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Geoffrey Pattie

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The Right Honourable
Sir Geoffrey Pattie
Minister of State, Industry and Information Technology
In office
September 1983 – 13 July 1987
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byKenneth Baker
Succeeded bynone, office abolished
Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Defence Procurement
In office
29 May 1981 – 13 September 1983
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byViscount Trenchard
Succeeded byHon. Adam Butler
Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for the Air Force
In office
6 May 1979 – 29 May 1981
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byA J Wellbeloved
Succeeded bynone, office abolished
Member of Parliament
for Chertsey and Walton
In office
28 February 1974 – 1 May 1997
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born(1936-01-17)17 January 1936
Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England
Died8 October 2024(2024-10-08) (aged 88)
Duncton, West Sussex, England
Political partyConservative
Alma materSt Catharine's College, Cambridge
Known forSoldier, businessman and politician

Sir Geoffrey Edwin Pattie (17 January 1936 – 8 October 2024) was a British Conservative politician and Member of Parliament.

Pattie was also chairman of the controversial company SCL Group, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, and that offered "psychological warfare" services aimed at influencing elections.[1]

Early life, education and military service

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Pattie was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham on 17 January 1936.[2] He was educated at Durham School,[3] and St Catharine's College, Cambridge where he obtained an MA Honours Degree in Law [4] and was later made an Honorary Fellow of the College.

After Cambridge, he joined the army, becoming a captain in the Royal Green Jackets.[5]

From 1959 through 1966, he served with the Queen's Royal Rifles and achieved the rank of captain. He served as honorary colonel of the 4th Battalion, Royal Green Jackets from January 1996.[6]

Business

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Pattie was a director at advertising agency Collett Dickenson Pearce from 1966 until 1979, as managing director from 1969 to 1973.[7]

During the 1990s he held several senior marketing positions in companies belonging to General Electric Company, including Marconi Defence Systems and was Marketing Director of the group itself from 1997 to 1999.[7] Pattie was the founding Chairman of Strategic Communications Laboratories where he was also Director until he resigned from that position in 2008; the company offered "psychological warfare" services aimed at influencing elections, and later became known to a wider audience as a result of the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal involving its subsidiary.[8][9] He was senior partner at Terrington Management retiring in December 2015.

Public and political service

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Greater London Council

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In 1967 Pattie was elected to the Greater London Council as one of four councillors representing the London Borough of Lambeth.[10][11] He served a single three-year term, stepping down in 1970.

Member of Parliament

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After being beaten by Labour's Tom Driberg at Barking in 1966 and 1970, Pattie was elected as Member of Parliament for Chertsey and Walton in February 1974 – a seat he held until his retirement in May 1997.

Ministerial office

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In May 1979, he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence (RAF). From January 1983 until September 1984 he was then appointed to Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence Procurement and then served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement. He continued his public service as Minister of State for Industry until 1987, with responsibility for Science,[12] Civil Aviation, Space and Technology.[7] During his time in office he was actively involved in the initiation of a number of national and international technology projects. These included the Alvey Programme,[13] which ceased[citation needed] when he left office after the 1987 General Election,[14] and several projects of the European Commission, such as Eureka and ESPRIT.[citation needed]

He was appointed to the Privy Council in the 1987 New Year Honours.[15]

Immediately after he left ministerial office he was created Knight Bachelor in the 1987 Birthday Honours List.[16]

He was vice-chairman of the Conservative Party in 1990.[17]

Voluntary roles

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Pattie served as Chairman of the Intellectual Property Institute from 1994 to 1999, and served on the Board of Governors of the British Film Institute while serving as an MP.[7][18]

Personal life and death

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Pattie was a practising Anglican and was a member of the General Synod of the Church of England from 1970 to 1975.[5]

Pattie married Tuëma Eyre-Maunsell in 1960, and together they had two children. He died at home in Duncton, West Sussex, on 8 October 2024, at the age of 88.[2][19]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "Lobby firm goes to war". The Guardian. 10 September 2005. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Sir Geoffrey Pattie, Conservative MP who championed the RAF and called for terrorists to be executed". The Telergraph. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  3. ^ "PATTIE, Sir Geoffrey Edwin". Debrett's People of Today. Retrieved 17 August 2010. Education: Durham Sch, St Catharine's Coll Cambridge[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Strategic Communication Laboratories : The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Pattie PC". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2006.
  5. ^ a b Who's Who 1987
  6. ^ [1] Archived 5 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b c d "NDI Board and Team - The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Pattie". Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  8. ^ Watt, Holly; Osborne, Hilary (21 March 2018). "Tory donors among investors in Cambridge Analytica parent firm". The Guardian.
  9. ^ Morgan, Oliver (10 September 2005). "Lobby firm goes to war". The Guardian.
  10. ^ The Times Guide to House of Commons: With Full Results of the Polling and Biographies of Members and Unsuccessful Candidates and a Complete Analysis, Statistical Tables, and a Map of the General Election. 1987. p. 218.
  11. ^ "Greater London Council Elections (1970)" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Authority.
  12. ^ "Pattie wants Science Policy for Britain". New Scientist. Reed Business Information: 25. 20 March 1986. ISSN 0262-4079.
  13. ^ John Lamb (10 July 1986). "Computer Scientists face an anxious future". New Scientist: 29. ISSN 0262-4079.
  14. ^ Information, Reed Business (18 June 1987). "Heads roll in Cabinet reshuffle". New Scientist (1565): 29. ISSN 0262-4079. Retrieved 28 July 2015. {{cite journal}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
  15. ^ "Geoffrey Pattie". Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  16. ^ a b "Honours and Awards". The London Gazette (50981): 8365. 30 June 1987.
  17. ^ [2] Archived 19 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Film and Television Yearbook 1988-1989. London: British Film Institute. 1998. p. 9. ISBN 0-85170-217-1.
  19. ^ "Sir Geoffrey Pattie". The Times. 12 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Sir Geoffrey Pattie". 19 January 2015. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
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