Here’s a look at the life of David Cameron, former prime minister of the United Kingdom.
Personal:
Birth date: October 9, 1966
Birth place: London, England
Birth name: David William Donald Cameron
Father: Ian Cameron, a stockbroker
Mother: Mary (Mount) Cameron
Marriage: Samantha (Sheffield) Cameron (June 1, 1996-present)
Children: Florence Rose Endellion, 2010; Arthur Elwen, 2006; Nancy Gwen, 2004; Ivan Reginald, 2002-2009
Education: Eton College; Brasenose College, Oxford, 1988 – First Class honors degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics
Religion: Anglican
Other Facts:
Is a descendant of King William IV.
Is the 12th prime minister to take office during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.
The youngest prime minister since 1812.
The first Conservative (Tory) prime minister since John Major in 1997.
Timeline:
1988-1992 – Works at the Conservative Party Research Department.
1992 – Becomes special adviser to Norman Lamont, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
1993 – Is special adviser to Home Secretary Michael Howard.
1994-2001 – Head of corporate affairs for media company Carlton Communications.
1997 – Runs unsuccessfully for a Parliament seat from Stafford.
2001 – Becomes a member of Parliament (MP) representing the town of Witney, in Oxfordshire, and serves as a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee.
2003 – Is appointed shadow deputy leader in the House of Commons.
May 2005 – Is appointed shadow education secretary.
December 6, 2005 – Is elected leader of the Conservative Party.
February 25, 2009 – His son Ivan, who suffered from cerebral palsy, dies at the age of six.
May 6, 2010 – No one party receives a majority in parliamentary elections. The Conservatives win 306 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons, 20 seats shy of a majority.
May 11, 2010 – Queen Elizabeth II invites David Cameron to be the new prime minister after Gordon Brown’s resignation. He announces his intent to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrat party.
July 20, 2010 – Makes trip to the United States, meeting with President Barack Obama.
July 20, 2011 – Cameron addresses an emergency session of the House of Commons about the phone hacking scandal at News Corp. Cameron defends his ties to Rupert Murdoch and the former editor of The News of the World, Andy Coulson, who previously worked as Cameron’s communications director.
June 14, 2012 – Cameron testifies before the Leveson Inquiry regarding the News Corp. phone hacking scandal
September 26, 2012 – Appears on the “Late Show with David Letterman.”
May 7, 2015 – With all the results in, Cameron and his Conservative Party claim an outright majority in Parliament, with 331 seats out of 650, and can form a new government.
June 24, 2016 – Following the UK vote to leave the European Union, Cameron announces his resignation saying he will leave when a new leader is appointed in October.
July 13, 2016 – Cameron resigns. Home Secretary Theresa May replaces him.
September 12, 2016 – Cameron announces he will stand down immediately as a member of parliament, saying he doesn’t want to be a “diversion to the important decisions that lie ahead for my successor in Downing Street and the Government.”