Who Is Shailesh Vara, the Indian-Origin MP Appointed Northern Ireland Secretary?

Vara was appointed to the post after his predecessor resigned in protest against British PM Boris Johnson.

Shailesh Lakshman Vara. 

(Photo: Namita Chauhan/The Quint)

Indian-origin Conservative MP Shailesh Lakshman Vara was on Thursday, 7 July, appointed the Northern Ireland Secretary after his predecessor Brandon Lewis joined a string of Cabinet ministers to resign in protest against British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

After Johnson's resignation as Conservative Party leader on Thursday, 61-year-old Vara said that the former had made the right decision, and was all praise for him.

"His (Johnson's) place in history is secure. He delivered Brexit and oversaw the vaccine roll-out and financial assistance plan during the COVID pandemic. And he has led the way in supporting Ukraine at this most dangerous time for Europe," Vara had said.

Who Is Shailesh Vara?

Vara was born in 1960 in Uganda to Gujarati immigrants. His family moved to Britain when he was four years old.

An alumnus of Aylesbury Grammar School and Brunel University, Vara became a solicitor and worked in the West End of London and Hong Kong. He is married and has two children.

Vara became involved in British politics during the 1980s. He worked in several posts of the Conservative Party over the years, and even became its vice-chair. Vara was elected as an MP in the House of Commons from North West Cambridgeshire in 2005 after two failed attempts in 1997 and 2001.

He won the election from the same seat in 2010, 2015, 2017, and 2019.

During his political tenure, he has served as a Minister for Northern Ireland, a Minister for Justice, a Minister in the Department for Work and Pensions, and as a Government Whip.

Keeping his Indian roots alive, Vara also served as the chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary Friends of India Group.

Vara had introduced two Private Members' Bills in Parliament, but both were not allowed to go forward by the then Labour government.

The first bill, introduced in 2006, aimed at increasing the age range for women for compulsory breast cancer screening from 50-70 to 45-75 years.

The second bill was introduced a year later and was aimed at providing householders the ability to protect themselves and their property against intruders.

Critic of Brexit

Vara was one of the few Conservative MPs who was against Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, or Brexit, ahead of the 2016 referendum.

He was also criticised for saying that Northern Ireland was a part of Britain. "It’s important to remember that Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain by virtue of the principle of consent," he had said in an interview with the BBC.

Vara was appointed to the Northern Ireland Office in 2018, but resigned from the post only a few months later in protest against then Prime Minister Theresa May's proposal for withdrawing Britain from the European Union.