John Wakeham, Baron Wakeham, PC DL (born 22 June 1932) is a British businessman and Conservative Party politician.[2] He was chancellor of Brunel University between 1998 and 2012, and since then has been its chancellor emeritus.[3]
Wakeham was a director of Enron from 1994[4] until its bankruptcy in 2001.[5]
Early life and education
Wakeham was educated at two independent schools in Surrey: Aldro School in Shackleford, and Charterhouse near Godalming. He became a successful accountant and later a businessman.
Political career
He stood unsuccessfully in Coventry East in 1966[6] and in Putney in 1970[6] before his election to the House of Commons at the February 1974 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Maldon[6] in Essex. He became a minister following Margaret Thatcher's victory in 1979.
During the late 1980s he served as Leader of the House of Commons, in which capacity he was responsible for the televising of Parliament, and as Energy Secretary (1989–92), where he drew up plans for the privatisation of electricity supply. Following a recommendation by John Major, he was created a life peer on 29 April 1992 taking the title Baron Wakeham, of Maldon in the County of Essex,[7] serving as the Leader of the House of Lords until 1994.
He became chairman of the Press Complaints Commission in 1995, retiring in 2001. In 1997 he was appointed a Deputy lieutenant of Hampshire. Tony Blair appointed him in 1999 to head a Royal commission on reform of the House of Lords – the resulting Wakeham Report suggested a mainly-appointed Lords be maintained, with a small elected component.[citation needed]
Personal life
His first wife, Roberta, was killed in the Brighton hotel bombing in October 1984 and he was trapped in rubble for seven hours, suffering serious crush injuries to his legs. The couple had two children. Wakeham married his secretary, Alison Ward MBE, in 1985[8] and they have a son of their own. Before being Wakeham's secretary, Ward had been Margaret Thatcher's secretary.[citation needed]
Arms
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References
- ^ "Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Wakeham". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Mr John Wakeham". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Chancellor". Brunel University. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
- ^ Staff and agencies (30 January 2002). "Enron's board of directors". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
- ^ "UC reaches $168-million settlement with Enron directors in securities fraud case". University of California. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008.
- ^ a b c Roth, Andrew; Kerbey, Janice; Tench, Judy (1984). Parliamentary Profiles S–Z. Parliamentary Profile Services. pp. 854–856. ISBN 0-900582-24-3.
- ^ "No. 52907". The London Gazette. 29 April 1992. p. 7461.
- ^ "John Wakeham: The watchdog now has to explain why he didn't bark". The Independent. 3 February 2002. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Wakeham
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Portraits of John Wakeham at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- Wakeham profile, apfn.org
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