1. Shailesh Lakhman Vara is a Ugandan-British Conservative former politician who was the Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire from 2005 until 2024.
18 Facts About Shailesh Vara
1. 2.
Shailesh Vara served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from July to September 2022.
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Shailesh Vara returned to the backbenches in July 2016, having been removed from his positions by the new prime minister Theresa May In the January 2018 reshuffle, he re-entered government as Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office, serving under Karen Bradley.
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In November 2018, Shailesh Vara resigned from this role in opposition to May's draft Brexit withdrawal agreement.
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Shailesh Vara was born on 4 September 1960 in Uganda to Gujarati Indian immigrants.
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Shailesh Vara moved to Britain with his family in 1964 and had a Hindu upbringing.
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Shailesh Vara has been a senior legal adviser and business consultant for London First, and is vice-president of the Small Business Bureau.
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Shailesh Vara has been involved with the Conservative Party since the late 1980s and has held various posts at local, regional and national levels.
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Shailesh Vara served as a Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2001 to 2005.
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The Breast Cancer Bill was Shailesh Vara's chosen issue after he was one of 20 MPs who were selected at random to introduce a private member's bill to the House of Commons in 2006.
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The proposal was not supported by the government, which Shailesh Vara claimed effectively blocked its progress by talking through to the end of the debate.
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Shailesh Vara has given his backing to Breast Cancer Campaigns award-winning national "wear it pink" day, and showed his support for breast cancer charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer at a meeting in the House of Commons.
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Shailesh Vara was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 Brexit referendum in June 2016.
14.
Early on 15 November 2018, Shailesh Vara announced his resignation as a Northern Ireland Minister on Twitter, posting his letter of resignation.
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Shailesh Vara's resignation followed the previous day's marathon-length cabinet meeting to discuss the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement.
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On 7 July 2022, Shailesh Vara was appointed as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, replacing Brandon Lewis.
17.
At the 2024 general election, Shailesh Vara lost his seat by 39 votes to Labour's Sam Carling.
18.
Shailesh Vara has a black belt in taekwondo; he is married with two children.