Michael Fallon

Michael Fallon MP
Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office September 2010 – Incumbent
Preceded by	Lord Ashcroft
Member of Parliament for Sevenoaks
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Mark Wolfson
Majority	17,515 (35.4%)
Member of Parliament for Darlington
In office 9 June 1983 – 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Oswald O'Brien
Succeeded by	Alan Milburn
Personal details
Born	14 May 1952 (1952-05-14) Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland
Nationality	Scottish
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Wendy Elisabeth Payne
Alma mater	University of St Andrews

For the American Physician / Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives see Mike Fallon

Michael Cathel Fallon (born 14 May 1952, Scotland) is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Sevenoaks, and as of September 2010 the deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.

Early life

Michael Fallon is the son of a surgeon. He was educated at Craigflower School in Dunfermline, at Epsom College and at the University of St Andrews, where he obtained a MA in classics and ancient history in 1974.

Political career

After graduation he joined the Conservative Research Department, working first for Lord Carrington in the House of Lords until 1977 and then as European Desk Officer until 1979. In 1979 he became research assistant to Baroness Elles.

In July 1982 he was chosen as Conservative candidate for Darlington and fought the Darlington by-election on 24 March 1983 following the death of Ted Fletcher, the Labour MP. Although he lost to Labour's Ossie O'Brien by some 2,412 votes, just 77 days later he defeated O'Brien by 3,438 votes in the June 1983 election. He remained the MP there until the 1992 General Election when he was defeated by Labour's Alan Milburn by a margin of 2,798 votes.

He re-entered Parliament at the 1997 general election in the safe Conservative constituency of Sevenoaks following the retirement of the sitting Tory MP, Mark Wolfson, and has served as the MP there since.

Parliamentary career

In parliament Michael Fallon was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Energy Cecil Parkinson following the 1987 General Election, and in 1988 joined the government of Margaret Thatcher as an Assistant Whip, becoming a Lord Commissioner to the Treasury in 1990.

Mrs Thatcher appointed him the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Science in July 1990 a position he continued to hold under the new premiership of John Major He held the position until his defeat at the 1992 General Election.

Following his re-election at the 1997 General Election he was an Opposition spokesman on Trade and Industry and then Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury, but he resigned from the front-bench through ill-health in October 1998, and has remained on the backbenches until his promotion to Deputy Chairman of the Party.

Since 1999 he has been a member of the Treasury Select Committee, and was chairman of its Sub-Committee from 2001-2010. He also served on the 1922 Committee Executive from 2005-2007.

Personal life

Fallon has been married to Wendy Elisabeth Payne since 1986 and they have two sons and the family lives in Sundridge, Kent. While he was out of Parliament he was a director for Quality Care Homes plc and of other companies founded by Dragon's Den star Duncan Bannatyne.

Publications

• The Quango Explosion: Public Bodies and Ministerial Patronage by Philip Holland and Michael Fallon, 1978, Conservative Political Centre ISBN 0-85070-621-1
• Sovereign Members by Michael Fallon, 1982
• The Rise of the Euroquango by Michael Fallon, 1982, Adam Smith Institute ISBN 0-906517-22-2
• Brighter Schools: Attracting Private Investment into State Schools by Michael Fallon, 1993, Social Market Foundation ISBN 1-874097-15-1

External links

• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Michael Fallon MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Michael Fallon MP
• Michael Fallon website
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Michael Fallon

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Oswald O'Brien	Member of Parliament for Darlington 1983–1992	Succeeded by Alan Milburn
Preceded by Mark Wolfson	Member of Parliament for Sevenoaks 1997–present	Incumbent