Anne-Marie Trevelyan named secretary of state for international development

Conservative MP for Berwick Upon Tweed, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, has been appointed as secretary of state for international development.

She replaces Alok Sharma, who has moved to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to become business secretary. He will also be in charge of COP26 climate conference.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan becomes the fourth secretary of state for international development in nine months.

Trevelyan has previously held roles as parliamentary under-secretary of state for defence procurement and, most recently, minister of state for the armed forces. Both these roles sit within the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Trevelyan was elected as an MP in 2015, becoming the first Conservative to win the Berwick Upon Tweed seat since 1973. She has sat as vice-chairman on the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry, and was also part of the Public Accounts Select Committee.

In January 2018, she joined the MoD as parliamentary private secretary to Gavin Williamson, who was secretary of state at the time.

Though her cabinet experience has been predominantly with the MoD, Trevelyan has supported development and environmental causes such as the Sing for Syrians concert, giving up plastic for lent and the Save Duridge Bay campaign.

Bond CEO, Stephanie Draper, had this to say in response to Trevelyan’s appointment:

“We look forward to working with Anne-Marie Trevelyan and welcome the government’s decision to keep an independent Department for International Development.

“If we are to realise the government’s ambitions of a truly global Britain, how we spend UK aid will matter more than ever, particularly if we are to build a healthier, more sustainable and more equal planet for us all, and this requires an independent Department for International Development with its own secretary of state.

“To protect the UK’s reputation as a development powerhouse, helping the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people must remain the primary focus of development aid. UK aid must also be fully transparent and accountable to the British taxpayer and local communities, meet internationally agreed rules, and remain untied to our strategic and economic interests.

“This is the best way to ensure the government can deliver on its manifesto promise to help lift the poorest communities in the world out of poverty, get more girls into quality education and lead us to the strong outcomes we need at the 2020 UN Climate Change Summit.”

The Bond Conference on 23-24 March brings together NGOs, government, civil society leaders and more. Our last three conferences featured keynote addresses from past secretaries of state for international development. We’re still confirming speakers for 2020, so sign up to our newsletter for updates.