Liam Fox

Sir Liam Fox
Official portrait, 2017
Secretary of State for International Trade
In office
13 July 2016 – 24 July 2019
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byLiz Truss
President of the Board of Trade
In office
19 July 2016 – 24 July 2019
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byGreg Clark
Succeeded byLiz Truss
Secretary of State for Defence
In office
12 May 2010 – 14 October 2011
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byBob Ainsworth
Succeeded byPhilip Hammond
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office
6 November 2003 – 4 May 2005
Serving with The Lord Saatchi
LeaderMichael Howard
Preceded byTheresa May
Succeeded byFrancis Maude
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office
23 July 1996 – 1 May 1997
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byMark Lennox-Boyd
Succeeded byThe Baroness Symons
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
28 November 1995 – 23 July 1996
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byDavid Willetts
Succeeded byPatrick McLoughlin
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
In office
6 December 2005 – 11 May 2010
LeaderDavid Cameron
Preceded byMichael Ancram
Succeeded byBob Ainsworth
Shadow Foreign Secretary
In office
10 May 2005 – 6 December 2005
LeaderMichael Howard
Preceded byMichael Ancram
Succeeded byWilliam Hague
Shadow Secretary of State for Health
In office
15 June 1999 – 6 November 2003
LeaderWilliam Hague
Iain Duncan Smith
Preceded byAnn Widdecombe
Succeeded byTim Yeo
Shadow Constitutional Affairs Spokesperson
In office
1 June 1998 – 15 June 1999
LeaderWilliam Hague
Preceded byMichael Ancram
Succeeded byGeorge Young
Member of Parliament
for North Somerset
Woodspring (1992–2010)
In office
9 April 1992 – 30 May 2024
Preceded bySir Paul Dean
Succeeded bySadik Al-Hassan
Personal details
Born (1961-09-22) 22 September 1961 (age 63)
East Kilbride, Scotland
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Jesme Baird
(m. 2005)
Residence(s)Tickenham, Somerset, England
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow (MB ChB)
WebsiteOfficial website
Medical career
ProfessionGeneral practitioner
Civilian army general practitioner

Sir Liam Fox (born 22 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Trade from 2016 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Defence from 2010 to 2011. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Somerset, formerly Woodspring, from 1992 to 2024.

Fox studied medicine at the University of Glasgow and worked as a GP and civilian army medical GP before being elected as an MP. After holding several ministerial roles under John Major, Fox served as Constitutional Affairs Spokesman from 1998 to 1999, Shadow Health Secretary from 1999 to 2003, Chair of the Conservative Party from 2003 to 2005, Shadow Foreign Secretary in 2005 and Shadow Defence Secretary from 2005 to 2010.

In the 2009 expenses scandal, he was the Shadow Cabinet minister found to have the largest over-claim on expenses and, as a result, was forced to repay the most money. In 2010, he was appointed Defence Secretary by Prime Minister David Cameron, a position from which he resigned on 14 October 2011 over allegations that he had given a close friend, lobbyist Adam Werritty, inappropriate access to the Ministry of Defence and allowed him to join official trips overseas.

In July 2016, in the wake of the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union, Fox was appointed the first Secretary of State for International Trade by new Prime Minister Theresa May. He was also made President of the Board of Trade. Fox has twice stood unsuccessfully for the leadership of the Conservative Party, in 2005 and 2016. In July 2019, he lost his cabinet position when new Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed his cabinet.

He was knighted in the 2023 Political Honours for public and political service.[1]

  1. ^ "Political Honours conferred: December 2023". Gov.uk. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.