Who is David Cameron?

Unlike last week's election in The United Kingdom which went virtually un-noticed here in the United States, the dramatic events of yesterday afternoon, which resulted in a new Prime Minister for our nation's greatest ally, was surprising covered by most if not all major news outlets both online and on the air.

As a self-professed political and historical geek, yesterday was my first opportunity to witness the "transition" of power in Great Britain – live as it happened, and it was quite amazing to watch.

For most the story will end there. But if you'd like to learn more about David Cameron, the 12th Prime Minister to serve HM The Queen, who is on the cusp of a firm five year term as Prime Minister read on…

David William Donald Cameron

At 43, David Cameron is the youngest British prime minister since Robert Banks Johnson, the 2nd Earl of Liverpool in 1812. Also, he is six months younger than Toby Blair, when he entered 10, Downing Street in 1997. Despite opening himself to the public eye like few politicians before him, David Cameron still remains a bit of an enigma. He comes right from the heart of the establishment, with a generations-long Conservative background; yet his mountain bike and love of indie rock music make him a man of the people. 'I thought, here's a decent English gentleman, well-spoken and well-educated, a man that played cricket. Actually, he was as tough as they come," his former boss once said. So, who exactly is David Cameron?

From Chelsea to Whitehall via Eton and Oxford

Cameron was born on 9 October 1966 in London. After three years in Kensington and Chelsea, the family moved to an old rectory near Newbury, in Berkshire. He had what he describes as a "happy childhood", with his brother Alec and sisters Tania and Clare. The son of a stockbroker, young David went first to Heatherdown Preparatory School in Berkshire, a private school which counted Princes Andrew and Edward among its alumni, and afterwards, following in the family tradition, to Eton, a top fee-paying school for boys. BBC News website, in a December 2005 profile of Cameron by Brian Wheeler, claimed that David’s biggest mention in the Eton school magazine came when he sprained his ankle dancing to bagpipes on a school trip to Rome.

Before going to university, Cameron spent a few months working first for Sussex MP Tim Rathbone, and later for a shipping agent in Hong Kong, a job he got through family connections, the authors of his biography Francis Elliott and James Hanning claim in a March 17, 2007 Daily Mail article "The Many Faces of Mr. Cameron". At Oxford Cameron studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. His tutor, Professor Vernon Bogdanor, described him in the the BBC profile as "one of the ablest" students he has taught, whose political views were "moderate and sensible Conservative".

Political Adviser at 25

Soon after graduating with a first class degree, Mr Cameron got a job with the Conservative Party, at the Research Department. He made quick progress and was soon, according to the BBC, briefing ministers for media appearances. Next, together with his future rival for the leadership of the party, David Davis, Mr Cameron worked on the team briefing then Prime Minister John Major for Prime Minister’s Questions in the Parliament. In 1992, at the age of 25, he became a political adviser for then Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont. During the 1992’s General Election he was also advising John Major. Cameron’s biographers Elliott and Hanning claim that he was careful to be seen as loyal, but that in private he called Major a 'loser' and disagreed with his European policy.

After a brief spell as an adviser to then Home Secretary Michael Howard, and convinced that for his future political career it was necessary to gain experience outside of politics, David Cameron took a job with Carlton, a media company. He was their head of corporate communications for seven years. But how did a 27-year-old with no business experience land such a job? Elliott and Hanning claim that, again, family contacts came to the rescue.

In 1997, while working part-time for Carlton, Cameron tried, unsuccessfully, to become an MP. He went to Stafford to fight for the Conservative Party. "Stafford fought back pretty vigorously," he later told Oliver Burkeman in a September 29, 2005 profile in the Guardian. However, four years later he won the safe Conservative seat of Witney, in Oxfordshire. By that time, he was a married to Samantha, the daughter of landowner Sir Reginald Sheffield. They have two children, Nancy and Elwen. Their eldest child, Ivan, who suffered from cerebral palsy and epilepsy, died in February 2009.

'Man for the Future' Claims he is not Another Blair

Since entering parliament, Cameron held a range of shadow ministerial posts, including that of shadow education secretary. In 2005, at the age of 39, he became the leader of the Conservative Party. When he entered the leadership contest, many commentators considered him too young and inexperienced. However, the turning point came at the Party’s annual conference in Blackpool, where he spoke without notes. His talk of "turning on a new generation" helped convince the party that he was what the BBC News website in a December 2005 report described as ‘the man for the future, rather than a face from the past’.

This is probably why he has often been compared to Tony Blair, who, many commentators agree, changed Labour Party profoundly and moved it closer to the political centre. As David Cameron enters Downing Street as prime minister of the first British coalition government in 70 years. remains an enigma. With his influential friends and privileged background, he is seen by many as the embodiment of the establishment. Yet, that same David Cameron enjoys cooking and growing vegetables, as his party’s website claims, and once told the BBC that his favourite album of all time is The Queen is Dead, by The Smiths. Things like these, together with his easy manner in front of the television cameras, allow him to appear as someone who is in touch with ordinary people. We are yet to find out which of these two is the real David Cameron.

Sources: BBC News website, Daily Mail, Guardian.co.uk, New Statesman, Times, Conservative Party, Number10.gov.uk