Hugh Richard O'Leary (born 19 July 1974) is a British accountant. He is married to

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth da ...

, who was

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

from September to October 2022.

Early life and education

O'Leary was born in

Allerton, Liverpool Allerton is a suburb of Liverpool, in the county of Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is located southeast of the city centre and is bordered by the suburbs of Garston, Hunt's Cross, Mossley Hill, and Woolton. It has a n ...

, and raised in

Heswall Heswall () is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was historically part of Cheshire and became part of Merseyside in 1974. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 202 ...

, on the Wirral, as the eldest of three siblings. His mother, Susan (''née'' Dunn), was a nurse, and his father, John O'Leary, was a college lecturer who trained as a solicitor and worked for the legal firm of the Liverpool lawyer

Rex Makin Elkan Rex Makin (20 August 1925 – 26 June 2017) was a solicitor and philanthropist who practised in Liverpool, England, for over sixty years. He was most noted for his involvement with the Beatles' early career and subsequently high-profile cas ...

. O'Leary attended

Birkenhead School Birkenhead School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, academically-selective, co-educational day school located in Oxton, Merseyside, Oxton, Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, in North West England. The school offers educational opportu ...

, where he studied Mathematics and Further Mathematics at A-level, applying unsuccessfully to

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

to study PPE. He went on to read

econometrics Econometrics is an application of statistical methods to economic data in order to give empirical content to economic relationships. M. Hashem Pesaran (1987). "Econometrics", '' The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', v. 2, p. 8 p. 8 ...

and

mathematical economics Mathematical economics is the application of Mathematics, mathematical methods to represent theories and analyze problems in economics. Often, these Applied mathematics#Economics, applied methods are beyond simple geometry, and may include diff ...

at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

before becoming an

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

. Whilst at university, he was acquainted with

Thérèse Coffey Thérèse Anne Coffey, Baroness Coffey, (born 18 November 1971), is a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from September to October 2022 under Liz Truss. She also served as Secretary of State for Enviro ...

, who was later

's deputy prime minister.

Career

O'Leary worked as a finance director at Affinity Global Real Estate. He has also worked at Arrakis Investments Limited, a company that, at the time, had no employees other than its one director.

Politics

O'Leary has stood unsuccessfully for the Conservative Party in local elections to

Greenwich London Borough Council Greenwich London Borough Council, also known as Greenwich Council or the Council of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Greenwich in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in ...

on several occasions. At the 1998 council election he was a candidate for the Labour-held St Alfege ward. At the subsequent council election in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, he stood in Greenwich West; all three seats were won by the Labour Party. His most recent candidacy to date was at the 2006 Greenwich election, this time in the Charlton ward, when O'Leary and the other opposition parties finished a considerable margin behind the winning Labour candidates. At this election, his wife, Liz Truss, was elected to Eltham South ward, which she represented until 2010. O'Leary has remained active in politics as a member of the Conservatives, canvassing with the party in Greenwich in 2022.

Personal life

O'Leary met Truss at the 1997

Conservative Party Conference The Conservative Party Conference (CPC) is a four-day national conference event held by the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. It takes place every year in October during the British party conference season, when the House of Commons is ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. The couple's first date was spent ice-skating, during which O'Leary sprained his ankle. O'Leary and Truss married in 2000; they live in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

, south-east London, and the

South West Norfolk South West Norfolk is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024 by Terr ...

constituency which Truss represented from 2010 to 2024. He stayed with Truss following her 20042005 extramarital affair with the Conservative MP

Mark Field Mark Christopher Field (born 6 October 1964) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cities of London and Westminster from 2001 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Minister of State at ...

, which led to the breakdown of Field's marriage to his wife,

Michele Acton Michele Louise Acton (born 25 June 1967) is the current Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Medicine. A former Investment Banker, she is the Principal-Elect of St Hugh's College, Oxford. Career Acton was born on 25 June 1967 and read Philo ...

. The couple have two daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OLeary, Hugh Living people 1974 births Conservative Party (UK) people English accountants English people of Irish descent People from Allerton Alumni of the London School of Economics Spouses of prime ministers of the United Kingdom 21st-century English businesspeople People educated at Birkenhead School