Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve, QC MP (born 24 May 1956)[1] is a British Conservative politician, barrister and Queen's Counsel.[2]
He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Beaconsfield and the Attorney General for England and Wales and the Advocate General for Northern Ireland.
Contents |
Grieve was born in Lambeth, the son of Percy Grieve QC (the MP for Solihull 1964–83) and of an Anglo-French mother, Evelyn Raymonde Louise Mijouain.[3] He was educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle on Cromwell Road in South Kensington, Colet Court preparatory school in Barnes, Westminster School,[2] and Magdalen College, Oxford,[2] where he received a BA degree in Modern History[2] in 1978. He was the President of the Oxford University Conservative Association in 1977.
He continued his studies at the Polytechnic of Central London (now the University of Westminster), where he received a Diploma in Law[2] in 1979. He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1980[4] and is a specialist in Occupational safety and health law. He was made a Bencher of the Middle Temple in 2005 and appointed a Queen's Counsel in 2008.
He was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in 1982, remaining a councillor until 1986.[2] He contested the Norwood constituency in the London Borough of Lambeth at the 1987 general election[2] but finished in second place some 4,723 votes behind the veteran Labour MP John Fraser (although increasing the Conservative vote).
He was elected to the House of Commons for the Buckinghamshire seat of Beaconsfield at the 1997 general election[2] following the retirement of Tim Smith. Grieve was elected with a majority of 13,987 votes and has remained the MP there since, increasing his majority at each successive election. He made his maiden speech on 21 May 1997.[5]
He was a member of both the Environmental Audit and the Statutory Instruments select committees from 1997 to 1999.[6] William Hague promoted him to the frontbench in 1999 when he became a spokesman on Scottish affairs, moving to speak on home affairs as the spokesman on criminal justice following the election of Iain Duncan Smith as the new leader of the Conservative Party in 2001, and was then promoted to be shadow Attorney General by Michael Howard in 2003.[2] He also had responsibility for community cohesion on behalf of the Conservative Party. He was retained as shadow Attorney General by the new Conservative Leader, David Cameron and was appointed Shadow Home Secretary on 12 June 2008 following the resignation of David Davis.[7]
Grieve was instrumental in the defeat of the Labour government in early 2006 in relation to the proposal that the Home Secretary should have power to detain suspected terrorists for periods up to 90 days without charge. He broadcasts in French on French radio and television.[8] He is not, however, an enthusiast for the EU.
Grieve was criticised for investments in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe.[9] Grieve has generally voted against gay rights in Parliament, although he did support civil partnerships.
In the last Conservative Shadow Cabinet reshuffle before the General Election of 2010, carried out on 19 January 2009, Grieve was moved to become Shadow Justice Secretary, opposite Jack Straw. According to the BBC, Grieve was said to be "very happy with the move" which would suit his talents better.[10]
After the 2010 general election, Grieve was appointed as the new Attorney General.
He was a police station lay visitor[6] for six years from 1990 and worked in Brixton on various bodies set up to reconcile the different communities after the riots.
He is a practising Anglican and was a member of the London Diocesan Synod of the Church of England[6] for six years from 1994. He married fellow barrister, Caroline Hutton[6] in October 1990 in the City of London and they have two teenage sons.[11]
He lists his hobbies as "canoeing, boating on the Thames at weekends, mountain climbing, skiing and fell walking, architecture, art and travel".[6]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tim Smith |
Member of Parliament for Beaconsfield 1997–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Bill Cash |
Shadow Attorney General 2003–2009 |
Succeeded by Edward Garnier |
| Preceded by David Davis |
Shadow Home Secretary 2008–2009 |
Succeeded by Chris Grayling |
| Preceded by Nick Herbert |
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice 2009–2010 |
Succeeded by Jack Straw |
| Preceded by The Baroness Scotland of Asthal |
Attorney General for England and Wales 2010–present |
Incumbent |
| Advocate General for Northern Ireland 2010–present |
||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|||||