The Right Honourable The Lord Howard of Lympne CH PC QC |
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Leader of the Opposition | |
In office 6 November 2003 – 6 December 2005 |
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Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
Preceded by | Iain Duncan Smith |
Succeeded by | David Cameron |
Leader of the Conservative Party | |
In office 6 November 2003 – 6 December 2005 |
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Deputy | Michael Ancram |
Preceded by | Iain Duncan Smith |
Succeeded by | David Cameron |
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
In office 18 September 2001 – 6 November 2003 |
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Leader | Iain Duncan Smith |
Preceded by | Michael Portillo |
Succeeded by | Oliver Letwin |
Shadow Foreign Secretary | |
In office 11 June 1997 – 15 June 1999 |
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Leader | William Hague |
Preceded by | John Major |
Succeeded by | John Maples |
Shadow Home Secretary | |
In office 2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997 |
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Leader | John Major |
Preceded by | Jack Straw |
Succeeded by | Brian Mawhinney |
Shadow Constitutional Affairs Spokesperson | |
In office 2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997 Served alongside William Hague |
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Leader | John Major |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Michael Ancram |
Home Secretary | |
In office 27 May 1993 – 2 May 1997 |
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Prime Minister | John Major |
Preceded by | Ken Clarke |
Succeeded by | Jack Straw |
Secretary of State for the Environment | |
In office 11 April 1992 – 27 May 1993 |
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Prime Minister | John Major |
Preceded by | Michael Heseltine |
Succeeded by | John Gummer |
Secretary of State for Employment | |
In office 3 January 1990 – 11 April 1992 |
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Prime Minister |
Margaret Thatcher John Major |
Preceded by | Norman Fowler |
Succeeded by | Gillian Shephard |
Minister of State for Housing | |
In office 25 July 1989 – 3 January 1990 |
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Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
Preceded by | The Earl of Caithness |
Succeeded by | Michael Spicer |
Minister of State for the Environment | |
In office 25 July 1988 – 25 July 1989 |
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Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
Preceded by | The Earl of Caithness |
Succeeded by | David Trippier |
Minister of State for Local Government | |
In office 13 June 1987 – 25 July 1988 |
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Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
Preceded by | Rhodes Boyson |
Succeeded by | John Gummer |
Member of Parliament for Folkestone and Hythe |
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In office 10 June 1983 – 12 April 2010 |
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Preceded by | Albert Costain |
Succeeded by | Damian Collins |
Lord Temporal | |
Assumed office 13 July 2010 Life Peerage |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Michael Hecht 7 July 1941 Swansea, Wales, U.K. |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | Sandra Paul (1975–present) |
Children | Nicholas (Nick) Larissa |
Alma mater |
Peterhouse, Cambridge Inns of Court School of Law |
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, PC, QC (born 7 July 1941), is a British politician who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He had previously held cabinet positions in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Secretary of State for Employment, Secretary of State for the Environment and Home Secretary.
Howard was born in Swansea. He studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge, following which he joined the Young Conservatives. In 1964 he was called to the Bar and became a Queen's Counsel in 1982. He became a Member of Parliament (MP) in the 1983 General Election, representing the constituency of Folkestone and Hythe. This quickly led to promotion and Howard became Minister for Local Government in 1987. Under John Major (1990–1997), he held several cabinet positions including Secretary of State for Employment (1990–1992) and Home Secretary (1993–1997).
Following the Conservative Party's defeat in the 1997 General Election, Howard unsuccessfully made a bid for the post of Conservative Party Leader and held the posts of Shadow Foreign Secretary (1997–1999) and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (2001–2003). In November 2003, following the Conservative Party's vote of no confidence in its leader Iain Duncan Smith, he was elected unopposed. In the 2005 General Election, the Conservatives gained 33 new seats in Westminster, including five from the Liberal Democrats, but this still gave them only 198 seats to Labour's 355. Following the election, Howard resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party and was succeeded by David Cameron. Howard did not contest his seat of Folkestone and Hythe in the 2010 General Election and entered the House of Lords as Baron Howard of Lympne.