Oliver James Dowden was born on 1 August 1978 and is a British politician serving as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
22 Facts About Oliver Dowden
2.
Oliver Dowden grew up in Bricket Wood, Hertfordshire, being educated at Parmiter's School, a partially selective state comprehensive school in Garston, Watford.
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Oliver Dowden said he had an "excellent state education", before going to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he read law.
4.
Oliver Dowden then worked as a special adviser and David Cameron's deputy chief of staff, where he said most of his time was spent on "day-to-day crisis management".
5.
Oliver Dowden was regarded as having expertise in the attacking form of political communications, leading to comparisons with Labour's Alastair Campbell.
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Oliver Dowden was elected MP for Hertsmere in the 2015 general election, with a majority of 18,461 votes.
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Oliver Dowden made his maiden speech on 17 June 2015.
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Oliver Dowden was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2015 Dissolution Honours List on 27 August 2015.
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Oliver Dowden opposed Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum, though he has subsequently supported it citing his "respect" for the verdict of the British people.
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Oliver Dowden has campaigned in Hertfordshire against development of the local Green Belt, including opposing Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council's draft local plan.
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Oliver Dowden is a former officer of the Conservative Friends of Israel, and has twice chaired the APPG for British Jews.
12.
In January 2018, Oliver Dowden was promoted to parliamentary secretary to the Cabinet Office, as part of Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle.
13.
On 13 February 2020, Oliver Dowden was appointed Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, succeeding Baroness Morgan of Cotes, who resigned from the cabinet.
14.
In July 2020 Oliver Dowden announced that equipment provided by Chinese telecommunications company Huawei would be removed from the UK's 5G network by 2027.
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Oliver Dowden asked Netflix to add a "health warning" before episodes of the series The Crown, and warned against younger viewers taking fiction as fact.
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Oliver Dowden had previously said that "woke culture runs contrary to the great liberal traditions of Western democracies".
17.
On 14 February 2022, Oliver Dowden gave a speech in the USA to The Heritage Foundation in which he criticised cancel culture, calling it a "painful woke psychodrama" which is sweeping the West and sapping its confidence, further saying that woke ideology is a "dangerous form of decadence".
18.
Oliver Dowden had made similar remarks to the Conservative Party Conference in October 2021.
19.
On 24 June 2022, Oliver Dowden resigned as Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio following the Conservative defeats at the Tiverton and Honiton by-election and Wakefield by-election, saying: "We cannot carry on with business as usual" and "Somebody must take responsibility".
20.
Oliver Dowden supported Sunak in the October 2022 leadership contest.
21.
On 21 April 2023, following Dominic Raab's resignation after a report over claims he bullied staff was given to Sunak, Oliver Dowden was appointed as the deputy prime minister.
22.
Oliver Dowden is married to Blythe Oliver Dowden, a teacher, and they have two children.