Kemi Badenoch
*Kemi Badenoch was born on this date in 1980. She is a Black British politician.
Born Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke in Wimbledon, London, her mother traveled from Nigeria to the U.K. to give birth before the British Nationality Act 1981 abolished automatic birthright citizenship for those born in the United Kingdom. She is one of three children born to African Yoruba parents. Her father, Femi Adegoke, was a GP, and her mother, Feyi Adegoke, was a professor of physiology.
Badenoch grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and the United States, where her mother lectured. She returned to the U.K. at 16 to live with a friend of her mother's owing to Nigeria's deteriorating political and economic situation, which had affected her family. Although a British citizen and born in the U.K., during her parliamentary maiden speech, Badenoch stated that she was "to all intents and purposes a first-generation immigrant." Badenoch attended Phoenix College in Morden, south London, and worked at a McDonald's. During this time, she said she "became working class." She studied Computer Systems Engineering at the University of Sussex, completing a Master of Engineering (MEng) degree in 2003.
In 2012, Badenoch unsuccessfully contested a seat in the London Assembly but became a member of the London Assembly in 2015. A supporter of Brexit in the 2016 referendum, Badenoch was elected to the House of Commons in the 2017 general election. After Boris Johnson became prime minister, Badenoch was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families. In the February 2020 reshuffle, she was appointed Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities. In July 2022, Badenoch resigned from government in protest at Johnson's leadership.
After Liz Truss was appointed prime minister in September 2022, Badenoch was Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade and the Privy Council; she was reappointed Trade Secretary by Truss's successor, Rishi Sunak the following month, also becoming Minister for Women and Equalities. In the February 2023 Cabinet reshuffle, Badenoch became Secretary of State for Business and Trade and was Women and Equalities Minister.
After the Conservatives' defeat in the 2024 general election, Badenoch launched her bid to become leader of the Conservative Party in the 2024 leadership election. She defeated Robert Jenrick in the members' ballot on November 2, 2024, becoming the first Black British person to hold the title. She is an "anti-woke" politician, and she aligns with the right wing. On race, she rebukes the stance on systemic racism and opposes teaching critical race theory in schools.
Regarding immigration, Badenoch advocates integration centered on British culture. She argues that the U.K.'s colonial legacy had negative and positive aspects. Badenoch is for maintaining single-sex spaces and opposing self-ID laws for trans individuals. In 2024, she was accused of bullying while responsible for the Department for Business and Trade.
