Kemi Badenoch has won the race to be the leader of the Conservative Party after beating Robert Jenrick in a vote among Tory members.
By her side as she was announced ads the new Leader of the Opposition, was her husband Hamish.
Like his wife, Hamish is a true blue and also a former politician, having represented the Conservatives as a councillor in the past.
He will be hoping to add a stint as Britain’s ‘first gentleman’ to his CV when the next election comes around, with Tories hoping internal disputes can be put to one side before the next election cycle comes around.
But what more is there to know about Hamish Badenoch? Find out below.
Kemi Badenoch was embraced by her husband Hamish as she won the race to be the leader of the Conservative Party – beating Robert Jenrick in a vote among Tory members
The couple are pictured on their way to finding out the former engineer would be the new Leader of the Opposition
Who is Kemi Badenoch’s husband?
The new Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is married to Hamish Badenoch.
The family name comes from the Scottish Gaelic ‘baideanach’, meaning ‘drowned land’ – refering to a historic region of the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands where the upper River Spey caused seasonal flooding.
But he was born in Catholic maternity hospital St Teresa’s in Wimbledon – coincidentally, also the birthplace of his future partner.
Mr Badenoch went to Catholic private school Ampleforth – now costing over £30,000 a year for day students and £45,000 for boarders – in York.
He went on to become head boy before then studying at Cambridge University.
His mother moved to London from Ireland before Hamish was born, but Mr Badenoch once hoped to move to the Emerald Isle when he ran as the Tory candidate for Foyle in 2015.
To his disappointment, he finished last in that race with a meage 0.4 per cent of the vote – clearly lacking the knack for political success which his spouse has displayed.
How did Kemi Badenoch meet her husband?
Hamish has been by Badenoch’s side for much of her political journey, helping her campaign in Dulwich before the 2010 General Election
The Badenochs first met on the campaign trail at the Dulwich and West Norwood Conservative Club in 2009.
Mr Badenoch had just moved to the area and coincidentally lived on the same road as his new colleague.
She recalled thinking her future husband fancied himself as a nominee, but the 25-year-old software engineer had already been selected.
She told The Times, ‘it wasn’t love at first sight,’ but things developed as they worked together more and more.
Then Kemi Adegoke, the future Tory leader was fundraising ahead of the 2010 General Election when the Tories reclaimed power for the first time in over a decade
However, Badenoch lost out to former Labour minister Tessa Jowell.
Do Kemi Badenoch and her husband have children?
Kemi and Hamish married in 2012 and have three children – two sons and a daughter (pictured)
Badenoch took her newborn baby into the Commons as she was sworn in as an Member of Parliament on December 17, 2019
Kemi and Hamish married in 2012 and, like her defeated opponent Robert Jenrick, the Conservatives’ new leader has three children – two sons and a daughter – who are kept out of the public eye.
The youngsters – aged from five to 12 – became an unexpected talking point during their mother’s leadership campaign, when Sir Christopher Chope, 77 – a Tory backbencher supporting Jenrick – claimed the MP for North West Essex would struggle as leader due to being ‘preoccupied’ with motherhood.
Badenoch, who held multiple ministerial positions at once while the Tories were in power, quickly slapped down the claim.
The former Minister for Women and Equalities insisted parenting is a ‘two person job’.
What is Kemi Badenoch’s husband’s job?
Mr Badenoch became a banker, now at Deutsche Bank, after a brief stint in politics himself
Mr Badenoch now works at Deutsche Bank after his own stint in politics.
When running to be the Tory’s candidate in Foyle in 2015, Mr Badenock was in the middle of a term on Merton London Borough Council, where he represented the Conservatives from 2014 to 2018.
As he dropped out of politics, his wife only became more involved, landing her first junior ministerial position in 2019 under Boris Johnson, when she became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing.