Penny Mordaunt is a former senior British politician whose career spans frontline government, international diplomacy, defence, trade and national resilience. She served as Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons from 2022 to 2024, and was the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North for 14 years. A Conservative, she stood twice for the party leadership in 2022 and became one of the most recognisable figures of that turbulent period in British politics. In the 2024 general election, she lost her seat during Labour’s landslide victory.
Educated in Philosophy at the University of Reading, Mordaunt began her career in public relations and political communications, including senior roles under John Major and William Hague, and work on George W. Bush’s presidential campaigns. Elected to Parliament in 2010, she quickly built a reputation as a confident and effective minister. She went on to hold nine ministerial posts, four in Cabinet, across defence, international development, trade, work and pensions, equalities and the Cabinet Office. She was the first woman to serve as Secretary of State for Defence and the first to be Minister for the Armed Forces, roles that placed her at the heart of national security decision-making.
Her government work combined global reach with operational depth. As International Development Secretary, she worked closely with the UN and World Bank. As Trade Minister, she brokered major agreements including the UK’s accession to the CPTPP, and negotiated economic deals with individual US states, undertaking the longest US tour by a minister since Churchill. As Paymaster General, she became the UK government’s first cross-government defensive cyber lead and oversaw the rebuilding of the civil contingencies and resilience strategy. Alongside this, she served as a Royal Navy Reservist for ten years and is now an Honorary Captain with the UK’s mine hunters and bomb disposal divers.
Today, Penny Mordaunt is in demand as a keynote speaker on leadership under pressure, national security, resilience, geopolitics and decision-making at the highest level. She speaks with authority on crisis leadership, defence and cyber security, trade in a fragmented world, and the realities of power during moments of national transition. A bestselling co-author, a Dame Commander of the British Empire, and a widely admired parliamentary speaker, she brings rare, first-hand insight into how governments function when the stakes are highest.
