People in the News: 2020s

Controversially awarded Portuguese citizenship in 2021, under a law that offers naturalisation to descendants of Sephardic Jews (a prominent figure in British sport)		Roman Abramovich
Health Department aide, photographed in a passionate embrace with Health Secretary Matt Hancock in June 2021, during COVID–19 lockdown, leading to his resignation		Gina Coladangelo
Former CEO of BBC Studios (the BBC's TV and radio production and distribution company): replaced Tony Hall as Director General, September 2020		Tim Davie
Governor of California, since 2019: a former Trump supporter, but increasingly seen as a contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination (in opposition to Trump)		Ron DeSantis
African–American man who died in 2020 while being arrested in Minneapolis for suspected shop fraud; the arresting officer was convicted of murder, having deprived him of oxygen by kneeling on his neck for almost ten minutes		George Floyd
Civil servant (Second Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office) who took over the investigation into allegatins of gatherings and parties on government premises during COVID restrictions, in December 2021 (after Cabinet Secretary Simon Case recused himself as he was potentially implicated)		Sue Gray
General Secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union, 2021 to date: became a spokesperson and symbol for the wider trade unionist movement during and after the high–profile rail strikes of 2022–3		Mick Lynch
American chess grandmaster, accused of cheating by world champion Magnus Carlsen in 2022		Hans Niemann
Texas lawyer who had to deny that he was a cat, during a court case conducted over Zoom (February 2021)		Rod Ponton
Boris Johnson's Principal Private Secretary, who resigned in February 2022 after details emerged of an email he'd sent to Downing Street staff in May 2020, during COVID–19 lockdown, inviting them to a "socially distanced drinks" party		Martin Reynolds
Downing Street advisor (Johnson's Press Secretary, November 2020 to April 2021, and then spokesperson for COP26 President Alok Sharma): resigned in December 2021 after footage was released of a December 2020 press conference rehearsal, in which she joked about a Christmas party that secretly took place at 10 Downing Street during the COVID–19 lockdown		Allegra Stratton
Swedish environmentalist, born in 2003, middle names Tintin Eleonora Ernman: nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, 2020 and 2021; subject of a BBC documentary series, broadcast in 2019–30, subtitled A Year to Change the World; No One is Too Small to Make a Difference, published by Penguin in 2019, is a collection of her speeches (proceeds donated to charity)		Greta Thunberg
Meeting clerk from the Cheshire Association of Local Councils, who won plaudits for her assertive handling of an online meeting of the Planning and Environment Committee of the Parish Council in the suburban village of Handforth (February 2021)		Jackie Weaver
YouTuber whose fitness videos were watched by over a million users during the COVID–19 pandemic (2020–1); previously posted recipes, and published a book (Lean in 15) in 2015; awarded MBE in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours		Joe Wicks

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People in the News: 2020s