Karen Bradley named as new SoS for NI
Karen Bradley has been named as the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Last updated 8th Jan 2018
The former accountant moves from her former role as culture secretary, the Prime Minister's office confirmed.
She is a former organised crime minister at the Home Office who signed off the law making the National Crime Agency, the British FBI, fully operational in Northern Ireland.
The Staffordshire Moorlands MP, whose constituency covers the Peak District in central England, is married with two children.
Her first challenge will be to re-stalled powersharing talks.
It is a year since late deputy first minister Martin McGuinness resigned from the governing coalition at Stormont in protest at the DUP's handling of a botched green energy scheme.
The British and Irish Governments had been expected to kickstart another bid to restore devolution after several rounds of talks last year failed to produce a deal between the DUP and Sinn Fein.
Ms Bradley enjoys hill walking and cooking.
She was selected for Staffordshire Moorlands in July 2006 and was returned to Parliament at the general election in 2010.
In February 2014 she became minister for modern slavery and organised crime at the Home Office.
She introduced the Serious Crime Act to tackle organised crime and secured the passage of the Modern Slavery Act.
She was promoted to secretary of state for culture, media and sport in the government reshuffle in July 2016.