John Wakeham, Baron Wakeham

The Right Honourable The Lord Wakeham PC DL
Leader of the House of Lords Lord Privy Seal
In office 11 April 1992 – 20 July 1994
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	The Lord Waddington
Succeeded by	Viscount Cranborne
Secretary of State for Energy
In office 24 July 1989 – 11 April 1992
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher John Major
Preceded by	Cecil Parkinson
Succeeded by	Office Abolished
Lord President of the Council
In office 10 January 1988 – 24 July 1989
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	The Viscount Whitelaw
Succeeded by	Geoffrey Howe
Leader of the House of Commons
In office 13 June 1987 – 24 July 1989
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	John Biffen
Succeeded by	Geoffrey Howe
Lord Privy Seal
In office 13 June 1987 – 10 January 1988
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	John Biffen
Succeeded by	The Lord Belstead
Government Chief Whip in the Commons Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office 9 June 1983 – 13 June 1987
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Michael Jopling
Succeeded by	David Waddington
Member of Parliament for South Colchester and Maldon
In office 9 June 1983 – 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	John Whittingdale
Member of Parliament for Maldon
In office 28 February 1974 – 9 June 1983
Preceded by	Brian Harrison
Succeeded by	Constituency Abolished
Personal details
Born	(1932-06-22) 22 June 1932
Political party	Conservative

John Wakeham, Baron Wakeham, PC, DL (born 22 June 1932) is a businessman and British Conservative Party politician and the current Chancellor of Brunel University.

He was a director of Enron from 1994 until its bankruptcy in 2001.

Life and career

Wakeham was educated at two independent schools in Surrey: Aldro School in Shackleford, and Charterhouse School near Godalming. He became a successful accountant and later a businessman. He stood unsuccessfully in Coventry East in 1966, and in Putney in 1970 before his election to the House of Commons at the February 1974 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Maldon in Essex. He became a minister after Margaret Thatcher's victory in 1979.

His first wife, Roberta, was killed in the Brighton hotel bombing in October 1984 and he was trapped in rubble for seven hours, suffering serious crush injuries to his legs. The couple had two children. Wakeham married his secretary, Alison Ward MBE in 1985 and they have a son of their own. Before being Wakeham's secretary, Ward had been Margaret Thatcher's secretary.

During the late Eighties he served as Leader of the House of Commons, in which capacity he was responsible for the televising of Parliament, and as Energy Secretary (1989–1992), where he drew up plans for the privatisation of electricity.

He was appointed a life peer as Baron Wakeham, of Maldon in the County of Essex in 1992 by John Major, serving as the Leader of the House of Lords until 1994. He became chairman of the Press Complaints Commission in 1995, retiring in 2001. In 1997, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire. Tony Blair appointed him in 1999 to head a Royal Commission on reform of the House of Lords — the resulting report suggested a mainly appointed Lords be maintained, with a small elected component.

References

• ENRON'S John Wakeham at apfn.org

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Wakeham

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Brian Harrison	Member of Parliament for Maldon 1974–1983	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for South Colchester and Maldon 1983–1992	Succeeded by John Whittingdale
Political offices
Preceded by Michael Jopling	Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons 1983–1986	Succeeded by David Waddington
	Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1983–1986
Preceded by John Biffen	Lord Privy Seal 1987–1988	Succeeded by The Lord Belstead
	Leader of the House of Commons 1987–1989	Succeeded by Geoffrey Howe
Preceded by The Viscount Whitelaw	Lord President of the Council 1988–1989
Preceded by Cecil Parkinson	Secretary of State for Energy 1989–1992	Position abolished
Preceded by The Lord Waddington	Leader of the House of Lords 1992–1994	Succeeded by Viscount Cranborne
	Lord Privy Seal 1992–1994
Party political offices
Preceded by The Lord Waddington	Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords 1992–1994	Succeeded by Viscount Cranborne
Media offices
Preceded by Oliver McGregor	Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission 1995–2002	Succeeded by Robert Pinker