James Brokenshire

James Peter Brokenshire (8 January 1968 – 7 October 2021) was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in Theresa May's cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2018 and then as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government from 2018 to 2019. He also served as a minister at the Home Office under David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Brokenshire was Member of Parliament (MP) for Hornchurch from 2005 to 2010, and for Old Bexley and Sidcup from 2010 until his death in 2021.

Born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, Brokenshire studied law at the University of Exeter before beginning work with a large international law firm. Deciding on a career in politics, he stood successfully as the Conservative candidate for the parliamentary constituency of Hornchurch in the 2005 general election. When his constituency was to be abolished in the boundary changes, he sought out another constituency to represent, failing to be selected in six until being selected for Old Bexley and Sidcup. He was elected MP for the seat in 2010.

In David Cameron's first government, Brokenshire was initially Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Crime Reduction; in May 2011, he was transferred to the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Crime and Security. He oversaw the closure and privatisation of the Forensic Science Service and championed the Modern Slavery Bill. He served as Minister for Security and Immigration at the Home Office from 2014 to 2016. In July 2016, he was appointed Northern Ireland Secretary in Theresa May's new cabinet. He resigned in January 2018 on health grounds and was replaced by Karen Bradley. In April 2018, he was appointed Communities Secretary, following Sajid Javid's appointment as Home Secretary as a result of Amber Rudd's resignation. In 2020 he was appointed by Boris Johnson as Minister of State for Security at the Home Office. He stepped down from this post in July 2021 due to lung cancer and died in October of the same year.