Ministerial role

Secretary of State for Transport

Organisations: Department for Transport
Current role holder: The Rt Hon Mark Harper MP

Responsibilities

The Secretary of State is responsible for oversight of all areas.

Current role holder

The Rt Hon Mark Harper MP

Mark Harper was appointed Secretary of State for Transport on 25 October 2022.

Previously, he served as Chief Whip (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) from May 2015 until 14 July 2016. Previously Mark served as Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform from May 2010 until September 2012. He served as Minister for Immigration from September 2012 until February 2014 and as Minister for Disabled People from July 2014 until May 2015.

He was elected Conservative MP for the Forest of Dean in May 2005.

Education

Mark was educated at Headlands school, Swindon, and Swindon College, before studying philosophy, politics and economics at Brasenose College, Oxford.

Political career

Mark was elected as an MP in May 2005. In December 2005, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Defence and in July 2007 he became Shadow Minister for Disabled People. Following the formation of the coalition government in 2010, Mark was appointed Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform. He was appointed Minister for Immigration in September 2012.

Career outside politics

Mark qualified as a chartered accountant with the professional services network, KPMG, in 1995. Until 2002 he worked for Intel Corporation in a variety of fields, including finance, business operations and marketing, before establishing his own chartered accountancy business in the Forest of Dean.

More about this person

Previous holders of this role

  1. The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP

    2022 to 2022

  2. The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP

    2019 to 2022

  3. The Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP

    2016 to 2019

  4. The Rt Hon Sir Patrick McLoughlin

    2012 to 2016

  5. The Rt Hon Justine Greening

    2011 to 2012

  6. The Rt Hon Philip Hammond

    2010 to 2011