Norman Fowler, Baron Fowler

The Right Honourable The Lord Fowler PC
Shadow Home Secretary
In office 2 June 1998 – 15 June 1999
Leader	William Hague
Preceded by	Brian Mawhinney
Succeeded by	Ann Widdecombe
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office 11 April 1992 – 15 July 1994
Leader	John Major
Preceded by	Chris Patten
Succeeded by	Jeremy Hanley
Minister without Portfolio
In office 11 April 1992 – 15 July 1994
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	The Lord Young of Graffham
Succeeded by	Jeremy Hanley
Secretary of State for Employment
In office 13 June 1987 – 3 January 1990
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	David Young
Succeeded by	Michael Howard
Secretary of State for Social Services
In office 14 September 1981 – 13 June 1987
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Patrick Jenkin
Succeeded by	John Moore
Secretary of State for Transport
In office 5 January 1981 – 14 September 1981
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Himself (Minister of State)
Succeeded by	David Howell
Minister of State for Transport
In office 4 May 1979 – 5 January 1981
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Bill Rodgers
Succeeded by	Himself (Secretary of State)
Member of Parliament for Sutton Coldfield
In office 28 February 1974 – 7 June 2001
Preceded by	Geoffrey Lloyd
Succeeded by	Andrew Mitchell
Member of Parliament for Nottingham South
In office 18 June 1970 – 28 February 1974
Preceded by	George Perry
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	(1938-02-02) 2 February 1938 Chelmsford, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Trinity Hall, Cambridge

(Peter) Norman Fowler, Baron Fowler, PC (born 2 February 1938) is a British Conservative politician who was from 1981 to 1990 a member of Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet.

Early life

He was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford, in the county of Essex; after which he did National Service as a Second Lieutenant in the Essex Regiment. Whilst studying at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, he was Chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association in Michaelmas 1960, in which term he entertained both the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and Home Secretary (and de facto Deputy Prime Minister, although he did not hold the title until 1962) Rab Butler. He then became a journalist, and worked on The Times.

Member of Parliament

In opposition

During the mid 1970s Fowler was shadow Minister of Transport. In April 1976 he was photographed outside the Palace of Westminster having just taken delivery of his third four cylinder MG MGB GT, having reportedly rejected the idea of buying a V8 version on account of the cost. At a time when a recently promoted Minister of Transport had imputed ownership of the family car to his wife, apparently on grounds of political correctness, former journalist Fowler's acknowledgment of his choice of a sports car provided an interesting contrast.

In government

As Secretary of State for Transport, Fowler drove through [[George Nugent, Baron Nugent of Guildford |Lord Nugent's]] 1981 bill to make seat belts compulsory.

As Secretary of State for Health and Social Security in 1986, Fowler implemented the first official drive to educate the British public to the dangers of AIDS. Edwina Currie (Health) and John Major (Social Security) both served under him as junior ministers.

Backbenches, Retirement and Shadow Cabinet

Fowler later resigned from the cabinet as Employment Secretary in January 1990, becoming the first politician to cite "to spend more time with my (his) family" as his reasoning. Although it was the truth in Fowler's case, the expression later became a smokescreen for politicians who had quit high-profile roles for slightly more dark or controversial reasons.

Having spent more time with his family, Fowler then returned twice to the Conservative front bench, first as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1992 to 1994, during which time he oversaw the Boundary Changes in the early 1990s, then as Shadow Home Secretary from 1997 to 1999.

In 2001, he was made a life peer as Baron Fowler, of Sutton Coldfield in the County of West Midlands.

In 2003, he proposed that the European Union should appoint a high-level coordinator with ambassadorial rank to deal with the AIDS epidemic.

In 2006, he chaired a House of Lords select committee which criticised the use of the television licence fee, which is used to fund the BBC, as a tax.

His book, A Political Suicide (Politico's Publishing ISBN 978-1-84275-227-2), was published in 2008 and it was shortlisted for the Channel 4 Political Book of the Year Award.

Work in industry

He has been deeply involved in industry, having been on the board of directors of several companies. Until 24 October 2007, he was Non-Executive Chairman of Aggregate Industries plc. He is a member of the National Union of Journalists.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Norman Fowler
• "Europe should appoint Aids envoy, peer says" - a Guardian article by Michael White, dated 21 February 2003