Jonathan Hill, Baron Hill of Oareford
Jonathan Hopkin Hill, Baron Hill of Oareford, CBE, PC (born 24 July 1960) is a British Conservative politician, who since 1 November 2014, serves as a European Commissioner.
Lord Hill was Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (2013–14) before which he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (2010–13) in the Conservative-Lib Dem Government.
Hill, a former political lobbyist and PR consultant, was Special Adviser to Cabinet Minister Kenneth Clarke and a Number 10 Adviser to the last Conservative PM Sir John Major, before being appointed as an HM Government Minister in 2010.
Prime Minister David Cameron put Hill's name forward, on 15 July 2014, to be the UK's next EU Commissioner in European Commission President Juncker's first administration, prompting his resignation from the Cabinet.
On 10 September 2014, European Commission President Juncker appointed Lord Hill to an EC finance portfolio, taking office as Britain's representative in the Juncker Commission on 1 November 2014.
Early life and education
Jonathan Hill was born in north London on 24 July 1960, the second son of Rowland Louis Hill and Paddy Marguerite née Henwood.[1][2]
He was educated at Highgate School, then an independent all-boys school in the Highgate area of North London, before going to Trinity College, Cambridge where he read History, graduating with the degree of Master of Arts (MA).
Career
Hill worked in the Conservative Research Department (1985–86), before serving as Special Adviser to Kenneth Clarke at the Department of Employment, Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Health until 1989. After working for Lowe Bell Communications (1989–91), he worked at the Number 10 Policy Unit (1991–92) and served as Political Secretary to Prime Minister John Major and Head of the Prime Minister's Political Office (1992–94) during the Maastricht Treaty negotiations.[3] He was appointed CBE in the 1995 New Year Honours List.[4]
Subsequently, Hill worked at Bell Pottinger Group from 1994 until 1998 as a senior consultant, before leaving to become a founding director of Quiller Consultants.[5]
On 27 May 2010, he was created a Life Peer as Baron Hill of Oareford, of Oareford, in the County of Somerset,[6] and was introduced to the House of Lords on the same day, taking office as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools in the Department for Education.[7] In July 2012, the Sunday Times reported that Lord Hill had attempted, unsuccessfully, to resign as a Minister.[8][9]
After the departure of Lord Strathclyde as Leader of the House of Lords, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords in January 2013, Hill was appointed as his successor[10] and was sworn of the Privy Council.
Nomination to EU Commission
In July 2014, Prime Minister David Cameron nominated Lord Hill as UK European Commissioner under Jean-Claude Juncker, President-elect of the European Commission, aiming for a "top economic portfolio".[11] Cameron's nomination, rather than that of a better-known British politician, was regarded as controversial at the time particularly since Hill had allegedly expressed initial reluctance to go to Brussels; however two former Conservative Party leaders, Michael Howard and William Hague, both reportedly turned down this opportunity and David Cameron was keen to avoid triggering a potentially difficult by-election by nominating another sitting Conservative MP.[12] Juncker stated after his election that female and high-profile candidates would be among his preferred choices,[13] prompting speculation by some that Cameron's nomination – of a virtually unknown male in European political circles, despite his competence – to be a protest against Juncker whose election he had opposed.[14]
On 10 September 2014 Lord Hill was announced as EU Commissioner-designate for the Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union portfolio in the forthcoming Juncker Commission. His newly-created Directorate-General is to assimilate existing EU expertise with responsibility for ensuring that the European Commission remains vigilant over the banking and financial sectors and remains pro-active in implementing new supervisory and regulatory rules accordingly,[15] save overseeing pay in the financial sector where Lord Hill and Elżbieta Bieńkowska will co-ordinate.[16] He was one of four appointees who "struggled to impress" at their initial confirmation hearings before the European Parliament,[17] and was required to appear for a second hearing[18] — leading some hostile MEPs to start speculating that his appointment could be revoked in a reshuffle.[19] With some diplomatic smoothing of the way by Juncker, Hill managed to give satisfactory answers as to the UK's position regarding European banking union ,[20] together with a questionnaire on behalf of the UK Government as requested.[21][22]
Lord Hill secured the endorsement of sceptical MEPs at his second hearing in Brussels.[23]
Personal life
In 1988 Hill married Alexandra Jane,[24] daughter of Major John Nettelfield MC, a British Army officer who served with distinction in the Royal Artillery during World War II;[25] Lord and Lady Hill have a son and two daughters.
He holds shareholdings in Huntsworth plc, an international public relations company.[26][27] In January 2013, The Independent stated he reportedly held at least £50,000+ worth of shares in the company which bought Quiller in 2006 for £5.9m,[28] headed by Conservative parliamentarian Lord Chadlington.
Bibliography
- Too Close to Call: John Major, Power and Politics in No.10 by Sarah Hogg & Jonathan Hill, Little Brown (1995), ISBN 0-316-87716-6
Honours
Life Peer as Baron Hill of Oareford, of Oareford, in the County of Somerset (created 27 May 2010) _Ribbon.png)
CBE (1995).
See also
References
- ↑ www.freebmd.org.uk
- ↑ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS.
- ↑ www.bbc.co.uk
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 53893. p. 9. 31 December 1994.
- ↑ www.quillerconsultants.com
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 59436. p. 10157. 27 May 2010.
- ↑ www.publications.parliament.uk
- ↑ www.ofsted.gov.uk
- ↑ Ross Hawkins (BBC)
- ↑ BBC: Lord Strathclyde resigns from Cabinet
- ↑ BBC: Lord Hill set to become UK's new EU Commissioner
- ↑ George Parker, Peter Spiegel (15 July 2014). "Lord Hill headed for Brussels". FT. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ↑ www.dodsmonitoring.com
- ↑ Bruno Waterfield, and Steven Swinford (25 August 2014). "Britain denied key EU role for not picking a woman". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ↑ www.europa.eu
- ↑ Barker, Alex (26 September 2014). "Bankers' pay withheld from Lord Hill's Brussels remit". ft.com. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ BBC: Lord Hill set to become UK's new EU Commissioner
- ↑ Barker, Alex (1 October 2014). "Hill fails to convince Brussels doubters". ft.com. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Spiegel, Peter; Oliver, Christian (2 October 2014). "Calls for reshuffle of European Commission grow louder". ft.com. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
Asked for his position on Eurobonds, the jointly backed Eurozone debt instruments that were a hugely divisive issue during the sovereign debt crisis, Lord Hill disarmingly said: 'I have no particularly informed view on the subject'. The sight of Werner Langen, the senior German centre-right MEP who asked the eurobond question, shaking his head in disbelief was one of the few worrying signs for the would-be commissioner.
- ↑ Fox, Benjamin (1 October 2014). "MEPs summon UK's Hill to second hearing". EUobserver. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ↑ Pop, Valentina (3 October 2014). "MEPs ask wobbly commissioners near-impossible questions". EUobserver. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ↑ www.reuters.com
- ↑ www.nytimes.com
- ↑ www.thepeerage.com
- ↑ London Gazette, Issue 37961
- ↑ www.theguardian.com
- ↑ www.parliament.uk
- ↑ www.independent.co.uk
External links
- Debrett's People of Today
- www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk
- www.dodspeople.com
- www.ec.europa.eu
- www.elections2014.eu
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Lord Strathclyde |
Leader of the House of Lords 2013–2014 |
Succeeded by The Baroness Stowell of Beeston |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 2013–2014 |
Succeeded by Oliver Letwin | |
| Preceded by The Baroness Ashton of Upholland |
British European Commissioner 2014–present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Michel Barnier as European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services |
European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union 2014–present | |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Lord Strathclyde |
Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords 2013–2014 |
Succeeded by The Baroness Stowell of Beeston |
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