Andrew Mitchell

Andrew John Bower Mitchell (born 23 March 1956) is an English politician. He was born in Hampstead, London. He was appointed as Secretary of State for International Development on 12 May 2010,^[1] and as a Privy Counsellor on 13 May 2010.^[2] He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Sutton Coldfield constituency in the United Kingdom. He was first elected in the 1987 general election for the Gedling constituency but lost in 1997. He returned to parliament in the 2001 general election.

The Right Honourable Andrew Mitchell MP
Official portrait, 2024
Shadow Foreign Secretary
In office 8 July 2024 – 4 November 2024
Leader	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	David Lammy
Succeeded by	Priti Patel
Deputy Foreign Secretary
In office 12 April 2024 – 5 July 2024
Prime Minister	Rishi Sunak
Foreign Secretary	David Cameron
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Minister of State for Development and Africa
In office 25 October 2022 – 5 July 2024
Prime Minister	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Vicky Ford[a] Gillian Keegan[b]
Succeeded by	Anneliese Dodds[a] The Lord Collins of Highbury[b]
Chief Whip of the House of Commons Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office 4 September 2012 – 19 October 2012
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Patrick McLoughlin
Succeeded by	Sir George Young
Secretary of State for International Development
In office 12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Douglas Alexander
Succeeded by	Justine Greening
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
In office 7 May 2005 – 11 May 2010
Leader	Michael Howard David Cameron
Preceded by	Alan Duncan
Succeeded by	Douglas Alexander
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security
In office 6 July 1995 – 2 May 1997
Preceded by	Alistair Burt
Succeeded by	John Denham
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office 20 July 1994 – 6 July 1995
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Irvine Patnick
Succeeded by	David Willetts
Member of Parliament for Sutton Coldfield
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 June 2001
Preceded by	Norman Fowler
Majority	2,543 (5.3%)
Member of Parliament for Gedling
In office 11 June 1987 – 8 April 1997
Preceded by	Philip Holland
Succeeded by	Vernon Coaker
Personal details
Born	Andrew John Bower Mitchell (1956-03-23) 23 March 1956 (age 69) Hampstead, London, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Sharon Bennett
Father	David Mitchell
Residence	Islington, London, England
Alma mater	Jesus College, Cambridge
Website	Constituency website

His father, David Mitchell (1928-2014), was also an MP.

He is a member of the Conservative Party.

In 2007 he started Project Umubano.

On 19 September 2012 he allegedly said to a police officer, 'You don't run this fucking government.... You're fucking plebs.'^[3] The media called what happened 'Plebgate'.

In 2022, after serving on the backbenches for 10 years, Mitchell made a return to government as Minister of State for Development and Africa following the appointment of Rishi Sunak as prime minister. He was appointed to the honorific title of Deputy Foreign Secretary in April 2024. After the defeat of the Conservative party in the 2024 general election, Mitchell became Shadow Foreign Secretary in Sunak's shadow cabinet.

Notes

1. As Minister of State for Development
2. As Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Africa