PM Boris Johnson appoints 39 year old Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch, the Children and Families Minister, as part of his government reshuffle.

Olukemi Badenoch, Minister for Children and Families



The minister for children and families role was downgraded in January 2018 from minister of state to junior minister level, and it will retain this status under Badenoch. The minister’s responsibilities include early years policy, including inspection and regulation.

Tweeting about her appointment, Mrs Badenoch @KemiBadenoch posted on 29 July:

“I’m humbled to have been appointed a junior minister at the DfE. A huge privilege to be able to serve and make a positive difference on a number of issues close to my heart. I look forward to working with the ministerial team and everyone at @educationgovuk …”


A known brexiteer, in her 2017 maiden speech as MP, she described the vote for Brexit as “the greatest ever vote of confidence in the project of the United Kingdom”.

Ms Badenoch has been a Conservative party MP for the Saffron Walden since 2017, having joined the Conservative Party at the age of 25.

Born in Wimbledon, London to Nigerian parents – a medical doctor and a physiology professor.
Kemi spent most of her childhood in Lagos and the United States. She later moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 16. 

The mother of two, who is also a software and IT engineer studied systems engineering at Sussex University and also has a law degree. Her career portfolio includes working in the banking sector for Coutts and RBS.