David Cameron: 10 facts you should know

Since he became the British prime minister, David Cameron has been a popular figure at home and abroad.

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April 13, 2010

David Cameron entered office in May 2010 as the first Conservative prime minister of Britain since John Major left office in 1997. Here, Cameron delivers his speech during the launch of his party's manifesto in London.

Lefteris Pitarakis / AP

June 7, 2010

Cameron, who heads a coalition government between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, launched a historic wave of fiscal austerity in Britain aimed at cutting the deficit.

Alastair Grant / AP

May 24, 2011

Cameron has called for a continuation of the "special relationship" with the United States while increasingly reaching out to developing giants including India, China and Brazil.

Paul Hackett / AP

Aug. 12, 2011

Cameron has also called for a “Big Society” campaign that would see charities and volunteers take a larger role in services traditionally provided by government, including youth centers and counseling. Here, Cameron poses with a group of young people at 10 Downing Street in London.

Sang Tan / AP

June 16, 2010

Considered a moderate Conservative in Britain, Cameron supports same-sex marriage, arguing that equal rights are a fundamental facet of British values. Here, Cameron addresses guests at a gay pride reception in the garden of 10 Downing Street in London.

Andrew Winning / AP

July 20, 2011

Cameron defended his former director of communications, Andy Coulson, during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. Coulson, a former News of the World editor, resigned Jan. 21, 2011, and was arrested after further details emerged in Britain’s phone-hacking scandal, which also engulfed News Corp. and Scotland Yard. Cameron’s hiring of Coulson and close personal ties to News Corp. executives drew the British prime minister into the controversy, presenting his Conservative-led coalition government with its most severe test since it came to power.

PA Wire / AP

July 10, 2011

Controversy arose regarding whether Cameron rode a retired police horse named Raisa, lent by Scotland Yard to Rebekah Brooks, a former top executive at News International, and her horse-trainer husband. The prime minister’s aides initially said it was unclear whether Cameron rode Raisa, apparently trying to distance him from Brooks, a personal friend caught in Britain’s phone-hacking scandal. But Cameron eventually confirmed that he did in fact ride Raisa while on a country expedition with Brooks’s husband and apologized for the scandal, dubbed "Horsegate" by the media.

Ian Nicholson / AP

Oct. 5, 2010

Cameron, 45, is married to Samantha Cameron, 40, creative director of Smythson, a luxury stationery and leather goods store and ambassador of the British Fashion Council. The couple has three children. A son, Ivan, died in 2009.

Toby Melville / AFP/Getty Images

In the 1980s Cameron attended Oxford University, where he was a member of the controversial and exclusive Bullingdon Club with London mayor Boris Johnson. The 2009 docu-drama "When Boris Met Dave" explored the leaders’ involvement in the organization.

Oli Scarff / Getty Images

Feb. 16, 2012

Cameron is fighting to keep Scotland from splitting with the United Kingdom. He delivered an emotional plea in February during a visit to Edinburgh, urging Scots to remain within the United Kingdom and vowing to offer the region more autonomy if it rejects independence in an upcoming referendum.

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

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