UK: who is Dominic Raab, the Minister replacing Boris Johnson

At 46 years old, the chief of British diplomacy Dominic Raab finds himself propelled to the head of his country in the middle of a crisis of the new coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had Covid-19 and was transferred to intensive care on Monday, "asked him to replace it where necessary".

This convinced Eurosceptic is a representative of the new generation of conservatives who has entered parliament for the past ten years. He was appointed to his portfolio after Boris Johnson came to power last July.

Dominic Raab is "tough and lucid. Not the kind of person you can intimidate, "said ex-Brexit Minister David Davis in 2014, praising the" loyalty "and discipline of the man who had been his chief of staff.

Oxford and Cambridge graduate

Originally from Buckinghamshire, north-west London, Dominic Raab was raised by his mother in the Anglican religion. His father, a Czech Jewish refugee who landed in the UK in 1938, died of cancer when he was just 12 years old.

After studying law at Oxford and Cambridge, he started his career as a lawyer specializing in international law at the firm Linklaters in London. In 2000, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he worked in particular on issues related to terrorism and the sea.

In 2003, he left for The Hague to lead a team tracking down war criminals such as Slobodan Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic and Charles Taylor. Between 2006 and 2008, he became director of the cabinet of David Davis, then in charge of internal affairs for the Conservative Party in the opposition.

Cropped by Theresa May for sex talk

Dominic Raab was elected for the first time in 2010 as Member of Parliament for Esher and Walton, a constituency acquired by the Conservatives. In 2011, designated "new (parliamentary) of the year" by The Spectator, he was reframed by Theresa May, then Minister of the Interior, for having qualified feminists as "unbearable fanatics".

In 2014, he made a name for himself in Parliament by presenting an amendment intended to reduce the possibility for judges to block extraditions based on European regulations. In 2015, he joined the Conservative government of David Cameron as Under Secretary of State for Justice, his very first post in the British executive.

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He left office in July 2016 when Theresa May became Prime Minister, in the wake of the EU referendum. He then campaigned for the official Brexit campaign, "Vote Leave", and argued that the UK could "regain control" of its borders.

He returned to the government as Secretary of State for Justice in June 2017, then to Housing in January 2018. Theresa May appointed him Minister of Brexit in July, after the resignation of David Davis. He slams the door three months later, deeming his strategy too conciliatory with Brussels. When the Prime Minister leaves, her name will be cited among the possible contenders for the succession.

With a very liberal conviction, this slayer of bureaucracy presents himself as a defender of local democracy, freedom of expression and tax cuts. Third dan of karate and great boxing lover, married, he is the father of two boys, Peter and Joshua.