Francis Pym, Baron Pym

The Right Honourable The Lord Pym MC PC
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 6 April 1982 – 11 June 1983
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	The Lord Carrington
Succeeded by	Sir Geoffrey Howe
Lord President of the Council
In office 14 September 1981 – 5 April 1982
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	The Lord Soames
Succeeded by	John Biffen
Leader of the House of Commons
In office 5 January 1981 – 5 April 1982
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Norman St John-Stevas
Succeeded by	John Biffen
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 5 January 1981 – 14 September 1981
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Norman St John-Stevas
Succeeded by	The Baroness Young
Paymaster General
In office 5 January 1981 – 14 September 1981
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Angus Maude
Succeeded by	Cecil Parkinson
Secretary of State for Defence
In office 4 May 1979 – 5 January 1981
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Frederick Mulley
Succeeded by	John Nott
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office 2 December 1973 – 4 March 1974
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	William Whitelaw
Succeeded by	Merlyn Rees
Government Chief Whip in the Commons Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office 19 June 1970 – 2 December 1973
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Bob Mellish
Succeeded by	Humphrey Atkins
Member of Parliament for South East Cambridgeshire
In office 9 June 1983 – 11 June 1987
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	James Paice
Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire
In office 16 March 1961 – 9 June 1983
Preceded by	Gerald Howard
Succeeded by	Constituency Abolished
Personal details
Born	Francis Leslie Pym (1922-02-13)13 February 1922 Abergavenny, Monmouthshire
Died	7 March 2008(2008-03-07) (aged 86) Sandy, Bedfordshire
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Magdalene College, Cambridge

Francis Leslie Pym, Baron Pym, MC, PC (13 February 1922 – 7 March 2008) was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in various positions in the Cabinet in the 1970s and 1980s, including Foreign Secretary, Defence Secretary, Northern Ireland Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons. He was Member of Parliament (MP) representing the constituencies of Cambridgeshire (1961–83) and South East Cambridgeshire (1983–87), and was made a life peer in 1987.

Early life

Pym was born at Penpergwm Lodge, near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire. His father, Leslie Pym, was also a Member of Parliament, while his grandfather, the Right Reverend Walter Ruthven Pym, was Bishop of Bombay. He was not a descendant of the 17th century Parliamentarian John Pym as has been commonly held (see Pym's own published family history). He was educated at Eton, before going on to Magdalene College, Cambridge. For much of the Second World War, Pym served in North Africa and Italy as a captain and regimental adjutant in the 9th Lancers. He was awarded the Military Cross, and he ended his military service as a major. Pym was a managing director and landowner before he went into politics.

Political career

Pym entered politics as a member of Herefordshire County Council in 1958. He contested Rhondda West without success in 1959 and entered Parliament in 1961 at a by-election as Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire. He held the seat until 1983, and was MP for Cambridgeshire South East 1983–87. He was an Opposition whip from 1964 and served under Edward Heath as Government Chief Whip (1970–73) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1973–74), and Margaret Thatcher as Defence Secretary (1979–81), Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council (1981–82). He became foreign secretary during the Falklands War in 1982 following Lord Carrington's resignation, but was removed by Margaret Thatcher in 1983 after her second election victory.

Pym was a leading member of the Wets, or Tory opposition, to the Thatcher government. During the 1983 general election campaign he said on the BBC's Question Time that that "Landslides don't on the whole produce successful governments". This was publicly repudiated by Margaret Thatcher and he was sacked after the election. Shortly afterwards, he launched a pressure group called Conservative Centre Forward to argue for more centrist, One Nation policies. But with Thatcher at the height of her powers, it was unsuccessful. He stood down at the 1987 election and was created a life peer as Baron Pym, of Sandy in the County of Bedfordshire. He was the author of The Politics of Consent published in 1984 after he left office. The book is a guide to the Wets' opposition to Margaret Thatcher, both to her leadership style and policies.

Personal life

Pym died on 7 March 2008 after a prolonged illness, aged 86.

In popular culture

Pym was the touchstone for the role of Chief Whip played by Peter Cartwright in the 1987-88 BBC TV sit-com Yes, Prime Minister. He was portrayed by Jeremy Child in the 2002 BBC production of Ian Curteis's The Falklands Play and by Julian Wadham in the 2011 movie, "The Iron Lady".

Bibliography

• Obituary, The Guardian, 7 March 2008
• Obituary, The Times, 8 March 2008
• Obituary, The Independent, 8 March 2008
• Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 8 March 2008

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Francis Pym

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gerald Howard	Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire 1961–1983	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for South East Cambridgeshire 1983–1987	Succeeded by James Paice
Political offices
Preceded by William Whitelaw	Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons 1970–1973	Succeeded by Humphrey Atkins
Preceded by Bob Mellish	Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1970–1973
Preceded by William Whitelaw	Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1973–1974	Succeeded by Merlyn Rees
Preceded by John Peyton	Shadow Leader of the House of Commons 1976–1978	Succeeded by Norman St John-Stevas
Preceded by John Davies	Shadow Foreign Secretary 1978–1979	Succeeded by Peter Shore
Preceded by Frederick Mulley	Secretary of State for Defence 1979–1981	Succeeded by John Nott
Preceded by Angus Maude	Paymaster General 1981	Succeeded by Cecil Parkinson
Preceded by Norman St John-Stevas	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1981	Succeeded by The Baroness Young
	Leader of the House of Commons 1981–1982	Succeeded by John Biffen
Preceded by The Lord Soames	Lord President of the Council 1981–1982
Preceded by The Lord Carrington	Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 1982–1983	Succeeded by Sir Geoffrey Howe