May, Theresa (1956-…), served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from July 2016 to July 2019. She was the second woman to hold the office. Margaret Thatcher , who was prime minister from 1979 to 1990, was the first. May belongs to the Conservative Party . Conservatives tend to have views favoring tradition, order, and security.
May was elected leader of the Conservative Party in July 2016. She replaced David Cameron as party leader and prime minister. Cameron had resigned after British voters chose to leave the European Union (EU) in a contentious referendum nicknamed ” Brexit ” (Br_itish _exit). The European Union is an organization of European countries that cooperate in economics and politics. Neither Cameron nor May supported Brexit. However, as prime minister, May became responsible for dealing with the many complications created by the referendum. May’s difficulty in persuading Parliament to agree on the details of the withdrawal led her to resign as head of the Conservative Party on June 7, 2019. May remained as prime minister until Boris Johnson was elected as leader of the party in late July.
Theresa Mary Brasier was born in Eastbourne, Sussex , on the southeastern coast of England , on Oct. 1, 1956. Raised in the inland county of Oxfordshire , she later studied at St Hugh’s College of Oxford University . She married banker Philip May in 1980.
Theresa May worked at the Bank of England before serving as a local councillor in Merton, south London . After unsuccessful parliamentary election bids in 1992 and 1994, she entered the House of Commons in 1997 as representative for the Maidenhead electoral district just west of London. In 2002, she became the first female chairman of the Conservative Party. She was named home secretary in Cameron’s Cabinet in 2010. The home secretary heads the government department responsible for the United Kingdom’s internal affairs, including immigration and security.
