Theresa Villiers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dame Theresa Villiers
DBE
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Official portrait, 2020
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| Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 24 July 2019 – 13 February 2020 |
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| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Michael Gove | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | George Eustice | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 4 September 2012 – 14 July 2016 |
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| Prime Minister | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Owen Paterson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | James Brokenshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of State for Rail and Aviation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 13 May 2010 – 4 September 2012 |
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| Prime Minister | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Sadiq Khan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Simon Burns | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet |
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| In office 5 May 2005 – 30 May 2024 |
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| Preceded by | Sydney Chapman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Dan Tomlinson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of the European Parliament | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 15 July 1999 – 5 May 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Constituency established | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Syed Kamall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | London | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
Theresa Anne Villiers
5 March 1968 Hunstanton, Norfolk, England |
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| Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Sid Wilken (divorced) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Villiers family | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Bristol (LLB) Jesus College, Oxford (BCL) City Law School |
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Dame Theresa Anne Villiers (born 5 March 1968) is a British politician. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Conservative Party, representing the area of Chipping Barnet from 2005 to 2024. An MP's job is to represent the people of their local area, called a constituency, in the House of Commons.
Before becoming an MP, Villiers was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London from 1999 to 2005. During her career, she held several important government jobs. These included Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. A Secretary of State is a senior minister in charge of a government department.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Theresa Villiers was born in Hunstanton, a town in Norfolk, England. She grew up in North London and went to the Francis Holland School.
For her university studies, she first went to the University of Bristol, where she earned a degree in law. She then studied at Jesus College, Oxford. After finishing her education, she became a barrister, which is a type of lawyer. She also worked as a university lecturer at King's College London for five years.
Interestingly, her family has a long history. She is a distant descendant of King Edward II.
Political Career
Villiers began her political career in Europe before working in the UK Parliament.
Member of the European Parliament
In 1999, Villiers was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London. The European Parliament was a group of politicians from different European countries who made laws together. She was re-elected in 2004 but left the role in 2005 when she was elected to the UK Parliament.
Member of Parliament
In 2005, Villiers became the MP for Chipping Barnet. She won several elections to keep her seat, though sometimes by a very small number of votes. In the 2024 general election, she lost her seat to Dan Tomlinson of the Labour Party.
In 2021, a committee found that Villiers and four other MPs had broken parliamentary rules. They had tried to influence a judge during a court case involving another politician. For this, she was suspended from Parliament for one day.
Working in Government
As an experienced politician, Villiers was given several important jobs in the government.
Minister and Shadow Minister
When the Conservative Party was not in power, it formed a "Shadow Cabinet". This is a team of politicians who "shadow" the real government ministers. Villiers was the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport.
After the 2010 election, she became the Minister of State for Transport. In this role, she was in charge of government policy on trains and planes.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
From 2012 to 2016, Villiers was the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. This was a very important job that involved working on peace and stability in the region. Her time in this role received mixed reviews. She once gave a speech defending the army and police for their actions during a difficult period in Northern Ireland's history known as The Troubles. However, an official report later said that the authorities had made serious mistakes.
Villiers was a strong supporter of Brexit, the UK's decision to leave the European Union. This was a key issue during her time as Northern Ireland Secretary. In 2016, after Theresa May became Prime Minister, Villiers left her role.
Secretary of State for the Environment
In 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson made Villiers the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In this job, she was responsible for protecting the environment, farming, and food production. She left this position in early 2020.
Political Views
Theresa Villiers has spoken out on many different topics during her career.
- Airport Expansion: She was against building a third runway at Heathrow airport. She also opposed plans for a new airport in the Thames Estuary. Instead, she suggested that more flights should use regional airports outside of London.
- Animal Welfare: At a party conference in 2019, she announced plans to ban the export of live farm animals for slaughter. She also wanted to stop people from keeping primates as pets and make it a rule for all pet cats to have a microchip.
- Housing: Villiers has argued against building large blocks of flats in suburban areas of London. She said that this type of housing would not be good for the environment or the community. Some people called her a "NIMBY" (which stands for "Not In My Back Yard"), a term for someone who opposes new developments in their local area.
- Foreign Affairs: She is a member of the group Conservative Friends of Israel. She has also spoken in support of people in Iran who are protesting against their government.
Personal Life and Honours
Theresa Villiers was married to Sean Wilken, who is also a lawyer. They wrote a book about law together before they divorced.
In April 2025, she was given the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. This is a special honour given by the monarch to people who have made important contributions to the country.
Honours
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Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
See also
In Spanish: Theresa Villiers para niños
