By IANS,
London : If the Conservatives do dislodge the Labour from power after finishing on top in a hung parliament, the man most likely to occupy 10 Downing Street and be one of Britain’s youngest prime ministers will be David Cameron, an undisguised admirer of India.
Eton and Oxford educated, the 43-year-old has had a meteoric rise through Conservative ranks since Chancellor Norman Lamont made him his special adviser after spotting talent in the man.
Ahead of a September 2006 visit to India, Cameron wrote a comment piece in The Guardian, saluting Indian democracy.
“India is the world’s largest democracy, a rapidly growing economy, a huge potential trading partner, a diverse society with a strong culture of pluralism and a key regional player – a force for stability in a troubled part of the world,” he said. “So this is India’s time.”
“India, one of the greatest civilizations, is truly great again… Our relationship goes deep. But I think it can and should go deeper. I attach the highest priority to Britain’s relationship with India.”
Born Oct 9, 1966, Cameron has crafted his image as a modern family man who has embraced a variety of causes including climate change. As the Daily Express noted, he showed political steel in his drive to rid the Tories of their image as the “nasty party”.
After graduating in 1988, he got a job in the Conservative Research Department. He was seconded to No. 10 where he helped brief John Major for prime minister’s questions.
That’s when Chancellor Lamont spotted the potential in him.
Cameron was elected a Tory MP from Witney in 2001. Leader Michael Howard made him policy coordinator in the run up to the 2005 election.
When he became the Conservative leader, he quickly set about changing the party, backing the selection of more women and ethnic minority candidates.
The going has not been easy for Cameron. His personal life was rocked with the death of his disabled six-year-old son, Ivan, last year.
He and his wife Samantha have a daughter, Nancy Gwen, and a son, Arthur. The couple are expecting their fourth child in September.