Tory MP Jesse Norman has been confirmed as the UK Government’s new energy minister.
He revealed on social media yesterday he has been asked to take on the full energy brief, which includes oil and gas.
Old Etonian Mr Norman, who has represented Hereford and South Herefordshire since 2010, had previously supported Conservative peer Baroness Neville-Rolfe in the role.
The 17th energy minister in 19 years, she was moved from the post to the Treasury last month in a reshuffle the day after parliament broke up for Christmas, following a matter of months at the helm.
Her departure was announced at the same time as Lord Prior, a fellow Tory peer, joined the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) from the Department of Health.
This prompted some confusion as to who would replace her, but the portfolio has now been allocated to Mr Norman.
He has previously served on various Commons committees, including as chairman of culture, media and sport, but before joining Beis he had no front bench experience.
His title on the UK Government website remains under-parliamentary secretary of state, which is a lower rank than a minister of state, the position held by his predecessor.
Last week, critics raised concerns this represented a downgrading of the oil and gas sector as a priority for the UK Government.
But Beis has repeatedly insisted its commitment to the industry remains “as strong as ever”.
Mr Norman graduated in classics from Oxford University and has an MPhil and PhD in philosophy from University College London (UCL).
Before entering politics he was a director at Barclays bank, researched and taught philosophy at UCL and ran a charitable project in communist eastern Europe.
In 2012, he reportedly had a run-in with then-prime minister David Cameron after voting against proposed reforms of the House of Lords.