Who is Alex Chalk?

British MP for Cheltenham Alex Chalk resigned from the post of solicitor general on Tuesday just hours after health and finance ministers Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak handed in their resignations.

Sharing his resignation letter on Twitter, Chalk wrote: “With great sadness I am resigning as Solicitor General. I won’t be doing media interviews.”

“To be in government is to accept the duty to argue for difficult or even unpopular policy positions where that serves the broader national interest. But it cannot extend to defending the indefensible,” he wrote in the letter. 

“The cumulative effect of the Owen Paterson debacle, Partygate and now the handling of the former Deputy Chief Whip’s resignation, is that public confidence in the ability of Number 10 to uphold the standards of candour expected of a British Government has irretrievably broken down. I regret that I share that judgement. This comes at a moment of intense challenge for our country, when trust in government can rarely have been more important. I’m afraid the time has therefore come for fresh leadership,” Chalk added. 

Also Read: What UK PM Boris Johnson told resigning ministers Sajid Javid, Rishi Sunak

Alex Chalk was born in Cheltenham on August 8, 1976, to Gilbert John Chalk and Gillian Frances Audrey Blois.

He attended Oxford’s Magdalen College and later obtained a Graduate Diploma in Law from the City University London. After qualifying as a lawyer, Chalk prosecuted and defended several cases related to homicide, international fraud, and terrorism.

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In the 2015 general election, Chalk was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cheltenham, the first time a Conservative Party candidate won in the constituency in more than two decades.

Between June 2015 and January 2019, Chalk served as a member of the Justice Select Committee, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pro Bono, and the co-chair of the APPG on Cycling. 

In 2018, he was appointed to the role of Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) in the Department of Education. Two years later, he became the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice.

45-year-old Alex Chalk is married and has three kids. He lives in Charlton Kings, Cheltenham, with his family.