George Freeman (politician)

George Freeman
MP
Chair of the Prime Minister's Policy Board
Assumed office
16 July 2016
Prime Minister Theresa May
Preceded by Camilla Cavendish
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
for Life Sciences
In office
15 July 2014 – 16 July 2016
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by new position
Succeeded by Nicola Blackwood
Member of Parliament
for Mid Norfolk
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Keith Simpson
Majority 13,856 (27.3%)
Personal details
Born (1967-07-12) 12 July 1967
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Alma mater Girton College, Cambridge
Website georgefreeman.co.uk

George William Freeman[1] (born 12 July 1967)[2] is a British Conservative Party politician and the current Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Norfolk, was first elected at the 2010 general election, replacing the constituency's previous incumbent, Keith Simpson who had decided to contest the neighbouring Broadland constituency instead.

In July 2014 he was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Life Sciences, but after the closure of this office upon Theresa May's appointment as Prime Minister in 2016 he left the government. Freeman was appointed chair of the Prime Minister's Policy Board in July 2016.

He is a founder of 2020 Conservatives group and a member of Bright Blue's advisory board.

Education

He was educated at Radley College and Girton College, Cambridge, graduating with a degree in Geography in 1989.

Early career

Before entering Parliament, Freeman had a 15-year career in biomedical venture capital. He spent most of his career in and around the Cambridge cluster supporting high tech growth businesses. For the seven years prior to being elected he was Founder and Chairman of the specialist translational medicine consultancy 4D Biomedical Ltd. Prior to that he was CEO of Cambridge start-up Amedis Pharmaceuticals, and before that the Director of Early Stage Ventures at Merlin Biosciences. Straight after university, Freeman worked in Westminster as a lobbyist for the National Farmers Union.[3]

Political career

Freeman stood as Conservative Parliamentary Candidate in Stevenage in the 2005 general election, being defeated by incumbent Labour MP Barbara Follett though achieving a 6.4% swing towards the Conservatives compared to 5% swing nationally. In 2005, he was added to the Conservative A-List and was selected for Mid Norfolk in October 2006.

Shortly after entering Parliament George Freeman was elected Chairman of the All Party Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture. He was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister for Climate Change, Greg Barker MP, in the Coalition Government's first tranche of appointments. In July 2011 the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon, David Cameron MP and Minister for Universities and Science, Rt. Hon. David Willetts MP, appointed Freeman as Government Life Science Advisor. In 2014, he was appointed Minister for Life Sciences at the Department of Health and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).[4]

Freeman is a co-founder of the 2020 Group of Conservative MPs, where he chairs the Innovation Economy Commission. He has spoken and written widely on the potential of UK science, technology and entrepreneurship to lead a sustainable economic recovery.

In March 2015, Freeman was awarded the Grassroot Diplomat Initiative Award under the Business Driver category for his pioneering work on The Norfolk Way campaign to inspire entrepreneurial activity and raise aspirations in the countryside.[5]

Personal life

Freeman enjoys sailing on the Norfolk coast, walking, rowing, wildfowling, and going to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford to watch the Spitfires.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Who's Who. Ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved on 17 June 2011.
  2. ↑ "George Freeman MP". BBC Democracy Live. BBC. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  3. ↑ Armitstead, Louise (9 December 2012). "George Freeman unites science, business and NHS". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Pagano, Margareta (25 July 2014). "George Freeman: Just the man for a matter of life and death". Independent. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Winning the Grassroot Diplomat Award 2015". George Freeman. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Biography". Conservative Website. Retrieved 8 May 2015.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Keith Simpson		 Member of Parliament for Mid Norfolk
2010–present 		Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.