Dominic Cummings

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Dominic Mckenzie Cummings (born November 25, 1971 in Durham ) is a British political advisor . He gained notoriety for his role in the UK's 2016 EU membership referendum.

origin

Cummings grew up in his native Durham in north east England . His father was a construction manager on oil platforms and his mother a special education teacher .

education

He attended the private Durham School in his hometown and Exeter College at the University of Oxford , where he studied ancient and modern times . During his studies at Oxford he was influenced by the professor of modern history Norman Stone , who at the time was also the foreign policy advisor to the Thatcher government . It was also Stone who inspired Cummings to gain experience in the post-Soviet states after graduating in the 1990s .

Professional career

After completing his studies, Cummings stayed in Russia for three years from 1994 to 1997 and tried, among other things, to set up an airline that would connect Samara - Russia's sixth largest city - with Vienna . Cummings is fluent in Russian .

In 1999 he was first head of research and in 2002 campaign manager of the Business for Sterling initiative founded by Nick Herbert , which campaigned against the euro and for the preservation of the pound sterling .

Prime Minister David Cameron

In the Cameron I cabinet , Cummings was an advisor to Michael Gove, Secretary of Education .

Brexit

In the course of the EU membership referendum in the UK in 2016 , Cummings led the election campaign for the Vote Leave campaign , which campaigned for the UK to leave the EU ("Brexit"). Among other things, he was responsible for a red bus on which he had the sentence “We send the EU £ 350 million a week - let's fund our NHS instead” written. The statement was incorrect, but according to parliamentarians it had a significant impact on the outcome of the vote.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Character of Cummings as Johnson 's hand puppeteer at the People's Vote March in October 2019

Boris Johnson became the new Prime Minister on July 27, 2019 . Dominic Cummings was scheduled to serve as a strategist and advisor in Johnson's cabinet , according to a July 24 Guardian report . In fact, Johnson appointed him his special adviser to attend meetings of the core cabinet that is supposed to implement Brexit. Cummings also coordinates the political advisors who are supposed to enforce government policy against the ministerial bureaucracy.

The fact that Cummings is not a member of the Conservative Party and still has considerable influence on government decisions as an advisor has repeatedly been criticized. Philip Hammond defended his political positions on September 3, 2019 against "newcomers" and "intruders" who "tried to transform the Conservative Party from a multi-faith church into a narrow sect" and "who care nothing about the future of the Conservative Party." scherten "( incomers [and] entryists, who are trying to turn it from a broad church to a narrow faction [and] who care nothing about the future of the Conservative Party ), and thus referred to Cummings without directly referring to him call.

In November 2019, it was revealed that Cummings had been banned from some government affairs despite his security clearance. The reason for this were open questions about his contacts in Russia.

In May 2020, Cummings hit the headlines after it was revealed that he had made several long drives from London to County Durham with his wife who was showing symptoms of COVID-19 . Cummings denied breaking the rules of self-isolation and social distancing and turned down requests for resignation. The County Durham Police Department opened a formal investigation on May 25, 2020. It is to clarify whether Cummings behaved in accordance with the law. According to British media, Cummings was also seen on two trips in the area.

Private life

Cummings has been married to Mary Wakefield, an editor at Spectator, and the maternal granddaughter of Evelyn Baring, 1st Baron Howick of Glendale , since 2011 . The couple have a son born in 2016.

reception

Cummings was played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the British television drama Brexit: The Uncivil War (2019) .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Owen Bennett: Michael Gove: A Man in a Hurry . Biteback, London 2019, ISBN 978-1-78590-108-9 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  2. ↑ Why Johnson's New Advisor Polarizes faz.net, July 26, 2019
  3. ↑ Dominic Cummings tries to reinvent politics now that Brexit is 'done' , irishtimes.com of January 16, 2020
  4. ↑ Dominic Cummings tries to reinvent politics now that Brexit is 'done' , irishtimes.com of January 16, 2020
  5. ↑ George Parker: Dominic Cummings has 'done' Brexit. Now he plans to reinvent politics , ft.com of January 16, 2020
  6. ↑ a b thetimes.co.uk November 3, 2019: Labor asks about Dominic Cummings' years working in Russia
  7. ↑ George Kerevan: Why Boris Johnson has picked Dominic Cummings for key adviser role , thenational.sco of July 29, 2019
  8. ↑ Dominic Cummings: brilliant eccentric or evil genius? , theguardian.com of January 4, 2019
  9. ↑ 4928
  10. ↑ a b Dominic Cummings of Vote Leave to be named key Johnson adviser theguardian.com of July 24, 2019 / Peter Walker
  11. ↑ An interview with Dominic Cummings economist.com of January 21, 2016
  12. ↑ see also www.voteleavetakecontrol.org
  13. ↑ Rob Merrick: "Brexit: Vote Leave chief who created £ 350m NHS claim on bus admits leaving EU could be 'an error'" independent.co.uk of July 4, 2017
  14. ↑ independent.co.uk of October 28, 2018 / Jon Stone: British public still believe Vote Leave '£ 350million a week to EU' myth from Brexit referendum
  15. ↑ ZEIT ONLINE August 5, 2019: Little scruples, lots of power
  16. ^ Brexit: Boris Johnson faces showdown in Parliament. BBC News, accessed September 3, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Coronavirus: Dominic Cummings 'made second lockdown trip'. BBC News, May 24, 2020, accessed May 24, 2020 .
  18. ↑ spiegel.de May 25, 2020: The dangerous advisor
  19. ↑ NZZ.ch / Beat Bumbacher: Boris Johnson's advisor becomes a burden for his boss (comment)
  20. ↑ derstandard.at: Johnson's chief advisor Cummings does not regret traveling during Corona lockdowns
  21. ↑ https://muckrack.com/mary-wakefield
  22. ↑ a b Rabbett, Abigail; Morley, Nicole: "Who is Dominic Cummings? The Durham man behind Brexit played by Benedict Cumberbatch in Channel 4 show" , Evening Chronicle, January 8, 2019
  23. ↑ Dominic Cummings tries to reinvent politics now that Brexit is 'done' , irishtimes.com of January 16, 2020
  24. ↑ Who is Dominic Cummings' wife Mary Wakefield? , The Sun of March 30, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Cummings, Dominic
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cummings, Dominic McKenzie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British policy advisor
DATE OF BIRTH November 25, 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH Durham