Britain's former prime minister and newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Cameron walks outside 10 Downing Street, London on Nov. 13.SUZANNE PLUNKETT/Reuters
On Monday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a major shakeup to his cabinet, including appointing former prime minister David Cameron to the position of Foreign Secretary. Mr. Cameron, who resigned his seat in parliament in 2016, was also appointed to the House of Lords.
Mr. Cameron, 57, served as British prime minister from 2010 to 2016, resigning after the outcome of the Brexit vote, when Britain voted to leave the European Union.
“Though I may have disagreed with some individual decisions, it is clear to me that Rishi Sunak is a strong and capable prime minister, who is showing exemplary leadership at a difficult time,” Mr. Cameron said in a statement after his appointment.
Mr. Cameron is Britain’s seventh foreign secretary in seven years. He replaced James Cleverly who had been in the job since September 2022. Mr. Cleverly took over from Liz Truss, who had held the post for a year.
Dominic Raab held the job from 2019 until September 2021, before he was moved over criticism that he remained on holiday in Crete as the Taliban advanced on Kabul.
Jeremy Hunt, the current finance minister, held the office from 2018-2019, with former prime minister Boris Johnson in situ for two years from July 2016 to July 2018. Philip Hammond was foreign secretary from July 2014 until three weeks after the Brexit vote in 2016.
Here’s what to know about the former British prime minister:
A former public relations executive for a commercial television company, Mr. Cameron became Britain’s youngest leader in almost two centuries after the 2010 election when he led the country’s first coalition government since World War Two.
From 2010: Who is David Cameron?
A descendant of King William IV, Mr. Cameron went to the exclusive private school Eton College and then Oxford University, and he faced accusations of being out of touch as his government implemented a series of austerity measures following the global financial crisis.
In 2013, his government legalized same-sex marriage, which Mr. Cameron backed strongly, saying at the time: “I don’t support gay marriage in spite of being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a Conservative.”
As prime minister, Mr. Cameron ordered military intervention in Libya, when Britain and its allies led international efforts to help oust then-leader Muammar Gaddafi in early 2011.
In 2016, a report by British lawmakers slammed the decision as flawed for contributing to the North African country’s political and economic collapse.
Mr. Cameron agreed to hold a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014, campaigning successfully against secession as Scots voted by 55 per cent to 45 per cent to stay in the United Kingdom.
Aiming to repeat that success, Mr. Cameron called a referendum on membership of the European Union in June 2016 to end decades-long divisions in his Conservative party over the issue. However, Britain voted for Brexit and he announced the next day that he would quit as prime minister.
“I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination,” he said, announcing his resignation. “This is not a decision I’ve taken lightly but I do believe it is in the national interest to have a period of stability and then the new leadership required,” he said.
From 2016: Cameron gamble fails, costs him his job as British PM
In 2021, it emerged that Mr. Cameron had repeatedly contacted senior ministers in 2020 to lobby for the now-failed, supply-chain finance firm Greensill Capital, fuelling questions about the extent to which former leaders can use their status to influence government policy.
British politics after David Cameron
Mr. Cameron served as prime minister until July 13, 2016, three weeks after the Brexit vote on June 23. There have been four prime ministers since, making it five in seven years, the biggest period of change since the 1920s.
Mr. Cameron was succeeded by three years of Theresa May before she was ousted and replaced by Boris Johnson. He also lasted three years before a ministerial rebellion forced him to quit, and he handed over to Liz Truss.
She holds the record for Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister when she quit after 49 days, having triggered a financial market meltdown.
Mr. Sunak was next, taking office in October 2022.