Zac Goldsmith

Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, PC (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician and journalist who serves as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Environment and International Development. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park from 2017 to 2019, previously holding the seat between 2010 and 2016. A member of the Conservative Party, he was its candidate at the 2016 London mayoral election, which he lost to Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party. Ideologically characterised as having liberal and libertarian views, Goldsmith is known for his environmentalist and localist beliefs. Born in London, the son of billionaire businessman and financier Sir James Goldsmith of the Goldsmith family, he was educated at Eton College and the Cambridge Centre for Sixth-form Studies. In 1998, his uncle Edward Goldsmith made him editor of The Ecologist, a position he retained until 2007. Goldsmith was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Quality of Life Policy Group in 2005, co-authoring its report published in 2007.Goldsmith was placed on the Conservative "A-List" of potential candidates in 2006, and then in March 2007, he was selected through an open primary to contest the constituency of Richmond Park against the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP, Susan Kramer. At the 2010 general election, he was elected to Parliament winning the seat with a majority of 4,091 votes. At the 2015 general election, Goldsmith was returned to the Commons with a majority of 23,015, an increase of almost 19,000 votes since 2010, against his nearest opponent. He was chosen as the London Conservatives candidate for the 2016 election for mayor of London, which he subsequently lost to London Labour candidate Sadiq Khan in the second round by 315,529 votes. His campaign was criticised for being "divisive" by focusing on attempts to link Khan to Islamist extremists. He announced his resignation as an MP following the government's decision in October 2016 to approve the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport. His resignation triggered a by-election in the Richmond Park constituency in which Goldsmith stood as an independent candidate. He was defeated by Sarah Olney of the Liberal Democrats. After Theresa May called the 2017 general election, Goldsmith was reselected as the Conservative Party candidate for Richmond Park and won with a narrow majority of 45 votes. Goldsmith was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment and International Development on 27 July 2019 and has attended Cabinet as Minister of State since 10 September 2019. He was defeated again at the 2019 general election by Olney. After the election, Boris Johnson awarded Goldsmith with a life peerage, making him a member of the House of Lords and allowing him to retain his ministerial position. On 13 February 2020, he acquired the additional role of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.