According to reports from " Guardian " and " South China Morning Post ", on September 6, local time, the British government's new cabinet list was announced. James Cleverly was appointed as the new Foreign Secretary, becoming the first foreign minister of color in the United Kingdom.
Cleverly is 53 years old and of mixed race. His mother is from the African country Sierra Leone and his father was born in the United Kingdom. He served in the British Army Reserves for 20 years and was awarded the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was elected as a member of the House of Commons in 2015, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party in 2018, co-chairman of the Conservative Party in 2019, and will serve as Minister of Education in July 2022. After Theresa May resigned as leader of the Conservative Party in 2019, Cleverley announced his candidacy for this position.
Cleverly has some experience in foreign affairs. He has dealt with Brexit affairs and has served as Minister of State for Middle East and North African Affairs and Minister of State for European and North American Affairs. He has taken a tough stance on Russia. (Overseas Network Liu Qiang)
The new British cabinet has made history with a number of important changes in key positions
The new leader of the British ruling Conservative Party Elizabeth Truss html officially took office as Prime Minister on the 36th, and announced the list of some members of the British cabinet. According to Reuters , none of the key positions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary and Health Secretary are held by white men. This is the first time in British history.
Later that day, Truss appointed Therese Coffey as Deputy Prime Minister and Health Secretary, Sula Braverman as Home Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and James Cleverley as Foreign Secretary.
According to Reuters, Kwarten and Cleverly became the first African-American finance minister and African-American foreign minister respectively in British history. Kwarten's parents are from Ghana and immigrated to the UK in the 1960s. Cleverley's mother is from Sierra Leone. Braverman and Coffey are both women, and Braverman is of Indian descent.
However, among the Conservative MPs in the British House of Commons, women only account for a quarter; only 6% are from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Compared with other major political parties in the UK, the Conservative Party has made many "initiatives" in appointing senior government officials. For example, the three female prime ministers of the United Kingdom so far are all from the Conservative Party, namely Margaret Thatcher , Theresa May and Truss.
However, the Conservative Party has also been accused of discriminating against ethnic minorities and women. Ethnic minority voters are generally more likely to support the opposition Labor Party. Former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson who just stepped down publicly apologized in 2019 for making inappropriate remarks related to the dress of Muslim women. (Xinhua News Agency)
column editor: Qin Hong Text editor: Cao Fei Source of title picture: Visual China Picture editor: Shao Jing
source: Author: Overseas Network
