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Former MP, MEP, barrister, and Cabinet Minister, Theresa served in government for over two decades, holding roles including Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. She was Transport Minister during the 2012 Olympics, served on the Intelligence and Security Committee, helped form key market, financial and regulatory policy, and advocated for environmental and diversity issues.
Theresa Villiers is a former barrister, academic, Secretary of State, MP and MEP. In her 25 years in elected office, she served at the highest level of government in some of the toughest jobs - a member of three governments, under two Prime Ministers, holding portfolios including Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland, Transport, and Treasury.
Appointed to David Cameron’s Shadow Cabinet in 2005 just seven months after being elected to the House of Commons, Theresa's was one of the fastest promotions ever. As Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury until 2007, she was George Osborne’s deputy. In 2010, she became Minister of State for Transport in the Coalition Government, with strategic oversight of large complex projects such as Crossrail (the Elizabeth Line), the Thameslink upgrade, and delivery the transport operation for the London 2012 Olympics.
Between 2012 and 2016, Theresa sat at the Cabinet table as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, only the 35th woman ever appointed to the Cabinet. This role involved overseeing highly sensitive security and counter-terrorism matters. As one of the longest serving Northern Ireland Secretaries, she led lengthy and difficult processes of negotiation, including chairing two sets of protracted cross-party talks to twice avert the collapse of the devolved bodies set up under the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. She is adept at dealing with complex and volatile situations, conflict resolution and crisis management, having handled the response to multiple protests and crises in Northern Ireland. This included developing and implementing a strategy to address sensitive issues around flags and symbols, policing, and the legacy of The Troubles.
In 2019, Theresa was appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, leading the Brexit preparations on trade and border arrangements for food, covering delivery of multiple new statutory instruments, certification requirements, IT systems, databases, and inspection regimes. In that role, she was accountable for 27,000 staff and an £8.2 billion budget. Protecting nature and the environment was an enduring goal of her time in Parliament, presenting three landmark new laws covering agriculture and fisheries, land management, and creating binding targets on nature recovery and other environmental issues.
From 2020 to 2024, Theresa was a member of the influential Intelligence and Security Committee, with oversight of the intelligence agencies, producing reports using highly classified information on issues such as China.
Over the years she gained extensive policymaking expertise, leading technical legislative and scrutiny processes, including in financial market laws like MIFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive). In 2021, she served as one of three members of the Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform, making recommendations on modernising regulation in areas such as GDPR, financial services, and clinical trials and health technology.
Theresa has a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, advocating on behalf of diverse communities in her former role as MP, ensuring their concerns were heard in Parliament. That includes making powerful contributions to the historic Parliamentary debates on antisemitism.
