Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater

The Right Honourable
 The Lord King of Bridgwater, PC
Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater

In office
24 July 1989 – 11 April 1992
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
John Major
Preceded by George Younger
Succeeded by Malcolm Rifkind

In office
3 September 1985 – 24 July 1989
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by Douglas Hurd
Succeeded by Peter Brooke

In office
16 October 1983 – 2 September 1985
Preceded by Norman Tebbit
Succeeded by David Young

In office
11 June 1983 – 16 October 1983
Preceded by David Howell
Succeeded by Nicholas Ridley

In office
6 January 1983 – 11 June 1983
Preceded by Michael Heseltine
Succeeded by Patrick Jenkin

Born 13 June 1933
Rugby, Warwickshire, UK
Political party Conservative

Thomas Jeremy King, Baron King of Bridgwater, CH, PC (born 13 June 1933), is a British Conservative politician who was Member of Parliament for Bridgwater in Somerset, from 1970 until 2001.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Educated at Sheriff House, Rugby School; King was elected to Parliament at a by-election in 1970, following the death of sitting MP Sir Gerald Wells.

In government

He held the posts of Employment Secretary and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at a time when these were high-profile roles with the potential for controversy, but was not very well-known.

King also served as Defence Secretary under Prime Minister John Major during the Gulf War in 1991. After retirement to the back benches, he became chairman of the Intelligence and Security Select Committee, during which time KGB agent Vasili Mitrokhin defected to reveal 87-year-old Melita Norwood as a Soviet spy1.

He is now a life peer as Baron King of Bridgwater, and sits in the House of Lords.

Personal life

He is married to Jane Tilney, now Lady King; and has one son Rupert (married to media and entertainment solicitor Alice Rayman), and one daughter Elisa.

In popular culture

King was portrayed by Peter Blythe in the 2004 BBC production of The Alan Clark Diaries.

King was the subject of a song in the satirical ITV programme Spitting Image where he was dipicted as the Invisible Man during his term as Secretary of State for Employment.

References

  1. ^ BBC News | UK | 'More KGB revelations to come'
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sir Gerald Wills
Member of Parliament for Bridgwater
19702001
Succeeded by
Ian Liddell-Grainger
Political offices
Preceded by
Michael Heseltine
Secretary of State for the Environment
1983
Succeeded by
Patrick Jenkin
Preceded by
David Howell
Secretary of State for Transport
1983
Succeeded by
Nicholas Ridley
Preceded by
Norman Tebbit
Secretary of State for Employment
1983–1985
Succeeded by
The Lord Young of Graffham
Preceded by
Douglas Hurd
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
1985–1989
Succeeded by
Peter Brooke
Preceded by
George Younger
Secretary of State for Defence
1989–1992
Succeeded by
Malcolm Rifkind
New creation Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee
1994–2001
Succeeded by
Ann Taylor

Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 8 November 2008, at 16:46.

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