Michael Gove was born in Edinburgh in 1967 and brought up in Aberdeen. Educated in England and Scotland, in the state and independent sectors, he is passionately committed to raising standards in state schools and helping children from less privileged backgrounds to maximise their potential.
Michael was married to Sarah Vine, who is a columnist at The Daily Mail, and they have one daughter, Beatrice, and a son, William, who was born at Frimley Park Hospital in November 2004.
Michael's parents live in Aberdeen. His father ran a fish-processing business and his mother was a lab assistant at Aberdeen University before working at Aberdeen School for the Deaf.
Michael has been a journalist since he left university, working for local and national newspapers, radio and TV. He has reported on issues as diverse as EU corruption in Brussels and the threat to small businesses from red tape as well as championing the victims of crime.
At The Times, Michael worked closely with Frances Lawrence, widow of the murdered headmaster Philip Lawrence, to fight street crime and its causes. Frances's campaign succeeded in establishing an award scheme for good citizenship among the young and influencing legislation to ban combat knives.
Michael has also appeared regularly on radio and television, as a panellist on Radio Four's "The Moral Maze" and BBC 2's "Newsnight Review" and a guest on Channel Four News, Any Questions and Question Time. He has appeared in one feature film. He played the school chaplain in the family comedy "A Feast at Midnight" which was released in 1995.
Michael is a former Chairman of Policy Exchange, a centre-right think-tank which has come up with innovative policies on policing, local government and fighting terrorism. Policy Exchange's plans to devolve more power over police priorities to local communities has been widely welcomed and compared to the initiatives introduced by Rudi Giuliani which reduced crime in New York.
Michael was first elected in May 2005. He served as Shadow Minister for Housing & Planning and Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools & Families. Following the 2010 General Election, he served as Secretary of State for Education, and was appointed as Chief Whip in 2014. After the General Election in May 2015, he became Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice, until July 2016.
He took a prominent role in the successful campaign to leave the European Union, as Co-Convenor of the Vote Leave campaign committee. After leaving government in July 2016, Michael helped found Change Britain and served as Vice Chair of the Select Committee on Exiting the European Union. He also returned to The Times to write a weekly column.
Following the General Election in June 2017, Michael was appointed by Theresa May as Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2017-2019) and after the Conservative party leadership contest which saw Boris Johnson elected Leader and Prime Minister, Michael was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with responsibility for Brexit preparedness. After the nationwide success of the 2019 General Election, Michael was re-elected as MP for Surrey Heath and reappointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. From September 2021 – July 2022, Michael served as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations.
In October 2022, Michael was reappointed by the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations.