Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater
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- For other persons named Tom King, see Tom King (disambiguation).
Thomas Jeremy King, Baron King of Bridgwater, CH, PC (born June 13, 1933), is a British Conservative politician who was Member of Parliament for Bridgwater in Somerset, from 1970 until 2001.
[edit] Biography
Educated at Sheriff House, Rugby School; King was elected to Parliament at a by-election in 1970, following the death of sitting MP Sir Gerald Wells. He held the posts of Employment Secretary and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at a time when these were high-profile roles with the potential for controversy, but was not very well-known: this was satirised in Spitting Image in which his puppet sang "I'm the Invisible Man"; and later mercilessly in the diaries of Alan Clark. King also served as Defence Secretary under Prime Minister John Major during the Gulf War in 1991. After retirment to the back benches, he became chairman of the Intelligence and Security Select Committee, during which time KGB agent Vasili Mitrokhin defected to reveal 87-year-old Melita Norwood as a Soviet spy[1].
He is now a life peer as Baron King of Bridgwater, and sits in the House of Lords.
[edit] Personal life
He married Jane Tilney, now Baroness King of Bridgwater; and had one son Rupert (engaged to media and entertainment solicitor Alice Rayman), and one daughter Elisa.
[edit] References
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Gerald Wills |
Member of Parliament for Bridgwater 1970–2001 |
Succeeded by Ian Liddell-Grainger |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Michael Heseltine |
Secretary of State for the Environment 1983 |
Succeeded by Patrick Jenkin |
| Preceded by David Howell |
Secretary of State for Transport 1983 |
Succeeded by Nicholas Ridley |
| Preceded by Norman Tebbit |
Secretary of State for Employment 1983–1985 |
Succeeded by The Lord Young of Graffham |
| Preceded by Douglas Hurd |
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1985–1989 |
Succeeded by Peter Brooke |
| Preceded by George Younger |
Secretary of State for Defence 1989–1992 |
Succeeded by Malcolm Rifkind |
Categories: 1933 births | Living people | Members of the United Kingdom Parliament from English constituencies | Conservative MPs (UK) | Life peers | Secretaries of State for Defence (UK) | Secretaries of State for Transport (UK) | Secretaries of State for the Environment (UK) | Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland | Secretaries of State for Employment (UK) | Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom | Companions of Honour | UK MPs 1979-1983 | UK MPs 1983-1987 | UK MPs 1987-1992 | UK MPs 1992-1997 | UK MPs 1997-2001
