Owen Paterson

Owen Paterson
Official portrait, 2020
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In office
4 September 2012 – 14 July 2014
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byCaroline Spelman
Succeeded byLiz Truss
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office
12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byShaun Woodward
Succeeded byTheresa Villiers
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office
2 July 2007 – 11 May 2010
LeaderDavid Cameron
Preceded byDavid Lidington
Succeeded byShaun Woodward
Member of Parliament
for North Shropshire
In office
1 May 1997 – 5 November 2021
Preceded byJohn Biffen
Succeeded byHelen Morgan
Personal details
Born
Owen William Paterson

(1956-06-24) 24 June 1956 (age 68)
Whitchurch, Shropshire, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
(m. 1980; died 2020)
Children3
EducationRadley College
Alma materCorpus Christi College, Cambridge

Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012 and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2014 under Prime Minister David Cameron. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Shropshire from 1997 until his resignation in 2021. Paterson was also the President of the Northern Ireland Conservatives.[citation needed]

Paterson was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet of David Cameron in 2007 as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. During the formation of the Coalition Government in 2010, he was appointed to the Cabinet as Northern Ireland Secretary, where he remained until being moved to Environment Secretary in 2012. He was dismissed as Environment Secretary by Prime Minister David Cameron as part of the 2014 Cabinet reshuffle, and was replaced by Liz Truss. After returning to the backbenches, Paterson became a leading supporter of Brexit as a member of the European Research Group (ERG).

Paterson resigned from the House of Commons on 5 November 2021 amid controversy surrounding a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards that found that he had broken paid advocacy rules.