John Bercow is the former Speaker of the British House of Commons. His cries of ‘Order, order’ – especially during the turbulent Brexit negotiations – made him famous beyond the borders of the United Kingdom.

As Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, he was the first Speaker since the Second World War to be re-elected four times. He presided over a period of great political challenges, including the aftermath of the financial crisis, the formation of the first coalition government since 1945 and, above all, Brexit.

Born in 1963, John Bercow attended the University of Essex, where he graduated with a first-class honours degree in government. He initially worked as a public affairs consultant at Rowland Sallingbury Casey (Saatchi & Saatchi Group), rising from account manager to board member within five years, before becoming special adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and special adviser to the Secretary of State for National Heritage. In 1997, he was elected to Parliament as the Conservative Member for Buckingham. He held various shadow ministerial positions and was a member of the Special Committee on International Development, among other things. During his time in Parliament, John received no fewer than 17 awards for his work. The experienced former parliamentarian is widely regarded as a reformer who has made a big difference both inside and outside the chamber. One of the key priorities of his tenure was the promotion of diversity.

John was Chancellor of his alma mater, the University of Essex, Professor of Politics at Royal Holloway College and Visiting Professor at Birkbeck College, University of London.