Arthur Cockfield, Baron Cockfield
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The Right Honourable The Lord Cockfield PC |
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|---|---|
| European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services | |
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In office 7 January 1985 – 5 January 1989 |
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| President | Jacques Delors |
| Preceded by | Karl-Heinz Narjes |
| Succeeded by | Martin Bangemann |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
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In office 11 June 1983 – 11 September 1984 |
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| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Cecil Parkinson |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Gowrie |
| President of the Board of Trade | |
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In office 6 April 1982 – 11 June 1983 |
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| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | John Biffen |
| Succeeded by | Cecil Parkinson |
| Secretary of State for Trade | |
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In office 6 April 1982 – 11 June 1983 |
|
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | John Biffen |
| Succeeded by | Cecil Parkinson (Trade and Industry) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
28 September 1916 Horsham, UK |
| Died | 8 January 2007 (aged 90) |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics |
Francis Arthur Cockfield, Baron Cockfield, PC (surname pronounced "Co-feeld"; 28 September 1916 – 8 January 2007) was by turns a civil servant, a company director, a Conservative politician, and a European Commissioner. He served as Minister of State at the Treasury from 1979 to 1982, as Secretary of State for Trade from 1982 until 1983, as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1983 until 1984, and as a member of the European Commission from 1984 to 1988.
Cockfield was born in Horsham, a month after his father, Lieutenant C.F. Cockfield, died at the Battle of the Somme. He was educated at Dover Grammar School, then read for an LLB and a BSc (Econ) at the London School of Economics.
Cockfield joined the Inland Revenue in 1938, and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1942. He progressed rapidly within the Inland Revenue, serving as Director of Statistics from 1945 to 1952 and as a Commissioner from 1951 to 1952, before joining Boots as its finance director. He was its managing director and chairman from 1961 to 1967. He was also a member of Selwyn Lloyd's National Economic Development Council from 1962 to 1964.
Cockfield was known by his first name, Frank, for most of his life but hated it. When he married his first wife, Ruth Simonis, his granddaughter, Emma, recalls how he told her he wished to use his middle name instead: "All my life I've been called Frank but I've hated it- you're to call me Arthur."
Cockfield left Boots to become an adviser to the Conservative politician Iain Macleod on taxation and economic matters, and was president of the Royal Statistical Society from 1968 to 1969. Macleod died shortly after the Conservatives took power in 1970, but Cockfield went on to advise Anthony Barber, Macleod's successor as Chancellor of the Exchequer, until 1973. He then served as chairman of the Price Commission from 1973 to 1977, receiving a knighthood in 1973.
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