Gillian Keegan is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Education.
28 Facts About Gillian Keegan
Gillian Keegan has been Member of Parliament for Chichester since 2017.
Gillian Keegan studied at Liverpool John Moores University and London Business School.
Gillian Keegan held senior positions in various business sectors, including as chief marketing officer for Travelport.
Gillian Keegan was elected to Parliament for Chichester at the 2017 general election.
Gillian Keegan was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills in February 2020 during the second Johnson ministry.
Gillian Keegan was born in Leigh, Lancashire, to an office manager father and a mother who did secretarial work.
Gillian Keegan was the only pupil to get 10 O-Levels at her school.
Gillian Keegan has a bachelor's degree in Business Studies from Liverpool John Moores University and a Master of Science in Strategy and Leadership from London Business School in 2011.
Gillian Keegan started her career aged 16 as an apprentice at a car factory in Kirkby and went on to have a business career working at Delco Electronics, NatWest Bank, MasterCard International, Amadeus IT Group and Travelport for over 27 years.
Gillian Keegan has said that it was her experiences of trade unionism and the Militant-controlled Liverpool City Council while working in Kirkby in her youth during the 1980s that convinced her to support the Conservative Party.
Gillian Keegan unsuccessfully contested the constituency of St Helens South and Whiston at the 2015 general election.
Gillian Keegan was elected as a councillor for the Rogate ward on Chichester District Council in 2014.
Gillian Keegan was appointed cabinet member for commercial services in May 2015.
Gillian Keegan stood down as a councillor in February 2018 and in the election that followed in April 2018, the seat was taken by the Liberal Democrat candidate Kate O'Kelly.
Gillian Keegan went on to beat O'Kelly by 21,490 votes at the 2019 general election.
Gillian Keegan was selected as the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Chichester in May 2017, and was elected to the House of Commons at the 2017 general election.
In February 2019, Gillian Keegan was appointed as MP Apprenticeship Ambassador by Anne Milton, with responsibility to support apprenticeship schemes and promote them both within Parliament and to businesses within the UK, working alongside the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network consisting of various advocates of apprenticeship schemes.
Gillian Keegan was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to HM Treasury in September 2018.
Gillian Keegan became PPS to the home secretary in May 2019.
Gillian Keegan endorsed Rory Stewart during the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Gillian Keegan became PPS to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in September 2019.
Gillian Keegan defended herself by stating that she was not the minister responsible for A-Level and GCSE qualifications.
Gillian Keegan said that although she had been the duty minister for the first two weeks of summer recess, she had obtained special permission to take her government computer with her to continue working during this period.
Gillian Keegan endorsed Sunak again in the October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election and was appointed Secretary of State for Education.
Gillian Keegan was sworn as a member of the Privy Council on 27 October 2022.
On 5 January 2023, Gillian Keegan represented the British government at the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI.
Michael Gillian Keegan is currently employed as a crown representative to the Cabinet Office, managing cross-government relationships with BAE Systems as a strategic supplier to the Government.