Sajid Javid was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, as one of five sons to a British Pakistani bus driver. His family then moved to Stapleton Road, Bristol, dubbed "Britain's most dangerous street" because of the drug-related shootings and crime. Javid was educated at Downend School, a state comprehensive school in Bristol, Avon from 1981 to 1986, followed by South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, also in Bristol, from 1986 to 1988, and then at the University of Exeter, Devon, from 1988 to 1991, where he studied economics and politics, and became a member of the Conservative Party.
Javid joined Chase Manhattan Bank in New York immediately out of university, working mostly in South America. Aged 25, he became the youngest Vice President in the history of the bank. He relocated to London in 1997, and later joined Deutsche Bank as a Director in 2000. In 2004 he became a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank and, one year later, Global Head of Emerging Markets Structuring. In 2007 he relocated to Singapore as head of Deutsche Bank's credit trading, equity convertibles, commodities and private equity businesses in Asia, and was appointed a board member of Deutsche Bank International Limited. He left Deutsche Bank in 2009 to pursue a career in politics.
At age 20, Javid went to his first Conservative Party Conference and campaigned against the Thatcher government's decision in that year to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), calling it a "fatal mistake".
Javid is a Trustee of the London Early Years Foundation, was a Governor of Normand Croft Community School, and has led an expedition to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Help The Aged.
On 28 May 2009, the MP for Bromsgrove, Julie Kirkbride, announced that she would be standing down as an MP at the next General Election in the light of the expenses scandal. Kirkbride had represented Bromsgrove since 1997. Her resignation was confirmed in December 2009, after an attempt to withdraw it. The Bromsgrove constituency is a safe Conservative seat and has been Conservative since its creation in 1983.
After a selection contest held by the Bromsgrove Conservative Association on 6 February 2010, Javid was announced as the Conservative candidate in the 2010 general election. He received over 70% of the votes cast by local members of the Association.
In the election held on 6 May 2010, Javid received 22,558 votes (43.7%) with a majority of 11,308. In terms of number of votes, this was an increase on the previous majority of 10,080 at the 2005 general election.
Along with Rehman Chishti, Javid is the first Muslim born MP to represent the Conservative Party.
According to Jack Straw, those in the 2010 intake "are the best new MPs for over thirty years": he also identified Javid as one of six Conservative MPs "who have already made an impact in this first term". Javid was one of six new MPs focused on by the Financial Times. In December 2010, Tim Montgomerie, the editor of ConservativeHome (the UK's most influential conservative website), named Sajid as his newcomer of 2010. (Montgomerie and Javid were contemporaries at university.)
Javid was a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee from June - November 2010. He had to relinquish this position when he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Hayes, then Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Javid was one of the first new MPs to be appointed to this position by the Prime Minister, David Cameron.
In August 2011, in an analysis of the 2010 parliamentary intake by Westminster consultancy firm Guide Public Affairs, "Guide To The Next Prime Minister", Javid ranked third, and was the top-scoring Conservative.
Javid has written op-ed pieces for The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Daily Telegraph and The Times.
On 14 October 2011, Javid was promoted to Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne.
In January 2012, The Times newspaper included Javid in its list of the "Top 100 Global People to Watch in 2012". The Times stated that, "His background in investment banking and experience working on currency devaluations, mean that Javid's star could be the brightest of a potentially stellar 2010 Tory intake."
On 4 September 2012, Javid was promoted to Economic Secretary to the Treasury.
In October 2012, The Daily Telegraph newspaper included Javid in its list of "Top 100 most influential figures from the Right". The Daily Telegraph stated that, "His fast rise up the greasy pole into George Osborne's inner circle is not only proof of this man's ambition but also his talent. At the age of 25 he became Vice President of Chase Manhattan Bank, and later senior Managing Director for Deutsche Bank before entering politics."
In January 2013, The Guardian newspaper included Javid in its article "Tory party: the rising stars and those fading fast". The Guardian stated that, "The treasury minister is highly regarded on the right and would be the Tories' first Muslim leader."
