Jeremy Hunt (politician)
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| Jeremy Hunt MP | |
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| In office 2 July 2007 – present |
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| Leader | David Cameron |
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| Preceded by | Hugo Swire |
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| In office 5 May 2005 – present |
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| Preceded by | Virginia Bottomley |
| Majority | 5,711 (10.9%) |
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| Born | 1 November 1966 Godalming, Surrey, UK |
| Political party | Conservative |
Jeremy Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is the Conservative MP for South West Surrey and Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
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[edit] Early life
The eldest son of Nicholas Hunt, Jeremy Hunt was raised near Godalming in Surrey in the heart of the constituency that he now represents in Parliament. He still lives in the seat at Farnham.
Jeremy's father was a senior officer in the Royal Navy and he grew up in an economically-privileged family in which great emphasis was laid on hardwork[citation needed] and achievement[citation needed].
Hunt attended Charterhouse School where he was head boy, and subsequently Magdalen College, Oxford, where he achieved a First in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). In private he later described the last year of his degree as one of the toughest in his life because of the stress imposed by his effort to obtain a First.[citation needed]
Shortly after graduating he became a management consultant before resigning to become an English language teacher in Japan. Japan made a big impact on Hunt - he became a proficient speaker of Japanese and an enthusiast for modern Japanese culture. For many years, Japan, politics, his business interests, and a busy social life were Hunt's main passions.
On his return to Britain, Hunt joined Profile PR - a public relations agency specializing in IT co-founded by his childhood friend Mike Elms. With clients such as BT, Bull Integris, and Zetafax Profile did well during the IT boom of the mid 1990s. Hunt and Elms later sold their interest in Profile in order to concentrate on directory publishing. Together they founded a company now known as Hotcourses one of whose major clients is the British Council. Hotcourses also provides financial support to Hunt's parliamentary office (see House of Commons Directory of Member Interests and Directory of MPs' Research Assistants' Interests).
[edit] Member of Parliament
Jeremy Hunt was elected at the 2005 general election, after Virginia Bottomley became a life peer. He won the constituency with an increased majority of 5,711.
After supporting David Cameron's bid for leadership of the Conservative Party, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Disabled People in December 2005. He was then promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, in David Cameron's reshuffle of the 2 July 2007.
[edit] Political views
An ardent Tory of the same generation as David Cameron and Boris Johnson Hunt became fired with enthusiasm for politics during the Thatcher Years of the 1980s - a period which coincided with his time at Oxford University.
Whilst at University he became deeply involved in the Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA).
Hunt founded a charity to help fund the education of AIDS orphans in Africa. As a result AIDS has become one of his special areas of expertise as an MP.
Hunt hung back for many years from putting himself forward for selection as a parliamentary candidate. When asked why he argued that he felt that he had "not achieved enough" in the real world outside politics.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Jeremy Hunt MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Jeremy Hunt MP
- Meet the MP in June 2005
- BBC Politics page
[edit] Audio clips
[edit] Offices held
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by Virginia Bottomley |
Member of Parliament for South West Surrey 2005 – present |
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