Cameron, David William Duncan

Cameron, David William Duncan (kăm`ərən), 1966–, British politician, b. London. Educated at Eton and Oxford, he worked for the Conservative party's research department beginning in 1988, became an adviser to two high-ranking government ministers, and headed corporate communications (1994–2001) for a media company. After an unsuccessful campaign for Parliament in 1997, he won a seat as a Conservative in 2001 and advanced rapidly in the party as a protégé of party leader Michael Howard, becoming shadow education secretary in 2005. Seen as a youthful modernizer, he was elected (Dec., 2005) to succeed the resigning Howard as party leader. In the post, Cameron has sought to transform the Conservatives into a less ideological, more centrist party.