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Michelle Donelan

Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (born 8 April 1984) is an English politician serving as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology since July 2023, having previously served in the position from February to April 2023 before being temporarily replaced during her maternity leave. A member of the Conservative Party, Donelan also held three other cabinet positions from 2020 to 2023 under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chippenham in Wiltshire from 2015 to 2024.

Donelan was selected as the Parliamentary Candidate by the Conservative Party for the new Melksham and Devizes constituency in May 2023.

Early life and education

The daughter of Michael Donelan and his wife Kathleen Johnson, Michelle Donelan was born in April 1984 and grew up in Whitley, Cheshire. At the age of 15, Donelan spoke at the Conservative Party Conference in Blackpool, having decided at the age of six to become a politician.

Donelan was educated at The County High School, Leftwich, a state school, before graduating from the University of York with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and politics. While at university, she was involved in York Student Television.

Donelan's career outside politics was in marketing, including a time working on Marie Claire magazine and for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Political career

Donelan stood at the 2010 general election in Wentworth and Dearne, coming second with 17.6% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP John Healey.

She was then selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Chippenham in February 2013. After her selection at Chippenham, she became a trustee of Help Victims of Domestic Violence, a charitable organisation based in the town and a member of the Steering Group of Wiltshire Carers.

At the 2015 general election, Donelan was elected to Parliament as MP for Chippenham with 47.6% of the vote and a majority of 10,076.

Donelan served on the Education Select Committee between 2015 and 2018.

Before the 2016 referendum, Donelan supported the UK remaining within the European Union.

Donelan was re-elected as MP for Chippenham at the snap 2017 United Kingdom general election with 54.7% of the vote and a majority of 16,630.

At the 2019 general election, Donelan was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 54.3% and a decreased majority of 11,288.

Whip and Junior Education Minister

Donelan was appointed an assistant whip in 2018 and a government whip in July 2019. In September 2019, she was appointed parliamentary under-secretary for children to cover maternity leave for Kemi Badenoch.

In the February 2020 cabinet reshuffle, she became Minister of State for Universities. As of May 2020, her responsibilities included universities and co-chairing the Family Justice Board, which oversees the performance of the family justice system and is advised by the Family Justice Council.

In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle, her role was renamed Minister of State for Higher and Further Education, with the added right to attend cabinet. She was also sworn into the Privy Council.

During her tenure in the Department for Education, she campaigned for freedom of speech in Universities.

Secretary of State for Education

On 5 July 2022, in the wake of a large number of resignations from the second Johnson ministry over Boris Johnson's handling of the Chris Pincher scandal and other political scandals, Donelan, who was then serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Skills, Further and Higher Education (previously named Minister of State for Higher and Further Education during her tenure) was promoted to Secretary of State for Education, after her predecessor Nadhim Zahawi was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.

On 7 July 2022, after less than 36 hours in the role, Donelan resigned as Secretary of State, writing that Johnson had "put us in an impossible position". She was the shortest-serving cabinet member in British history, her tenure being shorter than Earl Temple's four-day tenure as Foreign Secretary in 1783. Following reports she would receive severance pay at Secretary of State level despite her short tenure, Donelan refused this payment.

Conservative Party Leadership Elections 2022

Donelan initially backed Nadhim Zahawi in the July-September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, later backing Penny Mordaunt, after holding a constituency survey, she later switched her endorsement to Liz Truss after Penny Mordaunt and Nadhim Zahawi, who didn't receive enough support from Conservative MPs to move forward was eliminated from the election. After Truss resigned, she endorsed Rishi Sunak in the October 2022 leadership election.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Donelan was appointed Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 7 September 2022 by then prime minister Liz Truss. Rishi Sunak succeeded Truss following the October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, and Donelan retained her position in the cabinet.

She stated in January 2023 that she was against returning the Parthenon marbles to Greece, on the grounds that restitution would "open a can of worms" and be a "dangerous road to go down." In the same month, Donelan cancelled a plan to privatise Channel 4 that had been announced by Nadine Dorries under Boris Johnson's premiership.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology

In a reshuffle of Sunak's cabinet on 7 February 2023, Donelan was appointed to the newly created role of Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology.

It was announced on 21 April 2023 that during her maternity leave, Donelan would be temporarily replaced as Secretary of State by Chloe Smith. She returned to her ministerial role on Thursday 20 July 2023 after 3 months of ministerial maternity leave.

Under Donelan's portfolio in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, was the controversial Online Safety Act 2023. Under her leadership the Act was amended and made its passage through both Houses of Parliament, after the bills long tenure within the development stages and through its passage of Parliament. Donelan is planning to introduce major reform in online safety.

Libel settlement

In October 2023, in her role as science minister, Donelan wrote to the head of UKRI (the body which directs government funding to research and innovation) suggesting that two academics recently appointed to a UKRI advisory group had expressed sympathy for Hamas and shared extremist views. The letter was also published at Donelan's Twitter/X account. In response, Ottoline Leyser, UKRI chief executive, suspended the advisory panel and began an inquiry. Over 2,500 academics signed an open letter condemning Donelan's accusation as an attack on academic freedom.

In March 2024, Donelan publicly retracted the allegations and deleted the October tweet. One of the academics, Kate Sang of Heriot-Watt University, had commenced a libel action against Donelan, who was represented by the government legal service. According to Sang's lawyer, Donelan had based her allegations on a misleading press release from the Policy Exchange lobby group. Donelan's department paid compensation of £15,000 to Sang, plus legal costs. Donelan also apologised to the second appointee. Sang's lawyer said "It is extraordinary that a minister should be guided by a lobby group into making serious false allegations about private citizens without doing the first piece of due diligence."

The total cost to public funds was said in April 2024 to be more than £34,000, comprising the previously disclosed £15,000 compensation to Sang, alongside legal costs of £7785 for the Government Legal Department and £11,600 for external legal counsel. In addition, UKRI spent £15,000 on the investigation and £8,280 on legal advice.

Parliamentary Candidate for the new Melksham and Devizes Constituency

In May 2023, she announced she would be contesting the Melksham and Devizes constituency at the 2024 general election, as the boundaries of her Chippenham seat had been redrawn.

Personal life

Donelan is married to Tom Turner. His family's firm Stronghold Global, a procurement company, has had government supply contracts. In December 2022, Donelan announced that she was expecting a baby and went on maternity leave at the end of April 2023.

Donelan identifies as Christian.