Before joining Parliament, Mr Tugendhat, 51, was an Army officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2015, he was elected MP for the Kent constituency of Tonbridge.
As chair of the foreign affairs committee he was highly critical of the West’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and raised concerns about threats from China.
He also publicly criticised Boris Johnson over the partygate saga, saying the government did not “look serious”.
When Mr Johnson resigned in 2022, Mr Tugendhat ran to replace him as party leader, but was eliminated in the third round of voting.
From September 2022 until the general election earlier this month he served as security minister in the Home Office.
He has generally been considered to be part of the “centrist” One Nation group of Conservative MPs.
