34 Facts About Mark Francois

Mark Gino Francois is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Rayleigh and Wickford since 2001.

Mark Francois was Minister of State for Communities and Resilience and Minister for Portsmouth at the Department for Communities and Local Government from 2015 to 2016.

Mark Gino Francois was born on 14 August 1965 in Islington, London to Anna and Reginald Francois.

Mark Francois's father was an engineer and his mother was an Italian au pair.

Mark Francois studied history at the University of Bristol and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1986.

Mark Francois stated that he joined the Conservative Party when he was studying in Bristol.

Mark Francois went on to undertake a Master of Arts degree in war studies at King's College London, graduating in 1987.

Mark Francois's commission was confirmed in 1988, and he was granted seniority in the rank of second lieutenant from 18 December 1983.

Mark Francois was promoted lieutenant on 18 September 1988, with seniority in that rank from 18 December 1985.

Mark Francois left the Territorial Army on 21 September 1989.

Mark Francois then worked as a political consultant for the lobbying company Market Access International in 1988, leaving to set up his own lobbying firm, Francois Associates, in 1996, which he closed when he was elected as an MP in 2001.

Mark Francois was a member of Basildon District Council for the Langdon Hills ward from 1991 to 1995.

Mark Francois stood for the Brent East constituency in the 1997 general election, coming second to the incumbent, Labour's Ken Livingstone.

Mark Francois contested the election to be the Conservatives' prospective parliamentary candidate for Kensington and Chelsea in the 1999 by-election.

Mark Francois was selected as the party's candidate for Rayleigh in the 2001 general election.

Mark Francois made his maiden speech on 4 July 2001.

Mark Francois was re-elected in the 2005 general election with an increased majority of 14,726.

Mark Francois served as a member of the Environmental Audit Select Committee for the duration of his first term in Parliament.

Mark Francois was promoted to become an Opposition Whip in 2003 by Michael Howard; to Shadow Economic Secretary in May 2004; and later to Shadow Paymaster General scrutinising HMRC.

Mark Francois was promoted to be Shadow Minister for Europe on 3 July 2007, and joined the Shadow Cabinet at the January 2009 reshuffle.

Mark Francois joined the Privy Council on 9 June 2010.

Mark Francois was appointed Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans in the Ministry of Defence in September 2012.

At the 2015 general election, Mark Francois was re-elected as the MP for Rayleigh and Wickford with a reduced majority of 17,230 votes.

At the 2017 general election, Mark Francois was re-elected as the MP for Rayleigh and Wickford with an increased majority of 23,450 votes.

Since September 2017, Mark Francois has sat on the Defence Select Committee and is a former member of the Administration Committee, the Committee of Selection, Defence Committee and Environmental Audit Committee.

Mark Francois is a vice-president of Conservative Friends of Poland.

Mark Francois appeared to be dressed as a uniformed police officer, including wearing a police issue stab vest.

Essex Police said that they had wrongly issued the jacket to the MP and confirmed that Mark Francois is not employed by them.

In 2019, Mark Francois became one of the 28 so called Tory "Brexit Spartans" who voted against Theresa May's Brexit deal all three times it was put to the House of Commons.

On 3 March 2020, Mark Francois was announced as chair of the ERG, succeeding Steve Baker.

In December 2021, Mark Francois called on Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis to resign for failing to come through with promised legislation related to veterans.

In November 2022, Labour MP Sarah Owen criticised Mark Francois for using an "outdated and crass racial slur" in the House of Commons when he referred to Japanese people as "Japs".

Mark Francois married Karen Thomas at Langdon Hills, Basildon, in June 2000.

On 11 June 2022, Mark Francois married Olivia Sanders, a NHS radiographer, borough councillor, and former Conservative Mayor of Brentwood.