Mark Harper is the latest holder of the Secretary of State for Transport position. He was appointed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 25 October.
Having held junior ministerial role in previous governments, Mr Harper is also a former Chief Whip. He is MP for the Forest of Dean and succeeds Anne-Marie Trevelyan in the Secretary of State for Transport role, which she held for just 49 days.
In a brief statement following his appointment, Mr Harper says he is “delighted” to have been named Transport Secretary. He adds: “Transport affects us all, and I cannot wait to tackle the challenges we face so we can deliver for communities across our United Kingdom.”
Mr Harper publicly declared his support for Mr Sunak to be Prime Minister after the resignation of Liz Truss. He is the third Secretary of State for Transport in less than three months, with former post holder Grant Shapps having departed on 6 September. Ms Trevelyan had backed Boris Johnson to return as Prime Minister.
Ms Trevelyan had told the Transport Committee on 19 October that the Department for Transport (DfT) views bus services as “a particularly critical part of our more rural areas” and that DfT officials are currently “looking very closely” at how those places may see more support for services.
Mr Harper’s parliamentary biography shows that he is a chartered accountant by trade, having been employed by KPMG and Intel Corporation before founding an accountancy business in the Forest of Dean. He studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford and was elected an MP in May 2005.
Baroness Vere has retained an Under-Secretary of State for Transport appointment, but it is not yet known whether that brief continues to include coach and bus.
