Alok Sharma, Indian-English accountant and politician
Alok Sharma (born 7 September 1967) is a British politician serving as President for COP26 and a Minister of State at the Cabinet Office since 2021. Resigning his previous position as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in order to lead COP26, he retains full Cabinet status. Sharma has been the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Reading West since 2010.
Sharma served in Prime Minister Theresa May's government as Minister of State for Housing from 2017 to 2018 and as Minister of State for Employment from 2018 to 2019. In 2019, he was appointed to the Cabinet by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as Secretary of State for International Development. He was promoted to Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the 2020 cabinet reshuffle, an office in which he served until 2021. Sharma was the President of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) and negotiated the Glasgow Climate Pact.