chief Executive and Chairman of the company between 2015 and 2018. As CEO of Fujitsu UK he was responsible for the accountability and governance of the company during the time of the
British Post Office scandal The British Post Office scandal is a miscarriage of justice involving the wrongful civil and criminal prosecutions of an unknown or unpublished number of sub-postmasters (SPMs) for theft, false accounting and/or fraud. The cases constitute the m ...
. Michael left Fujitsu in September 2018 shortly before the rulings in the Post Office Scandal began to be handed down. In September 2019, the same month his wife became became PPS to the
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The incumbent ...
, Michael was given a senior Government role in procurement. Michael also sits on the board of Centerprise International, a firm which, between October 2019 to May 2020, was awarded government procurement contracts worth £24m. Michael Keegan was the subject of a 2022 Sun article around government payments of £24 million to a company of which he was a non-executive director. Keegan's father-in-law,
Denis Keegan Denis Michael Keegan (26 January 1924 – 9 October 1993) was a British barrister and company manager who served a single term as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament. He became known as a moderate politician who opposed capital punishment ...
, was Conservative MP for Nottingham South. Keegan owns a family home in France and two properties in Spain as well as a flat in London.


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keegan, Gillian 1968 births Living people 21st-century British women politicians Alumni of Liverpool John Moores University British Secretaries of State for Education Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies London Business School Sloan Fellows People from Knowsley, Merseyside People from Petworth UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present 21st-century English women 21st-century English people Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom