Content area
Full Text
A tweet from Debra Allcock Tyler, chief executive of the Directory of Social Change, summarised the initial reaction to the appointment of Brooks Newmark, the MP for Braintree, as Minister for Civil society Tyler tweeted: 'Who is Brooks Newmark? And what qualifies him for this incredibly critical post?'
Born in the US, the 56-year-old Newmark moved to the UK at the age of nine and attended Caldicott Preparatory School and Bedford School before studying history at Harvard University in the US. He was a research student in politics at Worcester College, Oxford, before taking an MBA at Harvard Business School.
He went on to work in the finance sector, becoming a senior partner at the private equity firm Apollo Management, before becoming an MP in 2005. He has served as a government whip and as a member of the Treasury Select Committee.
His interests include foreign policy, poverty reduction and international development, special needs education and women's issues. His published papers include Simply Red: The True State of the Public Finances, The Price of Irresponsibility and The Hidden Debt...