Leader of the House of Commons Lord President of the Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 September 2022
Prime Minister
Liz Truss Rishi Sunak
Preceded by
Mark Spencer
Secretary of State for Defence
In office 1 May 2019 – 24 July 2019
Prime Minister
Theresa May
Preceded by
Gavin Williamson
Succeeded by
Ben Wallace
Secretary of State for International Development
In office 9 November 2017 – 1 May 2019
Prime Minister
Theresa May
Preceded by
Priti Patel
Succeeded by
Rory Stewart
Minister for Women and Equalities
In office 30 April 2018 – 24 July 2019
Prime Minister
Theresa May
Preceded by
Amber Rudd
Succeeded by
Amber Rudd
Junior ministerial offices
Minister of State for Trade Policy
In office 16 September 2021 – 6 September 2022
Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
Preceded by
Greg Hands
Succeeded by
Conor Burns
Paymaster General
In office 13 February 2020 – 16 September 2021
Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
Preceded by
Oliver Dowden
Succeeded by
Michael Ellis
Minister of State for Disabled People, Work and Health
In office 15 July 2016 – 9 November 2017
Prime Minister
Theresa May
Preceded by
Justin Tomlinson
Succeeded by
Sarah Newton
Minister of State for the Armed Forces
In office 11 May 2015 – 15 July 2016
Prime Minister
David Cameron
Preceded by
Mark François
Succeeded by
Mike Penning
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
In office 14 July 2014 – 11 May 2015
Prime Minister
David Cameron
Preceded by
Nick Boles
Succeeded by
James Wharton
Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by
Sarah McCarthy-Fry
Majority
15,780 (34.4%)
Personal details
Born
Penelope Mary Mordaunt
(1973-03-04) 4 March 1973 (age 51) Torquay, Devon, England
Political party
Conservative
Spouse
Paul Murray
(m. 1999; div. 2000)
Alma mater
University of Reading (BA)
Signature
Website
pennymordaunt.com
Military service
Allegiance
United Kingdom
Branch/service
Royal Navy
Years of service
2010–2019[1]
Rank
Acting Sub-Lieutenant (Honorary Captain)
Unit
Royal Naval Reserve
Penny Mordaunt's voice
Mordaunt comments on her appointment as Secretary of State for International Development Recorded 10 November 2017
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (/ˈmɔːrdənt/; born 4 March 1973) is a British politician who has served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council since 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Portsmouth North since the 2010 general election. She has run twice for the Conservative party leadership in July–September and October 2022, losing to Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak respectively.
Mordaunt read philosophy at the University of Reading, before working in the public relations industry. She held roles under Conservative Party leaders John Major and William Hague, and also worked for George W. Bush's presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004. Mordaunt was elected to the House of Commons at the 2010 general election. Under the coalition government of David Cameron, she served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Decentralisation from 2014 to 2015. After the 2015 general election, Cameron promoted her to Minister of State for the Armed Forces, the first woman to hold the post. Mordaunt supported Brexit in the 2016 referendum on EU membership. Following Theresa May's appointment as Prime Minister, Mordaunt was appointed Minister of State for Disabled People, Work and Health. In 2017, following the resignation of Priti Patel, she was appointed Secretary of State for International Development. She also served as Minister for Women and Equalities from 2018 to 2019.
In May 2019, Mordaunt was appointed to the Cabinet position of Secretary of State for Defence, replacing Gavin Williamson, becoming the first woman to hold the post. She served as Defence Secretary for 85 days before returning to the backbenches, having been removed from office by the new Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In the February 2020 reshuffle, she re-entered government as Paymaster General. In the 2021 reshuffle, she was appointed Minister of State for Trade Policy.
Following Johnson's announcement in July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister, Mordaunt entered the leadership contest to succeed him, but was eliminated in the final round of voting among Conservative MPs and subsequently endorsed Truss. Mordaunt was appointed as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council when Truss became Prime Minister. Following Truss's resignation on 20 October 2022, Mordaunt made a second bid to become Conservative leader and Prime Minister. She pulled out of the election after being unable to gain the necessary endorsement of 100 MPs, allowing Sunak to become Conservative Leader and Prime Minister unopposed. Sunak later retained Mordaunt in his cabinet, continuing as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President, giving her a role at the coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
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Commons has media related to PennyMordaunt. Wikiquote has quotations related to PennyMordaunt. Official website PennyMordaunt at the Conservative Party...
International Development PennyMordaunt. Following the interview, when he believed he was off air, Marr could be heard praising Mordaunt, saying "that was very...
Johnson ruled himself out of the leadership contest. Initially endorsed PennyMordaunt, then switched to Sunak. The Lord Cruddas, banker and businessman The...
announced support for PennyMordaunt in the Conservative Party leadership election and served as Mordaunt's campaign manager. After Mordaunt was eliminated,...
000 donation from a company owned by the climate change denier Terence Mordaunt. Braverman was appointed Home Secretary in the new Truss ministry on 6...
later backing PennyMordaunt, after holding a constituency survey, she later switched her endorsement to Liz Truss after PennyMordaunt and Nadhim Zahawi...
biggest donor to the pro-Brexit campaign. PennyMordaunt's Prime Ministerial campaign stated that Terence Mordaunt is not a relative. Since 22nd June 2023...
stand for election. After Johnson ruled himself out of the race and PennyMordaunt withdrew her candidacy, Sunak was announced as the new Conservative...
the House of Commons. The present leader of the House of Commons is PennyMordaunt. The current responsibilities of the leader of the House of Commons...
was filling this post at the time of the Portillo moment. In 2019, PennyMordaunt became the UK's first female defence secretary. The secretary of state...
cabinet position, after 16 months in the post. She was replaced by PennyMordaunt the following day. Patel said that, following her resignation, she was...
international trade secretary, Kit Malthouse as education secretary, PennyMordaunt as leader of the House of Commons and Michelle Donelan as culture secretary...
popular potential replacement, followed by Ben Wallace, Rishi Sunak, PennyMordaunt, Kemi Badenoch, Jeremy Hunt and Suella Braverman. As of mid-October...
House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle—with Leader of the House PennyMordaunt answering on Truss's behalf. Truss's absence drew criticism from a number...
corporation tax if elected, but may cut it to boost "competitiveness". PennyMordaunt, the Leader of the House of Commons, has argued plans to expand the...
Lewis was appointed Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. PennyMordaunt was appointed Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the...
She was re-appointed by Boris Johnson on 24 July 2019 and succeeded PennyMordaunt in her previous portfolio as Minister for Women and Equalities. On 7...
Party leadership election during August of that year, Seely backed PennyMordaunt and then Liz Truss to become leader and Prime Minister, arguing that...
dismissal of Gavin Williamson, replacing the new Defence Secretary PennyMordaunt in the Department for International Development. The position included...
the matter was closed. On 10 November 2022 The Guardian reported when PennyMordaunt was defence secretary she had to deal with a security leak and the department...
two other candidates actively seeking nominations: Boris Johnson and PennyMordaunt. However, Johnson announced that evening that he would not declare his...
Damian Hinds Jeremy Hunt Sajid Javid Brandon Lewis David Lidington PennyMordaunt David Mundell Amber Rudd Rory Stewart Jeremy Wright Also attended meetings...
clergyman Osbert Mordaunt (cricketer, born 1876) (1876–1949), English cricketer PennyMordaunt (born 1973), British politician Thomas Osbert Mordaunt (1730–1809)...
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