Theresa May

Theresa Mary May (, née Brasier ; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2016, the second woman to hold both positions, the first being Margaret Thatcher. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidenhead since 1997. Ideologically, she identifies herself as a one-nation conservative. The daughter of Zaidee Brasier (née Barnes) and Hubert Brasier, a vicar, May grew up in Oxfordshire. From 1977 until 1983, she worked for the Bank of England, and from 1985 until 1997 at the Association for Payment Clearing Services, also serving as a councillor for Durnsford in Merton. After unsuccessful attempts to be elected to the House of Commons in 1992 and 1994, she was elected as the MP for Maidenhead in the 1997 general election. From 1999 to 2010, May held a number of roles in the Shadow Cabinets of William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith, Michael Howard, and David Cameron, including Shadow Transport Secretary and Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary. She was also Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2002 to 2003. After the formation of a coalition government following the 2010 general election, May was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, giving up the latter role in 2012. Reappointed after the Conservative victory in the 2015 general election, she went on to become the longest-serving Home Secretary since James Chuter Ede over 60 years previousl