[4] Craig Oliver attended Stirling High School, where he was a contemporary of the presenter Kirsty Young,[4] then went on to read English literature at the University of St Andrews.
He committed a political faux pas at the following weekend's Conservative Party Spring Conference after accidentally showing his notes for David Cameron's keynote speech to photographers.
[17] On 24 May 2012, Oliver was named in documents submitted to the Leveson Inquiry into media standards as being one of eight Downing Street advisers to have had contact with News Corporation lobbyist Frédéric Michel.
[18] On 28 May 2012, video footage was posted on the internet of Oliver reprimanding BBC News correspondent Norman Smith over the content of a story concerning a memo Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt sent to David Cameron about his thoughts on News Corporation's bid to take full control of BSkyB.
[23][24] Oliver was knighted in the 2016 Resignation Honours after David Cameron stepped down as Prime Minister in the wake of the European Union membership referendum.
The book, Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of Brexit, was serialised in The Mail on Sunday in September 2016, and claims that David Cameron felt "badly let down" by Theresa May (who was Home Secretary during the referendum campaign) because she failed to back the Remain side.
[28] Oliver was portrayed by actor Rory Kinnear in the 2019 HBO and Channel 4 produced drama entitled Brexit: The Uncivil War.