Philip May

Philip May
Spouse of the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Assumed office
13 July 2016
Monarch Elizabeth II
Prime Minister Theresa May
Preceded by Samantha Cameron
Personal details
Born Philip John May
(1957-09-18) 18 September 1957[1]
Norwich, England
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Theresa Brasier (m. 1980)
Residence 10 Downing Street (official)
11 Downing Street (physical)
Alma mater Lincoln College, Oxford

Philip John May (born 18 September 1957) is a British investment relationship manager, and the husband of Theresa May, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He is the second husband of a British prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher's husband, Denis Thatcher.

Early life and education

May was born in Norwich, Norfolk[2] and grew up near Liverpool, attending Calday Grange Grammar School in West Kirby.[3] His parents were John May and Joy May (née Miller), a sales representative for a shoe wholesaler and a teacher of French, respectively.[3]

May attended university at Lincoln College of the University of Oxford, graduating with a degree in history.[4] He served as the Oxford Union Society's President during 1979. In this role he took over from future Conservative MP Alan Duncan and was succeeded by future journalist Michael Crick.[5]

Career

May has worked in finance since graduating from university. As of 2016, he has been employed by the financial group Capital International as a relationship manager for more than ten years; he had previously been a fund manager for de Zoete & Bevan, Prudential Portfolio Managers and Deutsche Asset Management.[4][6] His former LinkedIn profile listed his focuses in work as pension fund and insurance relationship management.[7][8]

After his wife Theresa May, now the British Prime Minister,[9] emerged as the only remaining candidate for the Conservative party leadership, his employer issued a statement saying that his current job does not make him responsible for investment decisions: "he is not involved with, and doesn't manage, money and is not a portfolio manager. His job is to ensure the clients are happy with the service and that we understand their goals."[10]

Philip May briefly served as chairman of the local Conservative Party association in Wimbledon before reportedly deciding to concentrate on his career in finance.[2][3] May has remained an active campaigner for the Conservative Party: he helped to canvass voters ahead of the 2017 Copeland by-election and he supports his wife in her Maidenhead constituency business.[11] As May's spouse, he has generally avoided giving interviews or making public statements, but did accompany her for a joint interview on the BBC1 programme The One Show during the 2017 general election campaign.[11]

Personal life

May and his future wife, then Theresa Brasier, met while students at Oxford University; they were introduced by future Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto at a Conservative Party student disco.[12] They later bonded over a shared love of cricket, and married on 6 September 1980.[13][14]

Theresa May has stated her regret that, for health reasons, she and Philip have not been able to have children; she said in one interview that, "You look at families all the time and you see there is something there that you don't have".[14][15]

References

  1. ↑ "Philip John MAY – Personal Appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Philip May: The banker husband and Theresa's 'real rock'". ITV News. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Levy, Geoffrey. "Philip, the husband who will be Denis to Theresa's Maggie (without the G&Ts): Geoffrey Levy on future PM's 'rock' who preferred to stand in the shadows". Daily Mail. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 Wyatt, Daisy (3 July 2016). "Who is Theresa May's husband?". I (newspaper). Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  5. ↑ Hibbert, Christopher, ed. (1988). "Presidents of the Union since 1900". The Encyclopaedia of Oxford. Macmillan. pp. 527–532. ISBN 0-333-39917-X.
  6. ↑ Goodley, Simon. "Philip May: the reserved City fixture and husband happy to take a back seat". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  7. ↑ Levine, Daniel. "Philip John May, Theresa May’s Husband: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Makortoff. "Who is Britain’s new ‘first husband’?". CNBC. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  9. ↑ Day, Elizabeth. "Theresa May – what lies beyond the public image?". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "Theresa May used 'well-established' blind trust mechanism". 11 January 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  11. 1 2 Esther Addley (9 May 2017). "Philip May: the prime minister's husband steps out of the shadows". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  12. ↑ Mendick, Robert (9 July 2016). "The Oxford romance that has guided Theresa May from tragedy to triumph". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  13. ↑ Orr, Deborah (14 December 2009). "Theresa May: David Cameron's lady in waiting". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  14. 1 2 "I was probably goody two-shoes: Theresa May interviewed". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  15. ↑ "Philip May (LinkedIn page)". LinkedIn. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Samantha Cameron		 Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
2016–present 		Incumbent
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