UK Prime Minister Theresa May is resigning on Friday as the leader of the Conservative Party and leaving her position as the country's prime minister
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th June, 2019) UK Prime Minister Theresa May is resigning on Friday as the leader of the Conservative Party and leaving her position as the country's prime minister.
May was born on October 1, 1956, in the UK south coastal city of Eastbourne in East Sussex county to the family of an Anglican priest.
She graduated from St. Hugh's College at the University of Oxford in 1977 with a BA degree in geography.
In that same year, the future prime minister began her career working at the Bank of England. She then moved on to the Association for Payment Clearing Services, where she worked as Head of the European affairs unit from 1989 to 1996 and then as senior adviser on international affairs from 1996 to 1997.
From 1986 to 1994, May held various posts at the council of the London Borough of Merton.
She was elected to the House of Commons, the lower house of the UK parliament, for the Maidenhead constituency from the Conservative party in 1997.
Her career in the UK cabinet started in 1999, when she was appointed as the shadow secretary of state for education and employment.
Until 2010, May held various positions in the shadow cabinet, including shadow secretary of state for transport, local government and the regions; shadow secretary of state for the family; shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport; and shadow leader of the House of Commons.
From 2002 to 2003, May served as the chairwoman of the Conservative Party, becoming the first female leader in the history of the party.
Her success continued when the Conservatives won a parliamentary majority in the 2010 general election and May became the UK home secretary, a post she held until 2016. May also was appointed the minister for women and equalities on the same day but resigned from the position in 2012.
On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether the country should leave the European Union. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support Brexit, while about 16.1 million opposed the move.
After the results of the referendum were announced, then-Prime Minister David Cameron, who had campaigned against Brexit, announced his resignation.
On July 11, the Conservative Party confirmed May as the new party head, paving the way for her to become the next prime minister.
May was appointed prime minister by Queen Elizabeth II on July 13, becoming the second woman to hold the highest government post of the United Kingdom after Margaret Thatcher. The Conservatives' leader also became the first female UK prime minister of the 21st century.
May lost the support of her cabinet because of the situation with Brexit.
On November 20, 2018, the European Council approved the withdrawal agreement and set the exit date for March 30, 2019, but Brexit was repeatedly postponed. For the withdrawal to enter into force, the UK parliament must first approve the Brexit deal, but it was rejected three times by the legislature.
As a result, the European Union granted the United Kingdom an extension until October 31.
On May 24, 2019, May announced that she would resign as the leader of the Conservative Party on June 7. Party members, including members of the cabinet, dissatisfied with the updated Brexit agreement that she presented to the European Union, forced her to make this statement.
