Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Mark Simmonds MP

Contents

Biography

Mark Simmonds was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office on 5 September 2012.

He first entered Parliament in 2001 and is the Conservative MP for Boston and Skegness.

Education

Mark was educated at Worksop College and Trent University.

Political career

Mark was elected onto Wandsworth Borough Council for the Southfield Ward in Putney in 1990, where he remained until 1994 when he stepped down to pursue a career in politics.

Positions held:

• Member of Parliament for Boston and Skegness 2001 to present
• Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Foreign Secretary 2002 to 2003
• Shadow Minister for Education 2003 to 2004
• Shadow Foreign Office Minister 2004 to 2005
• Shadow Minister for International Development 2005 to 2007
• Shadow Minister for Health 2007 to 20010
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office September 2012 to present

Personal life

Mark is married and has 3 children.

Foreign &
Commonwealth
Office

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

The minister is based at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Responsibilities include:

• Africa
• overseas territories (not Falklands, SBAs or Gibraltar)
• conflict issues
• climate change
• international energy
• consular
• protocol
• ministerial oversight for FCO services
• the Caribbean (not including Dominican Republic, Haiti or Cuba)

More about this role

Policies

under the responsibility of Mark Simmonds MP as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

1. Supporting international action on climate change

   • 8 November 2013

2. Supporting British nationals overseas

   • 7 August 2013

3. Supporting the Overseas Territories

   • 14 March 2013

4. Preventing conflict in fragile states

   • 12 December 2012

View all policies

Announcements

by Mark Simmonds MP

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1. Foreign Office Minister meets President of Somalia

   • 16 April 2014
   • Press release

2. World Cup 2014 - your questions answered on Twitter

   • 9 April 2014
   • Press release

3. Foreign Secretary remembers the victims of the Rwandan Genocide

   • 7 April 2014
   • Press release

4. British Indian Ocean Territory Resettlement Study Underway

   • 7 April 2014
   • News story

5. Minister for Africa condemns continued attacks on civilians in Darfur

   • 7 April 2014
   • Press release

6. UK chairs the Voluntary Principles on Security & Human Rights

   • 28 March 2014
   • News story

7. UK Chairmanship of the Voluntary Principles

   • 27 March 2014
   • Statement to Parliament

8. Closure of the UN Peacebuilding Mission in Sierra Leone

   • 26 March 2014
   • Press release

9. Foreign Office Minister welcomes African Union Mission operations in Somalia

   • 18 March 2014
   • Press release

10. Promoting international cooperation in offshore wind energy

    • 13 March 2014
    • Speech

View all announcements

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