David Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral

The Right Honourable
The Lord Hunt of Wirral
MBE PC
Secretary of State for Wales
In office
26 June 1995 – 5 July 1995
Prime Minister John Major
Preceded by John Redwood
Succeeded by William Hague
In office
4 May 1990 – 27 May 1993
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
John Major
Preceded by Peter Walker
Succeeded by John Redwood
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office
20 July 1994 – 26 June 1995
Prime Minister John Major
Preceded by William Waldegrave
Succeeded by Roger Freeman
Secretary of State for Employment
In office
27 May 1993 – 20 July 1994
Prime Minister John Major
Preceded by Gillian Shephard
Succeeded by Michael Portillo
Treasurer of the Household
In office
15 June 1987 – 25 July 1989
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by John Cope
Succeeded by Tristan Garel-Jones
Member of Parliament
for Wirral West
In office
9 June 1983 – 1 May 1997
Preceded by Constituency Created
Succeeded by Stephen Hesford
Member of Parliament
for Wirral
In office
11 March 1976 – 9 June 1983
Preceded by Selwyn Lloyd
Succeeded by Constituency Abolished
Personal details
Born (1942-05-21) 21 May 1942
Glyn Ceiriog, Wales
Political party Conservative

David James Fletcher Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral MBE PC, (born 21 May 1942), is a British Conservative politician, and was a member of the Cabinet during the Margaret Thatcher and John Major administrations, while also being appointed to serve on the Privy Council in 1990.

Education

Hunt was educated at Liverpool College, an independent school for boys (now co-educational), in Liverpool, at the time in Lancashire (and now in Merseyside), followed by the University of Bristol, where he studied Law. In 1965, representing the university, he won The Observer Mace debating competition, speaking with Bob Marshall Andrews.[1] In 1995, the competition was renamed the John Smith Memorial Mace and is now run by the English-Speaking Union.

Early life

Born in Glyn Ceiriog in 1942, the son of former Royal Naval Reserves Officer Alan N Hunt OBE and Jessie E E Northrop, David Hunt was the middle child of three, with two sisters. Growing up, David was an active member of the Young Conservatives where he was inspired into running for political office for the Conservative Party.

Parliamentary career

Hunt unsuccessfully contested Bristol South in 1970. In the 1973 Birthday Honours, he was appointed to the Order of the British Empire as a Member (MBE) for 'political services in the West of England'.[2] He then unsuccessfully contested Kingswood in 1974. Hunt became the Member of Parliament for Wirral after winning a by-election in 1976. The seat was broken up and Hunt became Member of Parliament for the new Wirral West constituency in 1983.

In Government

In Government he served as a whip and junior minister under Margaret Thatcher, who made him Secretary of State for Wales in 1990, shortly before her resignation later that year. In the Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 1990 he is widely believed to have been the only member of the Cabinet to vote for Michael Heseltine on the first ballot. He remained at the Welsh Office until 1993, then served as Secretary of State for Employment from 1993 to 1994 and as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1994 to 1995. In the Cabinet reshuffle of 1995, it was rumoured that Hunt was offered the position of Health Secretary which was turned down, that position then going to Stephen Dorrell. He briefly returned to the Welsh Office, whilst remaining Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, for two weeks during the leadership election in mid-1995 as acting Secretary of State for Wales after the incumbent, John Redwood stepped down in order to be a candidate.

He lost his seat in the Labour landslide at the 1997 general election.

Peerage

In the 1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Hunt of Wirral of Wirral in the county of Merseyside.[3] Lord Hunt was senior partner at the national law firm Beachcroft Wansbroughs (now DAC Beachcroft LLP) between 1996 and 2005. He is now chairman of the firm's financial services division and is regarded as a major figure in the world of insurance and financial services. On certain Bills he used to occasionally step back up to the opposition front bench in the House of Lords, on an ad hoc basis. On 7 October 2008, David Cameron formally appointed him to the front bench to shadow Peter Mandelson in the House of Lords on Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform matters.

Hunt was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Bristol on 21 February 2008. He is vice-president of the Holocaust Educational Trust.[4] He became chairman of the Press Complaints Commission on 17 October 2011.[5] In December 2011 he recommended closing the PCC and replacing it with an alternative independent press regulator.[6]

Styles of address

Notes

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "No. 45984". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 May 1973. p. 6487.
  3. ↑ "No. 54850". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 August 1997. p. 1. "No. 54928". The London Gazette. 23 October 1997. p. 1.
  4. ↑ "About the Holocaust Educational Trust". n.d. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  5. ↑ Dan Sabbagh (13 October 2011). "Lord Hunt of Wirral named chairman of Press Complaints Commission (PCC)". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  6. ↑ David Hencke (14 December 2011). "Hunt plans to replace PCC with new Press regulator". Exaro news. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Selwyn Lloyd		 Member of Parliament for Wirral
1976–1983 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Wirral West
1983–1997 		Succeeded by
Stephen Hesford
Political offices
Preceded by
John Cope		 Treasurer of the Household
1987–1989 		Succeeded by
Tristan Garel-Jones
Preceded by
Peter Walker		 Secretary of State for Wales
1990–1993 		Succeeded by
John Redwood
Preceded by
Gillian Shephard		 Secretary of State for Employment
1993–1994 		Succeeded by
Michael Portillo
Preceded by
William Waldegrave		 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1994–1995 		Succeeded by
Roger Freeman
Preceded by
John Redwood		 Secretary of State for Wales
1995 		Succeeded by
William Hague
Media offices
Preceded by
Peta Buscombe		 Chair of the Press Complaints Commission
2011–present 		Incumbent
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