Peter Brooke

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter Leonard Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, CH, PC (born March 3, 1934), is a British politician, a former Conservative Cabinet member, and former Member of Parliament for the Cities of London and Westminster.

He is the son of Henry Brooke, Baron Brooke of Cumnor, a former Home Secretary and Barbara Brooke, Baroness Brooke of Ystradfellte. He was educated at Marlborough College and Balliol College, Oxford (where he was President of the Oxford Union), and Harvard Business School. After leaving university he worked as a headhunter and was Chairman of Spencer Stuart.

He was elected as Conservative MP for the City of London and Westminster in 1977. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1988. He was made Chairman of the Conservative Party in 1987, and was made Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in 1989. He remained in this position until the reshuffle after the 1992 UK general election. He caused controversy when he appeared on The Late Late Show the day after an IRA bombing and sang the song Oh My Darling, Clementine.

After the 1992 general election he stood down and became a backbench MP, but later that year became Secretary of State for National Heritage until 1994.

He stepped down as an MP at the 2001 general election and was made a life peer as Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, of Sutton Mandeville in the County of Wiltshire in October 2001. He is Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers. He was appointed Companion of Honour, as his father had been, in 1992.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Christopher Tugendhat
Member of Parliament for the City of London and Westminster South
19771997
Succeeded by
(constituency renamed)
Preceded by
(new constituency)
Member of Parliament for the Cities of London and Westminster
19972001
Succeeded by
Mark Field
Political offices
Preceded by
Norman Tebbit
Chairman of the Conservative Party
1987–1989
Succeeded by
Kenneth Baker
Preceded by
Kenneth Clarke
Paymaster-General
1987–1989
Succeeded by
The Earl of Caithness
Preceded by
Tom King
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
1989–1992
Succeeded by
Sir Patrick Mayhew
Preceded by
David Mellor
Secretary of State for National Heritage
1992–1994
Succeeded by
Stephen Dorrell
Languages