Ranil Malcolm Jayawardena, born in September 1986, is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs since 2022. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade from 2020 to 2022.
Ranil Jayawardena MP was first elected as the Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire in May 2015 and was re-elected in 2017 and 2019. Prior to his election to Parliament, he was a Councillor, serving as Deputy Leader of the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane. An alumnus of the London School of Economics, he combined his service in local Government with working for Lloyds Banking Group plc and is a Freeman of the City of London. He also has wide-ranging commercial experience in the pharmaceutical, construction, transport, and leisure sectors.
After his election in 2015, Ranil was quickly elected by fellow MPs to the Home Affairs Committee and, following the decision of the British people to leave the European Union, he was elected to the International Trade Committee too, where his continued focus is getting the best deal for British consumers and making a case for free trade.
Before serving as a Minister, Ranil was a Member of the International Trade, Home Affairs, Procedure, and Arms Export Controls Committees and was appointed by the Speaker of the House of Commons to the Chairmans’ Panel. He also served as the Prime Minister’s Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.
Ranil attended local schools in Hampshire before the London School of Economics and, more recently, the Royal College of Defense Studies.
He likes watching cricket, tennis, and rugby in his spare time. He is a Freeman of the City of London and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). He lives in Bramley, north of his constituency, with his wife and two little daughters.
