Giles Chichester | |
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Member of the European Parliament for South West England |
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In office 10 June 1999 – 26 May 2014 |
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Succeeded by | Molly Scott Cato |
Member of the European Parliament for Devon and East Plymouth |
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In office 1994–1999 |
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Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born |
London, United Kingdom |
29 July 1946
Political party | Conservative |
Residence | Devon, United Kingdom |
Alma mater |
Westminster School Christ Church, Oxford |
Giles Bryan Chichester (born 29 July 1946) is a British Conservative Party politician, and was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England and Gibraltar before retiring in 2014. He was elected as a temporary Vice-President of the European Parliament on 6 July 2011 to replace Silvana Koch-Mehrin who had resigned over plagiarism allegations.
Chichester was born in London and educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. Since 1969 He has worked in family business Francis Chichester Ltd (publishers of maps, guides and educational wallcharts), founded by his father Sir Francis Chichester KBE, and still lives in the family home at 9 St James's Place, London SW1.
He was MEP for Devon and East Plymouth from 1994 to 1999 and has represented South West England in the European Parliament since 1999. On 23 July 2004 he was elected chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Research and Energy.
He is a former Chairman of the Carlton Club Political Committee and is chairman of his family business publishing maps.
Chichester describes himself as a "climate change sceptic".
On 5 June 2008, Chichester stepped down as Leader of the Conservative MEPs, after it was alleged that since 1996 he had wrongly sent European parliamentary funds for secretarial and office services through his family business of which he was a paid director. He insists the contract was accepted by the EU Parliament 1999 and in 2004, he transferred money for his political staff through the company as an easier means of administration. The European Parliament suggested that a change in the Financial Regulation in 2003 meant this arrangement constituted a potential conflict of interest.