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Lucy Frazer takes over from Michelle Donelan as UK culture secretary
Department for Culture, Media and Sport loses digital remit in government shake-up
Lucy Frazer has become the UK’s 12th secretary of state for culture since 2010 following a government overhaul of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The shake-up by prime minister Rishi Sunak also saw the department lose its responsibility for the digital sector.
Frazer replaces Michelle Donelan, who had held the brief since September 2022 and now heads up the newly created Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Frazer has been the MP for South East Cambridgeshire since 2015. She served as minister in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities since October 2022, following a brief stint as minister in the Department for Transport.
She previously served as financial secretary to the Treasury and held various roles at the Ministry of Justice, including minister of state for prisons.
Frazer practised as a barrister in commercial law before becoming an MP. She was born in and brought up Yorkshire and studied at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she was elected president of the Cambridge Union.
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Sharon Heal, director of the Museums Association, said: “We welcome Lucy Frazer to the role of Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. This is a challenging time for museums in England as many are struggling in light of the challenging financial outlook.
“Museums are an integral part of their local communities and have an important role to play in tackling big societal issues such as the climate crisis, institutional racism and the cost-of-living crisis.
“We look forward to working with the Culture Secretary to raise the profile of museums and the important social, economic and environmental impact they have.”
Culture secretaries since 2010
- Jeremy Hunt, May 2010 – September 2012
- Maria Miller, September 2012 – April 2014
- Sajid Javid, April 2014 – May 2015
- John Whittingdale, May 2015 – July 2016
- Karen Bradley, 14 July-2016 – January 2018
- Matt Hancock, January 2018 – July 2018
- Jeremy Wright, July 2018 – July 2019
- Nicky Morgan, July 2019 – February 2020
- Oliver Dowden, February 2020 – September 2021
- Nadine Dorries, September 2021 – September 2022
- Michelle Donelan, September 2022 – February 2023