Mr Lansley was educated at Brentwood School, Essex and the University of Exeter, where he was President of the Guild for Students. He began his own career as a civil servant, working at the Department of Trade and Industry.

In 1992 Mr Lansley was awarded a CBE for running the Conservative campaign for the 1992 General Election. In 1997 he was elected MP for South Cambridgeshire, and joined the Shadow Cabinet as Health Secretary in 2003.

Mr Lansley lives in South Cambridgeshire with his wife and their two children, he also has three children from his first marriage.