Martin Callanan

The Right Honourable The Lord Callanan

Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists
In office 11 December 2011 – 12 June 2014
Preceded by	Jan Zahradil
Succeeded by	Syed Kamall
Leader of the Conservative Party in the European Parliament
In office 23 November 2010 – 1 March 2012
Preceded by	Timothy Kirkhope
Succeeded by	Richard Ashworth
Member of the European Parliament for North East England
In office 10 June 1999 – 2 July 2014
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Jonathan Arnott
Personal details
Born	(1961-08-08) 8 August 1961 (age 55) Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Newcastle Polytechnic

Martin John Callanan, Baron Callanan (born 8 August 1961) is a British Conservative Party politician. He was Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North East England and Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group from 1999 to 2014. Callanan failed his bid to win re-election in the 2014 European Parliament elections, becoming the first ever sitting chairman of a European parliamentary group to lose his seat. On 8 August 2014, it was announced that he would be made a Conservative life peer in the House of Lords.

Callanan was born on 8 August 1961 in Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1985, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Newcastle Polytechnic.

Callanan was a Conservative Councillor on Tyne and Wear County Council between 1983 and 1986 (when the council was abolished) and Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council between 1987 and 1996. He was the last Conservative to win an election in Gateshead. He worked as a project engineer at Scottish and Newcastle breweries from 1986 to 1998, when he was elected to the European Parliament.