Martin Callanan, Lord Callanan, has been appointed Minister of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU), replacing Joyce Anelay, Baroness Anelay of St Johns.
Lord Callanan, who spent 15 years as a Member of the European Parliament, previously served as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of Aviation, International and Security at the Department for Transport.
Baroness Anelay joined DExEU in June 2017, and she has spent 20 years on the front bench.
David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, said:
Joyce has made an invaluable contribution to ensuring a successful departure from the EU through her work representing Britain abroad, and representing the Department in the House of Lords.
She’s been a great part of our Ministerial team and a good friend. I wish her all the best as she returns to the back benches where she will bring an unparalleled level of experience to the task of scrutinising Brexit legislation on its way through the House of Lords.
I’m delighted to welcome Lord Callanan to the Department — he brings with him a wealth of experience in Brussels and a proven ability in political leadership. I look forward to working together as a Ministerial team to continue delivering the important task of negotiating our exit from the European Union and making a success of Brexit.
Baroness Anelay said:
It has been a huge privilege to work with and see first-hand the dedication of my Ministerial colleagues and the Civil Service as we deliver on the referendum result and negotiate the UK’s exit from the EU.
I’m immensely proud of what the Government has achieve while I have been a part of it, and am grateful for having been given the opportunity to serve.
Baroness Anelay was raised to the peerage in 1996 and served as an Opposition Spokesperson for various departments until being appointed Opposition Chief Whip in 2007.
She was appointed the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict in June 2015. Prior to this she was Chief Whip in the House of Lords and Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms. She was made a Privy Counsellor in 2009.
In August 2014, she was appointed Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in August 2014, and from July to October 2016 she had additional responsibility at the Department for International Development.
Lord Callanan was a Member of the European Parliament for the North East England constituency from 1999, re-elected in 2004 and 2009.
He became the leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists group from 2011-2014.
He was created a Life Peer on 24 September 2014 taking the title Baron Callanan, of Low Fell in the County of Tyne and Wear.
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