Nick Hurd
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Nicholas Richard Hurd (born 13 May 1962) is a British politician who served as
Minister for London The Minister for London is a United Kingdom Government ministerial post in His Majesty's Government. The officeholder is responsible for policy relating to London including informing Members of Parliament in the House of Commons on the activit ...
from 2018 to 2019 and
Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service The Minister of State for Policing and Crime Prevention is a ministerial position held at the Home Office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Holders of this office have previously held additional responsibilities such as for security, coun ...
from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for
Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 United Kingdom ...
from
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
to
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
. Hurd was first elected as the MP for Ruislip-Northwood in
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
. He served as
Minister for Civil Society The Minister for Civil Society was a position within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the Government of the United Kingdom. It concerned and directly supported charities, volunteering and social enterprise. The office was establis ...
at the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for Culture of the United Kingdom, culture a ...
in the Cameron Government from 15 May 2010 to 14 July 2014. On 28 November 2015, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the
Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...
following the resignation of
Grant Shapps Sir Grant Shapps (born 14 September 1968) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from August 2023 to July 2024. Shapps previously served in various Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet posts, including Chairman of ...
. In the May Government, Hurd served as
Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...
for Industry and Climate Change from 16 July 2016 to 12 June 2017 at the newly created
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom Government, from July 2016 to Februar ...
, when he was appointed as
Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service The Minister of State for Policing and Crime Prevention is a ministerial position held at the Home Office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Holders of this office have previously held additional responsibilities such as for security, coun ...
. He served subsequently as
Minister for London The Minister for London is a United Kingdom Government ministerial post in His Majesty's Government. The officeholder is responsible for policy relating to London including informing Members of Parliament in the House of Commons on the activit ...
from 14 November 2018 to 16 December 2019. On 25 July 2019, he resigned as Minister for Policing, becoming
Minister of State for Northern Ireland The role of Minister of State for Northern Ireland is a mid-level position in the Northern Ireland Office in the British government. It is currently vacant, after the 2024 general election. The role is also known as Deputy Secretary of State for ...
.


Family and early life

Hurd is eldest son of the Conservative
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
Douglas Hurd Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995. A career diplomat and ...
, Baron Hurd of Westwell, a former Member of Parliament, Foreign Secretary under
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
and
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
, and a candidate in the 1990 leadership election. He is the fourth generation in the male line of his family to be elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative, following his father,
grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a m ...
and
great-grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maxi ...
. Hurd was educated at
Sunningdale School Sunningdale School is a boys' preparatory independent boarding school of up to 105 pupils, situated in Sunningdale in Berkshire, close to London, England. History The school was founded in 1874 by William Girdlestone, it has of gardens and ...
and later at
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
. He then studied at
Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...
, (where he was a member of the
Bullingdon Club The Bullingdon Club is a private all-male dining club for Oxford University students. It is known for its wealthy members, grand banquets, and bad behaviour, including vandalism of restaurants and students' rooms. The club selects its members ...
). After university, Hurd ran his own business and represented a British bank in
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. In 2002, he set up the Small Business Network to advise the Conservative Party on business policy. Later he worked as Chief of Staff to
Tim Yeo Timothy Stephen Kenneth Yeo (born 20 March 1945) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of South Suffolk between the 1983 United Kingdom general election and tha ...
MP, who at the time was Shadow Secretary of State for Environment and Transport, and in the
Conservative Research Department The Conservative Research Department (CRD) is part of the central organisation of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. It operates alongside other departments of Conservative Campaign Headquarters in Westminster. The CRD has been descri ...
.


Parliamentary career

Hurd served as the Convenor of the Climate Change working group of the Conservative Party's Quality of Life Policy Group from 2006 to 2008. He has also served as a member of the
Environmental Audit Select Committee The Environmental Audit Select Committee is a Select committee (United Kingdom), select committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine ho ...
(EAC) before becoming a minister. In May 2016, he was given the Green Ribbon Political Award as Parliamentarian of the year (MP), citing his work on the EAC and in promoting action against climate change while at DFID where he led the Energy Africa initiative promoting greater access to sustainable energy. Hurd came top in the
Private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...
ballot in November 2006, and introduced the Sustainable Communities Bill into the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
. This achieved its third reading in June 2007 and after being passed by the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, the ''Sustainable Communities Act 2007'' received Royal Assent in October 2007. In 2016, Hurd supported remain at the
2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...
. Hurd was promoted by
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
to the Opposition Whips' office in July 2007. He served as Opposition Whip until his appointment as Shadow Minister for Charities, Social Enterprise and Volunteering in October 2008. Hurd succeeded
Amber Rudd Amber Augusta Rudd (born 1 August 1963) is a British former politician who served as Home Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2018 to 2019. She was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Pa ...
as Minister for Climate Change and Industry, and served from July 2016 to June 2017. He was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Development from November 2015 following the resignation of
Grant Shapps Sir Grant Shapps (born 14 September 1968) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from August 2023 to July 2024. Shapps previously served in various Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet posts, including Chairman of ...
until the reshuffle following the appointment of
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
as Prime Minister in July 2016. During the
Cameron–Clegg coalition The Cameron–Clegg coalition was formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg when Cameron was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government, following the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, after the general el ...
he served as
Minister for Civil Society The Minister for Civil Society was a position within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the Government of the United Kingdom. It concerned and directly supported charities, volunteering and social enterprise. The office was establis ...
from May 2010 until July 2014, during which time he led the work on setting up the
National Citizen Service National Citizen Service, also known as NCS, was a Government-funded personal and social development programme in England available for 16-17 year olds. The scheme was run by the NCS Trust, a public body for youth and a key component of the Gover ...
and
Big Society Capital Better Society Capital Limited (BSC), formerly Big Society Capital, is a social impact investor in the United Kingdom, with a mission to grow the amount of money invested in tackling social issues and inequalities in the UK. It invests its own ca ...
. Hurd announced his intention not to stand in the 2019 general election, citing personal reasons. He did not resign any of his ministerial roles and continued in them until the formation of the next government.


Career outside Parliament

After leaving Parliament Hurd took a role at Francis Maude Associates, a consultancy established by
Francis Maude Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham, (born 4 July 1953) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2010 to 2015. He also served ...
and Simone Finn. In 2021, he chaired the G7's Impact Taskforce focused on mobilizing private capital by advocating for globally consistent standards to measure, value, and account for sustainability.


Personal life

Hurd met his first wife Kim Richards at
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
, and they married at Eton Chapel in 1988. The couple had two sons and two daughters together. In 2008, they divorced after twenty years of marriage. In 2010, Hurd married Lady Clare Kerr, daughter of the Conservative politician the 13th Marquess of Lothian (commonly known as Michael Ancram), after meeting at a party the previous year. On 17 May 2012, Lady Clare Hurd gave birth to a baby girl, Leila. A son, Caspar Jamie Hurd, was born on 30 September 2014. Hurd's wife is
heiress presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...
to the Lordship of Herries of Terregles, currently held by her mother, the Marchioness of Lothian. The couple's son is second in the line of succession to the lordship. He is a governor of Coteford Junior School, a
Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...
and a
Liveryman A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the "Wors ...
of the
Worshipful Company of Grocers The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London, ranking second in order of precedence. Established in 1345 for merchants engaged in the grocery trade, it is one of the Great Twelve City Livery Compa ...
.


Honours

* He was sworn in as a member of the
Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...
in 2017. This gave him the right to the
honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...
title "
The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...
" for life.


Notes


External links


Nick Hurd
at the Cabinet Office * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurd, Nick 1962 births Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Politicians from London Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Nick Nick may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nick (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Désirée Nick, German actress and writer Places * Nick, Hungary, a village * Nick, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, a ...
Living people Ministers for Civil Society People educated at Eton College People educated at Sunningdale School UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 Bullingdon Club members Sons of life peers