Theresa May was born on October 1, 1956 in Eastbourne, Sussex, United Kingdom. She is the only child of Zaidee Mary (Barnes) Brasier and Hubert Brasier, a Church of England clergyman and chaplain of an Eastbourne hospital. He later became vicar of Enstone with Heythrop and of St Mary's at Wheatley.
Theresa May attended Heythrop Primary School and St. Juliana's Convent School for Girls, a Roman Catholic independent school in Begbroke. It was closed in 1984.
At the age of 13, she began studying at the former Holton Park Girls' Grammar School, a state school in Wheatley. At that time, the Oxfordshire education was reorganised, and the school became the new Wheatley Park Comprehensive School.
May graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from St Hugh's College in 1977. On November 30, 2014, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the World Sikh University.
After graduation, May spent the next 20 years working in the financial sector before making her way into the education and political sectors in the mid-1980s and 1990s. She was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament of Maidenhead in 1997, describing herself as a "One-Nation Conservative."
In 2002 May was appointed as the first female Chairman of the Conservative Party and was famously quoted as saying it must no longer be known as the "Nasty Party." She served in a number of Shadow Cabinets before becoming Home Secretary in 2010, and also became the Minister for Women and Equalities, a post she vacated in 2012.
After Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation, May announced her candidacy for the Conservative Party and quickly emerged as its frontrunner, receiving 50 percent of the Parliamentary votes alone amid the other candidates. On July 7, 2016, it appeared that she and fellow Conservative leader Andrea Leadsom would both be in contention to become the country's next Prime Minister, but within days, Leadsom, who voted for Britain to leave the European Union, pulled out of the running due to distasteful remarks she made about why she would make a better Prime Minister.
With no one contesting her candidacy, May was set to be sworn in as the first post-Brexit female Prime Minister. On July 11, 2016, she made a televised announcement surrounded by Members of Parliament and her husband Philip.
May was sworn in as Britain's second female Prime Minister on July 13, 2016, and the Queen's 13th Prime Minister following ceremonial overtures.
On May 29, 2017, Prime Minister May officially told Parliament that she had invoked Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, legislation triggering the legal process to set Brexit in motion. The United Kingdom's ambassador to the European Union Tim Barrow delivered a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, notifying the European Union that the United Kingdom was leaving the union.
Shortly afterward, on June 8, an early general election resulted in the loss of her Conservative Party's Parliamentary majority. In November, the Prime Minister faced additional troubles with the resignation of two cabinet ministers - Secretary of State for International Development Priti Patel and Secretary of State for Defence Sir Michael Fallon - in the span of seven days. The shake-up was reported to have sparked concern that the Conservative Party was headed for further disarray, including a possible change in leadership.
On December 12, 2018, May faced a vote of no confidence in her leadership over opposition to her negotiated Brexit deal from the Conservative Party. May won the vote with 200 Conservative Members of Parliament voting for her, compared to 117 voting against.
On January 15, 2019, May's government was defeated in the House of Commons by a margin of 230 votes (202 in favour and 432 opposed) in a vote on her deal to leave the European Union. On February 14, she suffered another Commons defeat after Members of Parliament voted by 303 to 258 against a motion endorsing the government's Brexit negotiating strategy. On March 12, Theresa was defeated in the Commons by 149 votes (242 in favour and 391 against) on her latest deal after she secured last-minute concessions from the European Union. Two weeks later she was again defeated by 58 votes in the Commons (286 in favour and 344 against) on the withdrawal deal but not the political declaration.
On May 24, Theresa confirmed that she would resign as a Conservative Party leader on June 7. She continued to serve as Prime Minister until she tendered her resignation to the Queen on July 24.
Theresa May served as the country's second female Prime Minister after fellow Conservative Margaret Thatcher. She is a highly experienced politician who took over as United Kingdom's Prime Minister from David Cameron during a period of political uncertainty following Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.
Theresa is the Patron of Reading University Conservative Association, in Berkshire. Her activism has earned her a number of awards.
The Fawcett Society nominated Theresa May as one of the Society's Inspiring Women of 2006. She is the recipient of the Freedom of the City of London Award. In February 2013, BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour described her as Britain's second most powerful woman. In 2017 Theresa was listed by Forbes as the second most powerful woman in the world, behind Angela Merkel. On August 30, 2018, she was awarded the honorary citizenship of Abuja in Nigeria.
In 2003 May was appointed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and received the honorific title "The Right Honourable" for life. She also holds Special Class of the Order of King Abdulaziz.
Theresa May is the daughter of an Anglican priest, the Reverend Hubert Brasier. She regularly worships at church on Sunday. May has stated that her Christian faith "is part of her and that it is part of who she is and therefore how she approaches things".
During her leadership campaign, May said "We need an economy that works for everyone." She pledged to crack down on executive pay by making shareholders' votes binding rather than advisory and to put workers onto company boards.
After she became Prime Minister, May's first speech espoused the left. She promised to combat the injustice in British society and to create a union "between all of the country's citizens" and to be an advocate for the "ordinary working-class family" and not for the affluent in the United Kingdom.
May also supported fox hunting with hounds, saying that foxes' numbers had to be controlled and that hunting them with dogs was the most humane way to do it. The Conservative manifesto for the 2017 election included a pledge to hold a parliamentary vote to repeal the Hunting Act 2004, which prohibits a range of hunting activities.
Theresa May rejected the European Union's proposal of compulsory refugee quotas. She stated that it was important to help people living in war-zone regions and refugee camps but "not the ones who are strong and rich enough to come to Europe."
In 2012, Theresa May announced that new restrictions would be introduced to reduce the number of non-European Economic Area family migrants.
May defended selling arms to Saudi Arabia stating that close ties with the country keep people on the streets of Britain safe.
In 2016 May stated her support for the United Kingdom remaining in the European Union. She said Britain was more secure as part of the European Union due to the European arrest warrant and Europe-wide information sharing among other factors. After the referendum and her election as party leader, May stated that she would support full withdrawal from the European Union and prioritise immigration controls over remaining within the single market. She went on to say before the 2017 United Kingdom general election that she would be willing to leave the European Union without a deal.
On September 22, 2017, Theresa officially made public the details of her Brexit proposal during a speech in Florence. She urged the European Union to maintain a transitional period of two years after Brexit during which trade terms remain unaltered. During this period, the United Kingdom would also continue to honour its budget commitments of about €10 billion per annum and accept immigration from Europe.
Following the impact of Blue Planet II, the May administration outlined plans to approve the further green policy. In March 2018, she announced plans for a plastic deposit scheme modelled on a similar policy in Norway to boost recycling.
In 1998 May voted against lowering the age of consent for homosexual acts. In 2012 May expressed support for the introduction of same-sex marriage. She recorded a video for the Out4Marriage campaign, in which she stated "I believe if two people care for each other, if they love each other, if they want to commit to each other... then they should be able to get married and marriage should be for everyone." The next year, May voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, which legalised same-sex marriage in England and Wales.
In 2005, Theresa co-founded the mentoring and pressure group Women2Win. In government, she also lobbied for improvements to maternity leave, and as Home Secretary, she acted on female genital mutilation and introduced a law on coercive control.
Quotations:
"It does not make sense that everybody should duplicate efforts when we could be working together."
"Today I can announce a raft of reforms that we estimate could save over 2.5 million police hours every year. That's the equivalent of more than 1,200 police officer posts. These reforms are a watershed moment in policing. They show that we really mean business in busting bureaucracy."
"Like Indiana Jones, I don't like snakes - though that might lead some to ask why I'm in politics."
"I actually think I think better in high heels."
"My whole philosophy is about doing, not talking."
"National security is the first duty of government but we are also committed to reversing the substantial erosion of civil liberties."
"In tough times, everyone has to take their share of the pain."
"I will be ruthless in cutting out waste, streamlining structures and improving efficiency."
"Flexible working is not just for women with children. It is necessary at the other end of the scale. If people can move into part-time work, instead of retirement, then that will be a huge help. If people can fit their work around caring responsibilities for the elderly, the disabled, then again that's very positive."
"We've got a first class leader at the moment. David Cameron is dealing with the issues that he was left by the last government very well indeed."
"We all know the stories about the Human Rights Act... about the illegal immigrant who cannot be deported because, and I am not making this up, he had a pet cat."
"I'm very pleased to be recognising International Women's Day, a day that celebrates the achievements of women across the world."
"Targets don't fight crime."
"I was looking at a photograph of the 1997 election campaign yesterday, and I thought: 'My God. Did I really have that hairstyle? And that Tory blue suit?'"
"Obviously local people will have their local voice through the police and crime commissioners that they've elected to determine their local policing."
Outside of political life, May has a reputation for her style and fondness for shoes. She reportedly wore leopard print heels when she made her "Nasty Party" speech in 2002. Theresa is crazy about cooking. She says she owns 100 recipe books.
Physical Characteristics:
Theresa May is 172 centimeters (5 feet 8 inches) tall.
In November 2012 she was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus of type 1. May is treated with daily insulin injections.
Quotes from others about the person
David Laws: "She would frequently clash with George Osborne over immigration. She rarely got on anything but badly with Michael Gove. She and Cameron seemed to view each other with mutual suspicion."
Pat Frankland: "I cannot remember a time when she did not have political ambitions. I well remember, at the time, that she did want to become the first woman Prime Minister and she was quite irritated when Margaret Thatcher got there first."
Kenneth Clarke: "Theresa is a bloody difficult woman. She's too narrow on her department. She's been at the Home Office far too long, so I only know in detail what her views are on the Home Office. She doesn't know much about foreign affairs."
Yvette Cooper: "I respect her style - it is steady and serious. She is authoritative in parliament – superficial attacks on her bounce off. When the Tory establishment call her "a bloody difficult woman" she rightly wears it as a badge of pride."
Yvette Cooper: "She hides when things go wrong. No interviews, no quotes, nothing to reassure people or to remind people she even exists."
Theresa met Phillip May while she was a student and married him in 1980. The couple hasn't been able to have children due to medical reasons. Her husband is an investment banker currently employed by Capital International.
(August 20, 1917 - October 12, 1981)
Hubert Brasier was a clergyman of the Church of England.
(July 18, 1928 - 1982)
(born in 1957)
Philip May is a British banker and Conservative Party activist.
