Dominic Cummings
Dominic McKenzie Cummings (born 25 November 1971) is a British political strategist. He served as Chief Adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson from July 2019 until 13 November 2020.[2] He was also special adviser to Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education from 2010 to 2014.
Dominic Cummings | |
|---|---|
| Chief Adviser to the Prime Minister | |
| In office 24 July 2019 – 13 November 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Office established (Gavin Barwell as Downing Street Chief of Staff) |
| Succeeded by | Edward Lister, Baron Udny-Lister |
| Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Education | |
| In office 2010–2014 | |
| Education Secretary | Michael Gove |
| Preceded by | Elena Narozanski |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dominic Mckenzie Cummings 25 November 1971[1] Durham, England[1] |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Wakefield |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Durham School |
| Alma mater | Exeter College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Political adviser |
| Known for | Special adviser to Education Secretary Michael Gove, 2010–2014; Campaign Director of Vote Leave, 2015–2016; Senior Adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 2019–present |
| Website | dominiccummings |
From 2015 to 2016, Cummings was director of the successful Vote Leave campaign. It was an organisation against the continued British membership of the European Union. The group took an active part in the 2016 referendum campaign for Brexit.
Cummings was born in Durham. He is married to Mary Wakefield. The couple have one son. Sir John Laws, a Lord Justice of Appeal, was Cummings' uncle.[3]
In May 2020, many people wanted Cummings to quit because he visited his parent's farm in Durham. Durham is over 200 miles (320 km) from his home in London. At the time, he had symptoms of COVID-19, and rules in the UK during the pandemic said people who thought they had the virus should stay at home. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Cummings had done nothing wrong and had a reason to go against the rules, because he needed childcare for his child. The Durham Constabulary started an investigation to see if Cummings had broken the law.[4][5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Owen Bennett (25 July 2019). "Chapter 11: Changing Places". Michael Gove: A Man in a Hurry. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 978-1785904400. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- ↑ "Dominic Cummings: PM's top adviser leaves No 10 to 'clear the air". Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ Booth, Robert (5 April 2020). "Retired judge and Cummings' uncle Sir John Laws dies after contracting Covid-19". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/apr/05/retired-senior-judge-sir-john-laws-dies-after-contracting-coronavirus. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- ↑ "Durham police asked to establish whether Dominic Cummings broke the law". The Independent. 25 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ↑ Dodd, Vikram (25 May 2020). "Durham police to be asked to investigate Dominic Cummings" (in en-GB). The Guardian. . https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/25/durham-police-chief-calls-for-investigation-into-dominic-cummings. Retrieved 25 May 2020.