Oliver Dowden

The Right Honourable Sir Oliver Dowden KCB CBE MP
Official portrait, 2024
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 21 April 2023 – 5 July 2024
Prime Minister	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Dominic Raab
Succeeded by	Angela Rayner
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office 15 September 2021 – 24 June 2022 Serving with Ben Elliot
Leader	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Amanda Milling
Succeeded by	Andrew Stephenson
Shadow cabinet posts Deputy Leader of the Opposition Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom[1] In office 8 July 2024 – 5 November 2024 Leader Rishi Sunak Preceded by Angela Rayner Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster In office 8 July 2024 – 5 November 2024 Leader Rishi Sunak Preceded by Pat McFadden Succeeded by Alex Burghart
Ministerial offices 2018‍–‍2024 Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office In office 9 February 2023 – 5 July 2024 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Preceded by Office established Succeeded by Office abolished Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster In office 25 October 2022 – 5 July 2024 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Preceded by Nadhim Zahawi Succeeded by Pat McFadden Minister without Portfolio In office 15 September 2021 – 24 June 2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson Preceded by Amanda Milling Succeeded by Andrew Stephenson Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport In office 13 February 2020 – 15 September 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson Preceded by The Baroness Morgan of Cotes Succeeded by Nadine Dorries Minister for the Cabinet Office In office 24 July 2019 – 13 February 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson Preceded by David Lidington Succeeded by Michael Gove Paymaster General In office 24 July 2019 – 13 February 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson Preceded by Jesse Norman Succeeded by Penny Mordaunt Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office In office 9 January 2018 – 24 July 2019 Prime Minister Theresa May Preceded by Caroline Nokes Succeeded by Simon Hart
Member of Parliament for Hertsmere
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2015
Preceded by	James Clappison
Majority	7,992 (16.7%)
Personal details
Born	Oliver James Dowden (1978-08-01) 1 August 1978 (age 46) Park Street, Hertfordshire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Blythe Dowden ​ (m. 2008)​
Children	2
Education	Parmiter's School
Alma mater	Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Signature
Website	Parliamentary website

Sir Oliver James Dowden, KCB, CBE (born 1 August 1978) is a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he previously held various ministerial positions under Prime Ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak between 2018 and 2024. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertsmere since 2015.

Dowden served in the Boris Johnson government as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2019 to 2020 and Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2020 to 2021. In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle, he was moved to the posts of Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, serving alongside Ben Elliot, and Minister without Portfolio. He resigned from these roles in June 2022 after two by-election defeats.

Following a stint on the backbenches, he was re-appointed to the Cabinet in October 2022 by Rishi Sunak as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was made Secretary of State in the Cabinet office in February 2023 and, following the resignation of Dominic Raab, was appointed deputy prime minister in April of the same year. Following Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, Dowden was appointed Shadow Deputy Prime Minister^[2] in Sunak's caretaker shadow cabinet. The New Statesman named him as the tenth most powerful right-wing figure of 2023.^[3]