Ruth Maria Kelly (1968-), Politician

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Appointed Secretary of State for Education and Skills in December 2004. As the Minister for the Cabinet Office she was the youngest female ever to be a Cabinet Minister. Kelly was educated at Queen's College, Oxford, and the London School of Economics. She spent her early career at The Guardian as an economics writer (1990-94) before joining the Bank of England. Kelly was elected MP for Bolton in 1997. She joined HM Treasury where she was, successively, Economic Secretary and, from May 2002, Financial Secretary.