Shailesh Lakhman Vara (/ˈʃaɪlɛʃ ˈvɑːrə/,[1] born 4 September 1960) is a Ugandan-British Conservative former politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Cambridgeshire from 2005 until 2024.

In the January 2018 reshuffle, he re-entered government as Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), serving under Karen Bradley.

During the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis, Vara was appointed by Boris Johnson as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland but was dismissed by Liz Truss on 6 September 2022.

At the 1997 general election, Vara stood in Birmingham Ladywood, coming second with 13.3% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Clare Short.

[10] Vara stood in Northampton South in the 2001 general election, coming second with 41.1% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Tony Clarke.

The proposal was not supported by the government, which Vara claimed effectively blocked its progress by talking through to the end of the debate.

[25] On 7 July 2022, Vara was appointed as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, replacing Brandon Lewis.