Leon Brittan
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The Right Honourable The Lord Brittan of Spennithorne PC QC DL |
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Brittan in 2011
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| Vice-President of the European Commission | |
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In office 16 March 1999 – 15 September 1999 |
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| President | Manuel Marín (Acting) |
| Preceded by | Manuel Marín |
| Succeeded by | Neil Kinnock |
| European Commissioner for External Relations | |
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In office 23 January 1995 – 15 September 1999 |
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| President |
Jacques Santer Manuel Marín (Acting) |
| Preceded by | Frans Andriessen |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Patten of Barnes |
| European Commissioner for Trade | |
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In office 6 January 1993 – 15 September 1999 |
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| President |
Jacques Delors Jacques Santer Manuel Marín (Acting) |
| Preceded by | Frans Andriessen |
| Succeeded by | Pascal Lamy |
| European Commissioner for Competition | |
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In office 6 January 1989 – 6 January 1993 |
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| President | Jacques Delors |
| Preceded by | Peter Sutherland |
| Succeeded by | Karel Van Miert |
| Secretary of State for Trade and Industry | |
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In office 2 September 1985 – 24 January 1986 |
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| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Norman Tebbit |
| Succeeded by | Paul Channon |
| Home Secretary | |
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In office 11 June 1983 – 2 September 1985 |
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| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | William Whitelaw |
| Succeeded by | Douglas Hurd |
| Chief Secretary to the Treasury | |
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In office 5 January 1981 – 11 June 1983 |
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| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | John Biffen |
| Succeeded by | Peter Rees |
| Minister of State for the Home Office | |
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In office 4 May 1979 – 5 January 1981 |
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| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Lord Boston |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Mayhew |
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Member of Parliament for Richmond (Yorks) |
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In office 9 June 1983 – 31 December 1988 |
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| Preceded by | Timothy Kitson |
| Succeeded by | William Hague |
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Member of Parliament for Cleveland and Whitby |
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In office 28 February 1974 – 9 June 1983 |
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| Preceded by | James Tinn |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
25 September 1939 North London, England |
| Died | 21 January 2015 (aged 75) London, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Diana Clemetson (m. 1980) |
| Education | The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, Hertfordshire |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Profession | Barrister |
| Religion | Judaism |
Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, PC, QC, DL (25 September 1939 – 21 January 2015) was a British politician, Conservative Member of Parliament and barrister, as well as a member of the European Commission. He served several ministerial roles in Margaret Thatcher's government, including Home Secretary.
Leon Brittan was born in London, the son of Rebecca (Lipetz) and Joseph Brittan, a doctor. His parents were Lithuanian Jews who had migrated to Britain before World War II. He was educated at The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was President of the Cambridge Union Society and Chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association. Sir Samuel Brittan, the economics journalist, was his brother. The former Conservative MP Malcolm Rifkind, and the music producer Mark Ronson, were cousins.
After unsuccessfully contesting the constituency of Kensington North in 1966 and 1970, he was elected to parliament in the general election of February 1974 for Cleveland and Whitby, and became an opposition spokesman in 1976. He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1978. Between 1979 and 1981 he was Minister of State at the Home Office, and was then promoted to become Chief Secretary to the Treasury, becoming the youngest member of the Cabinet. He warned cabinet colleagues that spending on social security, health and education would have to be cut "whether they like it or not".
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