A near-mainstay in Whitehall who has been a leading player in 14 years of Tory ... trends now
Michael Gove has served in numerous different Cabinet-level jobs under four of the last five prime ministers during the past 14 years of Conservative rule.
His departure from the House of Commons will see the exit of someone who has been a near-mainstay in Whitehall while the Tories have been in power.
The 56-year-old has also been a leading player in the explosive drama and chaos at Westminster over the past decade-and-a-half.
And he has proved, through a series of stunning comebacks, that he can never be written off as one of the Tories' most influential politicians of modern times.
Mr Gove is currently Levelling Up Secretary and also Rishi Sunak's minister for intergovernmental relations.
He was previously Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Cabinet Office minister under Boris Johnson, and Environment Secretary under Theresa May.
Prior to that, Mr Gove served Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor, Chief Whip, and Education Secretary under David Cameron.
Michael Gove has served in numerous different Cabinet-level jobs under four of the past five prime ministers during the past 14 years of Conservative rule
It was as part of the Tory 'Notting Hill set' - an informal group of young Conservative figures who corralled around David Cameron's leadership - that Mr Gove first rose to prominence
It was during the EU referendum campaign that Mr Gove forged an alliance with fellow Brexit champion Boris Johnson
It was as part of the Tory 'Notting Hill set' - an informal group of young Conservative figures who corralled around Mr Cameron's leadership - that Mr Gove first rose to prominence in the Noughties.
Mr Gove was a shadow minister in Mr Cameron's top team until the Tories entered government at the 2010 general election after agreeing a coalition deal with the Liberal Democrats.
He then spent four years as Education Secretary before the first big setback of his political career when he was demoted to Chief Whip.
It came amid claims private Tory polling had shown Mr Gove to be a toxic liability among teachers, following his efforts to push through radical reforms.
The demotion also came shortly after a public spat with Mrs May, the then-Home Secretary, saw Mr Gove forced to apologise.
The two leading Cabinet ministers had clashed over an alleged 'Trojan Horse' plot by hardline Islamists in some Birmingham schools, with a bitter briefing war between the two sides erupting in the media.
After the Tories won a surprise majority at the 2015 general election, Mr Gove was promoted back to the top table of British politics after being handed the role of Justice Secretary by Mr Cameron.
But Mr Cameron's decision to call the EU referendum caused a deep schism in the Conservative Party - with Mr Gove and the then-premier placing themselves on
