IN MAY 2020, Ranil Jayawardena was appointed minister for International Trade. Now, in a post-Brexit Britain, his role assumes greater significance.

“A Global Britain who stands tall as a fierce champion of the free and fair, rules-based, international trade system, that not only gives us the weapons to fight this pandemic but will be the key to our future prosperity. A Global Britain who regains her buccaneering belief as a dynamic trading superpower, with a red-tape slashing spirit and cutting-edge trade support,” Jayawardena recently wrote on his website.

“A Global Britain who strives to seize opportunities in new and growing markets, exporting her goods and services to every corner of the globe, creating jobs, growth and prosperity for the British people. With the ingenuity, resilience and determination of our businesses and the support we are putting in place, I am confident that Britain’s future is great.”

Jayawardena’s department has been responsible for non-EU trade and the minister said that his department has already secured trade agreements with 63 countries, most recently with countries, including Mexico, Singapore, and Vietnam.

He was first elected as the Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire in May 2015 and was re-elected in 2017 and 2019.

James Arbuthnot, the MP for North East Hampshire, indicated in 2011 that he would retire at the next parliamentary election which was due to be held in 2015. Jayawardena was selected in an open primary as the parliamentary candidate in 2013. He went on to be elected as the MP for the constituency at the 2015 general election, with the largest margin of victory by any Conservative MP in the election.

Before serving as a minister, Jayawardena was a member of the International Trade, Home Affairs, Procedure and Arms Export Controls Committees, and was appointed by the Speaker of