Dominic Raab
Dominic Rennie Raab (/rɑːb/; born 25 February 1974) is a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor from September 2021 to September 2022 and again from October 2022 to April 2023. He previously served as First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, Raab was Member of Parliament (MP) for Esher and Walton from 2010 to 2024.
Dominic Raab
Thérèse Coffey
Boris Johnson
Vacant
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak
Boris Johnson
Brandon Lewis
Boris Johnson
Theresa May
Theresa May
Theresa May
TBC
Erika Rey
2
Thames Ditton, Surrey, England
- Politician
- solicitor
- civil servant
Born in Buckinghamshire, Raab attended Dr Challoner's Grammar School. He studied law at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and went on to study for a master's degree at Jesus College, Cambridge. He began his career as a solicitor at Linklaters, before working at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and as a political aide. He was elected for Esher and Walton at the 2010 general election. As a backbencher, Raab co-wrote a number of papers and books, including After the Coalition (2011) and Britannia Unchained (2012). He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice in the second government of David Cameron from 2015 to 2016. Following Theresa May's appointment as Prime Minister, Raab returned to the backbenches but was appointed to the second May government as Minister of State for Courts and Justice following the 2017 general election. In the 2018 cabinet reshuffle, he was moved to the post of Minister of State for Housing and Planning.
In 2018, Raab was promoted to Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union following the resignation of David Davis. Two weeks later, May announced that she would take control of negotiations with the European Union, with Raab deputising for her and taking charge of domestic preparations for Brexit. Four months later, Raab resigned as Brexit Secretary in opposition to May's draft Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Following May's resignation in 2019, Raab ran to succeed her in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election; he was eliminated in the second ballot of Conservative MPs. Following Boris Johnson's appointment as Prime Minister, Raab was appointed First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. In 2020, when the Department for International Development was merged with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Raab's post was retitled Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle, he was moved to the posts of Deputy Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. Following a stint on the backbenches during the premiership of Liz Truss, he was re-appointed to the posts in Rishi Sunak's ministry. He resigned from Sunak's government in April 2023 after an investigation upheld some complaints that he had bullied civil servants. Raab was critical of the investigation's findings and said that the threshold for bullying had been set too low. A month after his resignation he announced that he would be standing down as an MP at the 2024 general election.
Early life and education[edit]
Dominic Raab was born on 25 February 1974 in Buckinghamshire.[1][2] He is the son of Jean, a clothes buyer, and Peter, a food manager for Marks & Spencer.[3] His father, who was Jewish, was born in Czechoslovakia and fled the Nazis with his family in 1938 at age six.[4][5] The family arrived in Britain in 1940, having spent some time in a refugee camp in Tangiers.[6] Raab was brought up in the Church of England, his mother's faith.[5] He grew up in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.[7] Raab was 12 years old when his father died of cancer.[5]
Raab attended Dr Challoner's Grammar School, Amersham,[8] and spent a brief period as a volunteer on a kibbutz[9] before studying law at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where he captained the university karate team.[3] He then studied for a Master of Laws degree at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he won the Clive Parry Prize for International Law.[8][10]
Early career[edit]
After graduating from Cambridge, Raab trained professionally at the City of London law firm Linklaters, completing his two-year training contract at the firm. Raab qualified as a solicitor in the UK under Linklaters in the year 2000,[11][12] leaving the firm shortly after qualifying, also in 2000.[13] At Linklaters, Raab worked on project finance, international litigation and competition law.[11][14] This included time on secondments at Liberty (the human rights NGO) and in Brussels advising on EU and WTO law.[15][16]
Raab worked for six years professionally as a solicitor after qualifying, in both commercial work and civil service positions for the government in the Foreign Office, before leaving the legal profession to pursue politics in 2006.[11][12]
During his time as a lawyer in the Civil Service under the Labour Government until 2006, Raab's briefs included leading a team at the British Embassy in The Hague, dedicated to bringing war criminals to justice in a position closely linked to Tony Blair. After returning to London, he advised on the Arab–Israeli conflict, the European Union and Gibraltar.[17] He defended Tony Blair against a subpoena from former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević.[18]
On moving from the legal profession to politics in 2006, Raab's first political roles as part of the Conservative Party were as an aide to MP David Davis, and then to Dominic Grieve.[12] When Raab was appointed Justice Secretary in 2021 he was described within the legal press as an "ex-rookie" solicitor of a major law firm.[11]
Parliamentary career[edit]
Member of Parliament[edit]
Raab was elected to Parliament at the 2010 general election as MP for Esher and Walton with a vote share of 58.9% and a majority of 18,593.[19][20]
In July 2010, Raab criticised the government for opting into the EU directive on the European Investigation Order, arguing it would strain operational policing resources, and would dilute safeguards protecting British citizens from misuse of personal data and guaranteeing a fair trial.[21]
Raab came to media attention in August 2010, after requesting that the pressure group 38 Degrees remove his parliamentary email address from their website, arguing that lobby groups sending or coordinating 'clone emails' designed to deluge MPs' inboxes detracted from their ability to correspond with constituents and help those in real need. 38 Degrees said that the email address is paid for by taxpayers' money and is in the public domain, thus they have every right to host it on their website and use it for campaigning.[22][23]
In April 2011, he presented an ultimately unsuccessful Ten Minute Rule Bill proposing that emergency services and transport unions should be required by law to ensure that strike votes receive 50% support of union members. Raab argued that reform was needed to prevent "militant union bosses" holding the "hard working majority" to ransom.[24][25]
In January 2012, Raab spoke in support of the coalition government's plans to cut the budget deficit, expand academy schools, repeal the Identity Cards Act 2006, and enact a Freedom Bill.[26]
Writings[edit]
Civil liberties and justice[edit]
In 2009, Raab published his first book, The Assault on Liberty – What Went Wrong with Rights.[132] In October 2010, he published Fight Terror, Defend Freedom, a pamphlet on the Home Office counter-terrorism review.[133]
In January 2011, Raab wrote an article on the use of control orders in counter-terrorism cases in which he contended that they are ineffective and should be scrapped with a greater focus on prosecutions.[134]
In April 2011 Raab published a pamphlet with the think tank Civitas entitled Strasbourg in the Dock.[135] The pamphlet followed Parliament's recent rejection of a European Court of Human Rights ruling (the Hirst case) that at least some prisoners should have the right to vote. Raab argued that judges had overstepped the mark in relation to the case because they were not elected. The Strasbourg judges are elected by the 324 members of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; members are drawn from the national parliaments of the Council of Europe's member states. Raab contended that many of the judges were lacking experience and as a result "are undermining the credibility and value of the Court".[135] Raab made a range of proposals to strengthen the authority of Britain's Supreme Court, give elected lawmakers the last word on the creation of new rights, and reform the Strasbourg Court.
In July 2011, Raab called for reform of the UK Borders Act 2007, which allows foreign criminals to avoid deportation by claiming a "right to family life" under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. He proposed that the reference to the Human Rights Act be removed. He argued this could be done in a way that ensures foreign criminals could avoid deportation only if there is a "serious risk" they will be tortured on their return.[136]
Equality, meritocracy, and positive discrimination[edit]
On 30 January 2011, he wrote a comment piece for The Sunday Times on implementation of the Equality Act 2010. Raab argued for a meritocratic approach against positive discrimination and highlighted the lower standard of human rights protections in extradition cases compared with deportation cases.[137]
In an article in January 2011 on the Politics Home website, Raab argued in favour of transferable paternity leave and against "the equality bandwagon ... pitting men and women against each other". He argued in favour of a consistent approach to sexism against men and women commenting that some feminists were "now amongst the most obnoxious bigots" and it was sexist to blame men for the recession.[138]
Raab highlighted the wide range of sex discrimination he said was faced by males including "anti-male discrimination in rights of maternity/paternity leave", young boys being "educationally disadvantaged compared to girls", and how "divorced or separated fathers are systematically ignored by the courts". Raab stated "from the cradle to the grave, men are getting a raw deal. Men work longer hours, die earlier, but retire later than women", noting that the pensions inequalities were still not going to be rectified for another seven years.[139][140]
He was subsequently interviewed on the piece by the London Evening Standard,[141] as well as BBC Radio 4.[142] Theresa May, who was Minister for Women and Equalities at the time, criticised Raab's "obnoxious bigots" comment but agreed with his suggestions on paternity leave and ending gender warfare.[143][144] Her remarks took place during a debate on employment law in the House of Commons.[145]
Raab's remarks were criticised by some Labour MPs, including Harriet Harman and Nia Griffith, who said Raab should "stop being so self-pitying. The reality is that women with very good qualifications time and time again do not get the top jobs and opportunities."[146] Raab stood by his comments in a comment piece for The Daily Telegraph, highlighting the various statements Harman had made about men, contrasting them with similar comments about women by the likes of Andy Gray.[147] Raab also stated he had received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction to his comments "from both men and women".[148]
In July 2012, Raab published a pamphlet with the Centre for Policy Studies entitled Unleashing the British Underdog: 10 Bets on the Little Guy. In the report, Raab outlines 10 policies to improve social mobility and provide opportunities for those from non-traditional backgrounds to succeed.[149]
After the Coalition[edit]
In October 2011, Dominic Raab and four other MPs of the 2010 intake published After the Coalition, an argument that Conservative principles adapted to the modern world would be essential for the future national success of the party. The book was serialised in The Daily Telegraph. Raab wrote his piece for the paper on British foreign policy, arguing it should reflect the national interest: Britain should not overextend itself in foreign conflicts, aid should be focused on the poorest countries and Britain should champion free trade abroad.[150]
Regulation[edit]
In November 2011, Raab wrote a pamphlet published by the Centre for Policy Studies, Escaping the Strait Jacket – Ten Regulatory Reforms to Create Jobs. The paper makes the case for reforming red tape to boost job creation on grounds of economic competitiveness and social fairness.[151]
Personal life[edit]
Raab is married to Erika Rey, a Brazilian marketing executive who until 2020 worked for Google.[154] They live in Thames Ditton, Surrey,[155] and have two children.[8]
Raab holds a black belt, third dan in karate.[5]
In October 2021, following the murder of Sir David Amess, Raab told ITV News that he had received three death threats in the previous two years.[156]