Dominic Johnson, Baron Johnson of Lainston
The Lord Johnson of Lainston | |
|---|---|
 Johnson in 2012 | |
| Minister of State for Investment | |
| Assumed office 2 October 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Liz Truss |
| Preceded by | The Lord Grimstone of Boscobel |
| Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party | |
| In office 2016–2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Theresa May |
| Preceded by | Robert Halfon |
| Succeeded by | Paul Scully |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 24 October 2022 Life Peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dominic Robert Andrew Johnson 1974 (age 49–50) London, England |
| Spouse |
Alice Rose Alethea Hamilton
(m. 2006) |
| Relatives | Archie Hamilton (father-in-law) |
| Education | Durham University |
Dominic Robert Andrew Johnson, Baron Johnson of Lainston CBE (born 1974) is a British financier, hedge fund manager and politician, the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Somerset Capital Management. In October 2022, Johnson was appointed as a minister in the Cabinet Office and the Department for International Trade.[1] Johnson has given more than £250,000 to the Conservative Party, and was its vice-chairman from 2016 to 2019.
Early life
Johnson was born in London in 1974,[2] son of Patrick Johnson and Juliet Elizabeth, daughter of Lt Andrew John Craig-Harvey, 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, of Lainston House, Sparsholt, near Winchester, Hampshire, now a hotel. Juliet's mother, Mary, daughter of Royal Navy Captain Robert Bradshaw Wilmot Sitwell, CBE, was a descendant, through her mother, of the Conservative politicians Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers and Sir Armine Wodehouse, 5th Baronet. Johnson's maternal uncle, Nicholas Craig-Harvey, is married to Lady Julia, daughter of the Conservative politician Hugh Percy, 10th Duke of Northumberland and maternal granddaughter of Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 8th Duke of Buccleuch, also a Conservative politician.[3][4][5][6]
Johnson and his older sister were raised by their maternal grandparents.[7]
Johnson earned a bachelor's degree in politics from Durham University, graduating in 1995.[2][8]
Career
Johnson began his career in finance with Robert Fleming & Co. in 1995, and then with Jardine Fleming, Hong Kong, in 1998.[9] In 2001, he went into asset management, and worked for Lloyd George Management until 2007.[9] In 2007, he co-founded Somerset Capital Management (SCM) with Jacob Rees-Mogg and Edward Robertson.[9][1] All three were colleagues at Lloyd George Management in Hong Kong.[10] Rees-Mogg was CEO of SCM until Johnson succeeded him in 2010.[10]
In September 2022, SCM with assets under management of about $5 billion was up for sale, with Johnson planning to move into politics, and would be succeeded by chief operating officer Robert Diggle as CEO.[11]
Politics
From 2006 to 2010, Johnson was a Conservative councillor for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.[2]
In 2016, when his friend David Cameron stood down as prime minister, Johnson gave him the use of his £2,650-a-week Chelsea house,[2] and Cameron accordingly declared a benefit of more than £37,000 in the register of MPs' interests.[12]
Johnson has given more than £250,000 to the Conservative Party, and was its vice-chairman from 2016 to 2019.[1] In the 2017 New Year Honours, Johnson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for political service".[2]
On 2 October 2022, Johnson was appointed as an unelected minister of state in the Cabinet Office and the Department for International Trade.[1] On 19 October 2022, to facilitate his ministerial role, he was created Baron Johnson of Lainston, of Lainston in the County of Hampshire.[13][14] "Lainston" derives from his mother's family home, Lainston House, near Winchester in Hampshire, which is now a hotel.[15]
Personal life
In 2006, he married Alice Rose Alethea Hamilton (born 1974), the daughter of Archibald Hamilton, Baron Hamilton of Epsom, a British Conservative Party politician.[16]
References
- ^ a b c d Mason, Rowena (2 October 2022). "Jacob Rees-Mogg's business partner given senior minister role". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Walker, Owen (13 July 2019). "Jacob Rees-Mogg? He's great for our business, says Dominic Johnson". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 1973, p. 1041
- ^ Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 1985, p. 1114
- ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, vol. 2, p. 2164, vol. 3, p. 3676-8
- ^ The Tatler, Wednesday, 10 Feb. 1965, pp. 16-19
- ^ Jacob's Ladder, Michael Ashcroft, Biteback Publishing, 2019, ch. 9, God and Mammon, citing the Hampshire Chronicle of 1 Nov. 1974 24 Jan. 1975, and 21 Mar. 1975
- ^ "Alumni in Queen's New Year Honours 2017". Dunelm. Durham University. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ a b c "Dominic Johnson CBE". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ a b Oldroyd-Bolt, David (3 November 2016). "The many, many millions of Mogg". The Spectator. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Somerset Capital up for sale as CEO Johnson plans departure - reports Annual profits plummeted by 34%". Investment Week. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ Mason, Rowena (4 August 2016). "May's campaign was given £35,000 by donors Cameron put forward for honours". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Crown Office | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ "Lord Johnson of Lainston". MPs and Lords. UK Parliament. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ "Lainston House". The Telegraph. 3 October 2017.
- ^ Debrett's peerage & baronetage : comprises information concerning the royal family, the peerage and baronetage ([147th] ed.). Richmond, Surrey [England]: Debrett's. 2012. p. 638. ISBN 9781870520805.
