Sam Gyimah

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Sam Gyimah
MP
Sam Gyimah.jpg
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Childcare and Education
Assumed office
12 May 2015
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Edward Timpson
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Cabinet Office
In office
14 July 2014 – 12 May 2015
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by ???
Succeeded by John Penrose
Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
In office
7 October 2013 – 14 July 2014
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Desmond Swayne
Succeeded by Harriett Baldwin
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
In office
4 September 2012 – 7 October 2013
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Desmond Swayne
Succeeded by Gavin Williamson
Member of Parliament
for East Surrey
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Peter Ainsworth
Majority 22,658(40.4%)
Personal details
Born (1976-08-10) 10 August 1976 (age 47)
Beaconsfield, United Kingdom
Political party Conservative
Alma mater Somerville College, Oxford
Website Official website

Samuel Phillip Gyimah (born 10 August 1976)[1] is a British Conservative Party politician. He was elected as the Member of Parliament for East Surrey at the 2010 general election.[2]

In July 2014, after serving as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister and a government whip, Gyimah was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Childcare and Education [3] as well as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State with particular focus upon the constitution.[4] Following the general election in May 2015, Gyimah was reappointed to the education brief.[5]

Early life

Gyimah was born in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire, in southern England. He was educated at Achimota School in Ghana and later Freman College,[6] a state school in Hertfordshire, followed by Somerville College at the University of Oxford, where he read Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and where he was elected President of the Oxford Union.[1]

Life and career

On graduation, Gyimah joined Goldman Sachs as an investment banker, leaving the company in 2003 to set up his own businesses in the recruitment and internet sectors.[1] In 2005, he was awarded the Real Business/CBI Entrepreneur of the Future award.[7]

Parliamentary career

In September 2005 Gyimah edited a report by the Bow Group, a Conservative think tank, entitled From the Ashes: the future of the Conservative Party.[8] He was subsequently elected chairman of the Bow Group from 2006 to 2007.[1][9] Gyimah stood unsuccessfully for election in Kilburn ward in the Camden Council election, 2006.[10]

In December 2009, Gyimah placed third in the Gosport primary election to succeed Peter Viggers, losing to Caroline Dinenage.

Elected as the MP for East Surrey at the 2010 general election,[2] Gyimah made his maiden speech on 29 July 2010.[11] Gyimah has previously been a member of the International Development Select Committee, having stated an interest in harnessing the private sector towards achieving international development goals.[12] Gyimah has also been active in debates on education and employment, as well as a number of local campaigns to protect the greenbelt in Surrey.[12]

In 2011 Gyimah produced a report with think-tank NESTA, Beyond the Banks, in support of non-bank alternatives for businesses seeking finance. He was the first MP to call for credit easing as a means of accelerating Britain's economic recovery.[13]

Gyimah was appointed as a Government Whip in October 2013, having previously been Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Prime Minister since the 2012 reshuffle.[14]

Personal life

Gyimah has been a volunteer and fundraiser for Crisis, the Down's Syndrome Association and St. Catherine's Hospice in Surrey. He has served as school governor of an inner London school, on the board of a housing association and on the development board of Somerville College. He is a Vice-President of Young Epilepsy (formerly the National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy (NCYPE) in Lingfield.[1] Gyimah is married to Dr Nicky Black, a New Zealander with whom he has one son.[15]

References

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for East Surrey

2010–present
Incumbent