Nadhim Zahawi (Arabic: ناظم الزهاوي, romanized: Nāẓim az-Zahāwī; Kurdish: نازم زەهاوی, romanized: Nazim Zehawî; born 2 June 1967) is an Iraqi-born British former politician who served in various ministerial positions under prime ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak from 2018 to 2023.

[2] He most recently served as Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio from 25 October 2022 until he was dismissed by Sunak on 29 January 2023.

[4] Born in Baghdad to a Kurdish family, Zahawi was co-founder of international Internet-based market research firm YouGov of which he was chief executive until February 2010.

A chemical engineer in his earlier career, he was chief strategy officer for Gulf Keystone Petroleum until January 2018.

[9][10] His father is Hareth Nadhim Al Zahawi (born 1942), a British-Iraqi businessman who established the Al-Zahawi Group, which after the United States invasion of 2003 obtained a lucrative contract to provide logistics, cleaning and support services to the new US-led interim government.

[18] The company produced clothing with licensed designs, ranging from Warner Brothers to World Cup '98 to the Teletubbies.

[20] In November 2013, it was reported by the Birmingham Mail newspaper that in May 2011 (one year after he became an MP) Zahawi used as a mortgage lender Berkford Investments Limited, based in the low-tax British overseas territory of Gibraltar, to finance the purchase of his constituency home 'Oaklands' riding stables estate (worth at the time £875,000) in Upper Tysoe, near Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire.

"[21] In 2015, he joined Gulf Keystone Petroleum, an oil and gas exploration and production company, as a part-time chief strategy officer.

[41] In February 2010, Zahawi was selected by the local Conservative Association in Stratford-on-Avon as their prospective parliamentary candidate for the 2010 general election.

[45] Later in October, Zahawi and fellow member of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee interviewed Lazard, the Government's independent adviser on the sale of Royal Mail.

[46] In November 2013, Zahawi apologised after it was reported that he had claimed expenses for electricity used to run the stables on his private estate.

[47] In 2015, while still a member of the Business Select Committee, Zahawi directed a "tough line of questioning" at Post Office CEO Paula Vennells over the subpostmasters mediation scheme, describing her handling of it as "a shambles".

[48][49] As a result of his questioning, he later gained a cameo appearance, playing himself in the 2024 ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

[54] Concerns were raised about how MPs' independence might be compromised by such links between APPGs and private companies, and specifically about how Zahawi's connections with the oil industry affect his role as MP.

During the time he was on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee he was also chairman of the secretive transatlantic group Le Cercle but did not declare his membership.

[73][74] In July 2021, the government announced plans to introduce domestic COVID-19 vaccine passports from September as a condition of entry to nightclubs and some other venues with large crowds.

Young people will be given a new Climate Leader's Award for any positive work on protecting the environment, with a nationwide ceremony held each year.

[82] Prior to his appointment, officials of the Cabinet Office's propriety and ethics team had alerted the prime minister of a HMRC "flag" concerning Zahawi's tax affairs.

[83] The day following his promotion, members of the Cabinet, including Zahawi and Home Secretary Priti Patel, had gathered inside 10 Downing Street to call on Johnson to resign.

[89] While taking part in the leadership contest Zahawi was alleged to be under investigation by HMRC after an inquiry was initially launched in 2020 by the National Crime Agency.

In response, Zahawi denied being aware that he was under investigation by the Serious Fraud Squad, the National Crime Agency and HMRC[90][91] and said he was being smeared.

[94] Minutes after Johnson announced he would not be running, The Telegraph published an article from Zahawi entitled "Get ready for Boris 2.0, the man who will make the Tories and Britain great again".

[99][100] In December 2022, Zahawi said nurses should call off their strikes and pay demands because it risked playing into the hands of Vladimir Putin, who he said, wanted to fuel inflation.

[110] In November 2023, David Spencer resigned from the executive of Zahawi's local Conservative Association, intending to challenge him at the 2024 general election.

[1] Following then US President Donald Trump's Executive Order 13769 that banned travellers from a number of Muslim majority countries, Zahawi reported that, despite being a British citizen, he was unable to enter the United States, as he was born in Iraq.

He also argued that the travel ban and then prime minister Theresa May's failure to condemn it only fuelled support for the Islamic State in Iraq and other countries.

[116] In January 2018, it was reported in the media that Zahawi was one of the attendees at a men-only dinner event organised by the Presidents Club at the Dorchester Hotel in London.

[117] Media reports alleged that female hostesses were subjected to sexual harassment and incidents of groping and inappropriate touching.

[118] Following the revelations of his attendance at the event, Zahawi posted a tweet condemning such behaviour and stated that he felt uncomfortable at what he saw happening.

[119] In response, opposition politicians, including the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Angela Rayner, called for Zahawi to step down from his position as Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Department of Education as he did not report his concerns about unlawful behaviour at the event to the police and because he had attended the event before on several occasions.