Paul Drayson, Baron Drayson

The Right Honourable The Lord Drayson PC
Lord Drayson signing a memorandum. (2006)
Minister of State for Strategic Defence Acquisition Reform
In office 8 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Abolished
Minister of State for Science and Innovation
In office 3 October 2008 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Ian Pearson
Succeeded by	David Willetts (Universities and Science)
Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support
In office 6 May 2005 – 7 November 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair Gordon Brown
Preceded by	The Lord Bach
Succeeded by	The Baroness Taylor of Bolton
Personal details
Born	(1960-03-05) 5 March 1960
Political party	Labour
Residence	Nether Lypiatt Manor
Alma mater	Aston University
Profession	Businessman

Paul Rudd Drayson, Baron Drayson PC (born 5 March 1960)^[1] is a British businessman, amateur racing driver and politician. He was Minister of Science in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills until May 2010, where he replaced Ian Pearson. In June 2009 he was additionally appointed as Minister of State for Strategic Defence Acquisition Reform at the Ministry of Defence.^[2] After losing his ministerial positions in the General Election 2010 he decided to devote himself totally towards his motorsports company Drayson Racing Technology.^[3]

Early life and career

After attending St Dunstan's College, Paul Drayson graduated from Aston University in Production Engineering, followed in 1986 by a PhD in robotics.^[4] From 1986 to 1991 he was Managing Director of the Lambourn Food Company. From 1998 to 1992 he was Managing Director of Justin de Blank Ltd.

In 1993 he co-founded PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc in Oxford which specialised in the production of vaccines, and was Chief Executive until 2003 when PowderJect was acquired by Chiron Corp.

In May 2005 Lord Drayson replaced Lord Bach as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Procurement and as Government Spokesman for Defence to the House of Lords. Lord Drayson's responsibility for defence procurement in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was one of the most high profile jobs in the MoD. His remit included oversight of the Defence Procurement Agency and Defence Logistics Organisation. In December 2005 Lord Drayson published a report entitled The Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS).

On 6 March 2007 Lord Drayson was promoted to Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support. He oversaw the new Defence Equipment and Support Organisation.^[5] On 29 June 2007 he also became a Minister of State in the newly created Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, combining this with his role in the Ministry of Defence. He stood down from ministerial responsibilities on 7 November 2007. His official reason for stepping down was his wish to participate in the Le Mans race, but it has been reported that the actual reasons were being left out of the loop when Prime Minister Brown decided to disband the Defence Export Services Organisation and equipment budget deficits which would make the follow-up to the DIS largely irrelevant.^[6] His job as Defence Procurement Minister was transferred to Lady Taylor.^[7]

He rejoined the Brown government as Minister of State for Science and Innovation in the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on 3 October 2008 following a cabinet reshuffle.^[8]

Between 2001 and 2002 he was the Chairman of the BioIndustry Association, and has been Chairman of the Oxford Children's Hospital Campaign since 2002. Since 2003, he has been the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Said Business School, Oxford University.

Lord Drayson is a large contributor to the Labour party, with BBC News reporting in 2005 that he "was made a lord and then the UK defence procurement minister after giving New Labour more than £1m." ^[9]

Lord Drayson is the current president of the Motorsport Industry Association.

Personal life

Drayson driving the Lola B09/60 at the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Drayson and his wife have five children, and live between homes in London and Nether Lypiatt Manor near Stroud in Gloucestershire, purchased for £5.75million in 2006 from TRH Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.^[10]

Self-described as a "car nut and I'm a Government minister",^[11] he has owned an Aston Martin Vanquish, his wife an Aston Martin DB9, and his collection includes a Lotus Elan. He has also raced a bio-ethanol powered Aston Martin DBRS9 GT3-spec race car for Barwell Motorsport^[12] in the British GT Championship. He stood down as a Government minister in November 2007 to compete in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS).^[7]

Drayson was born blind in one eye which, under FIA rules, prevented him from acquiring an international racing licence for participation in the Le Mans 24 Hours. In light of his performance during the 2008 ALMS season and FIA rule changes, he was granted an international licence to allow him the chance of competing in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.^[13] Drayson finished 37th overall and 12th in class at the race. He also competed at the 2010 event but failed to finish.

Drayson has currently competed in two seasons of the ALMS with a best finish of a win at the 2010 Road America race in a LMP Lola B09/60. For 2011, Drayson made the switch to the EV Cup, a new championship for electric cars. He will drive a Westfield iRACER.^[14]

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2009	Drayson Racing	Jonny Cocker Marino Franchitti	Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2	GT2	272	DNF	DNF
2010	Drayson Racing	Jonny Cocker Emanuele Pirro	Lola B09/60-Judd	LMP1	254	NC	NC

Honours

He was elevated to the House of Lords in May 2004, made a working peer entitled Baron Drayson, of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. In July 2011, Drayson was elected as Fellow of The Royal Academy of Engineering, the UK's national academy for engineering.

Arms

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul Drayson.

• Britain buys up stocks of smallpox vaccine - April 2002
• Labour claims unravel over vaccine deal - April 2002
• Driving force, Profile of Lord Drayson FREng, Ingenia, Issue 50, Mar 2012
• Drayson Racing Technology

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