Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede PC [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] born 4 December [ 4 ] is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from to and Foreign Secretary from to , having previously served as Defence Secretary from to and Transport Secretary from to He worked from as a company director at Castlemead Ltd — a healthcare and nursing company.
From to , he acted as an adviser to the government of Malawi before his election to Parliament. Upon the resignation of Liam Fox over a scandal in October , Hammond was promoted to replace him as Secretary of State for Defence , before being further promoted in July to become Foreign Secretary.
As chancellor, Hammond suggested that the government may begin a reduction in austerity measures. With the later selection of Johnson as the next prime minister, he tendered his resignation to May. He did not stand for re-election in the election.
Hammond was born in Epping, Essex , [ 10 ] the son of a civil engineer. He then read Philosophy, politics and economics at University College, Oxford , where he was an Open Scholar, [ 11 ] and graduated with a first-class honours degree. Hammond joined the medical equipment manufacturers Speywood Laboratories Ltd in , becoming a director of Speywood Medical Limited in He worked as a consultant to the Government of Malawi from until his election to Parliament.
He made his maiden speech on 17 June In Parliament, he served on the Environment, Transport and the Regions Select committee from until he was promoted by William Hague as front bench spokesman for Health. He was moved back to the role of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in David Cameron 's reshuffle following Gordon Brown 's accession to the premiership.
