Alok Sharma

Following the dismissal of Andrea Leadsom in the 2020 cabinet reshuffle, Sharma was appointed to the position of Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. He began in the role on 13 February.

On 18 February 2020 Sharma was appointed president of the 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), following the abrupt dismissal of Claire Perry O'Neill.

In the 2019 general election he increased his majority to 4,117.

Sharma was appointed Secretary of State for International Development by Boris Johnson following the resignation of Rory Stewart in July 2019. Upon ascending to the role, he said: "I am delighted... We will work across the whole of government to deliver Brexit and make sure UK aid is tackling global challenges that affect us all."

Sharma is married and lives in Caversham with his wife and two daughters. His wife is Swedish. Sharma took his oath in the House of Commons on the Bhagavad Gita in 2019.

In January 2018, he became the Minister of State for Employment.

Sharma previously served as Housing Minister between 2017 and 2018, and as Employment Minister from 2018 to 2019.

In the 2017 general election, he won his seat with a reduced margin, a majority of 2,876. On being re-elected, Sharma wrote on his website: "Having grown up locally in Reading and being very much a local Reading man, I am delighted to have been re-elected for a constituency in my home town."

In June 2017, Sharma was appointed Housing Minister replacing Gavin Barwell who lost his seat in 2017 general election.

As the Minister of State for Housing, Sharma was responsible for the Government's response to the Grenfell Tower fire. He attracted media attention when he was visibly moved while making a statement to the House of Commons on 5 July 2017.

Sharma was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from July 2016 to June 2017.

Sharma supported the UK remaining within the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum. He backed then Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement in early 2019, and also subsequently supported Prime Minister Boris Johnson's withdrawal agreement in October 2019.

In the 2015 general election he was re-elected with an increased majority of 6,650.

Sharma has also been appointed a patron of the Wren School, a new secondary Free School opening in west Reading in September 2015. Sharma supported the West Reading Education Network in getting the new school approved and is helping the school to find an appropriate permanent site.

Sharma has campaigned to reduce the number of first-class carriages on trains operating on the Great Western route between Reading and London. In January 2015, he held a meeting with Rail Minister Claire Perry and First Great Western managing director Mark Hopwood to discuss proposals to increase Standard Class capacity to reduce overcrowding.

In February 2014 Sharma criticised Labour leader Ed Miliband during the latter's visit to Purley which had been badly affected by flooding. Sharma claimed that the visit was merely a photo opportunity for Miliband. Miliband responded by saying that he had come "for the people of your constituency".

Sharma set up the East West Leaders' Forum, a discussion forum between business leaders, to promote dialogue between Europe, India and China. Theresa May, then Home Secretary, gave the keynote speech at the inaugural event, held in London in September 2014.

Sharma was Conservative Party Vice-Chairman from 2012 to 2015 and co-chairman of Conservative Friends of India in 2014.

In September 2011, Sharma was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Mark Hoban, the then Financial Secretary to the Treasury. During his time as a PPS, Sharma sat on a number of public bill committees including two finance bills, the 2013 Banking Reform Bill and the 2011 Pensions Bill. He also served as PPS to Sir Oliver Letwin, the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who had overall responsibility for the Cabinet Office. In 2016, Sharma was appointed as the Prime Minister's "Infrastructure Envoy to India".

Sharma supported the opening in his Reading West constituency of one of the first free schools in England. All Saints Junior School opened in September 2011 and received an “Outstanding” rating in its first Ofsted report.

Sharma served as a member of the Science and Technology Select Committee between July 2010 and February 2011 and the Treasury Select Committee between September 2014 and March 2015. During Sharma's time on the Treasury Select Committee, the committee investigated how financial services customers were treated and Sharma was critical of banks for mis-selling products to customers.

Sharma has been a vocal supporter of the expansion of Heathrow Airport and has spoken in support of increasing the number of airport runways in the South East of England, claiming that “a lack of hub capacity is costing the UK jobs and investment.” This is despite opposition in his own constituency; in 2009 he said: “A third runway at Heathrow would inflict huge damage to the environment and to the quality of life of millions of people. It is time for the Government to abandon its plans for a third runway and, if a Conservative Government is elected, we will certainly stop this environmental disaster.”

Sharma was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for the Reading West constituency in 2006. He was elected as the MP for Reading West in the 2010 general election, winning a majority of 6,004 after the retirement of Martin Salter.

Sharma was born in Agra, India, but moved to Reading with his parents when he was five years old. His father Prem was involved in Conservative politics in Reading and became chairman of the Berkshire area of Conservatives and the founder of Conservative Parliamentary Friends of India. Sharma was raised in the Reading suburbs of Earley and Whitley Wood and attended Presentation College, Reading Blue Coat School in Sonning and the University of Salford, from where he graduated with a BSc in Applied Physics with Electronics in 1988.

Alok Sharma (born 7 September 1967) is a British politician, serving as the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from February 2020. He was previously the Secretary of State for International Development from July 2019 to February 2020. He was elected in 2010 as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Reading West.