Indian-origin Claire Coutinho has been appointed as the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, succeeding Grant Shapps, who assumed the role of defense minister in a cabinet reshuffle orchestrated by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Claire Coutinho, elected as a Member of Parliament for East Surrey in December 2019, marks the first promotion to the cabinet from that year’s cohort. Her prior position involved serving as a junior minister in the education department, overseeing matters related to children, families, and wellbeing.
At the age of 38, Claire Coutinho had previously held the position of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and, earlier in her career, served as the Under Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Her academic journey began at Exeter College, Oxford University. Her career path encompassed roles in investment banking at Merrill Lynch and contributions to influential right-leaning think tank, the Centre for Social Justice. Additionally, she worked with the Housing and Finance Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing house-building efforts.
In her new role, Claire Coutinho’s department bears the substantial duty of supervising the UK’s actions concerning climate change. This encompasses the crucial objective of guaranteeing that the nation reaches its 2050 target of attaining net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Reports indicate that Claire Coutinho shares Goan heritage with Home Secretary Suella Braverman, with both of her parents having immigrated to the UK in the 1970s.
