John Wakeham

The Right Honourable The Lord Wakeham PC DL
Leader of the House of Lords Lord Privy Seal
In office 11 April 1992 – 20 July 1994
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	The Lord Waddington
Succeeded by	Viscount Cranborne
Secretary of State for Energy
In office 24 July 1989 – 11 April 1992
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher John Major
Preceded by	Cecil Parkinson
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Lord President of the Council
In office 10 January 1988 – 24 July 1989
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	The Viscount Whitelaw
Succeeded by	Geoffrey Howe
Leader of the House of Commons
In office 13 June 1987 – 24 July 1989
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	John Biffen
Succeeded by	Geoffrey Howe
Lord Privy Seal
In office 13 June 1987 – 10 January 1988
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	John Biffen
Succeeded by	The Lord Belstead
Chief Whip of the Conservative Party Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office 9 June 1983 – 13 June 1987
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Michael Jopling
Succeeded by	David Waddington
Member of Parliament for South Colchester and Maldon
In office 9 June 1983 – 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Constituency created
Succeeded by	John Whittingdale
Member of Parliament for Maldon
In office 28 February 1974 – 9 June 1983
Preceded by	Brian Harrison
Succeeded by	Constituency Abolished
Personal details
Born	22 June 1932[1]
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Roberta Wakeham (19??-1984; her death) Alison Ward (1985 - present)
Children	3
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

John Wakeham, Baron Wakeham, PC, DL (born 22 June 1932) is a British businessman and Conservative Party politician. Between 1998 and 2012, he was Chancellor of Brunel University, and since then has been its Chancellor Emeritus.^[2]

He was a director of Enron from 1994^[3] until its bankruptcy in 2001.^[4]

Life and career

Charterhouse School

Wakeham was educated at two independent schools in Surrey: Aldro School in Shackleford, and Charterhouse School near Godalming, and later attended Christ Church, Oxford. He became a successful accountant and later a businessman. He stood unsuccessfully in Coventry East in 1966^[5] and in Putney in 1970^[5] before his election to the House of Commons at the February 1974 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Maldon^[5] in Essex. He became a minister after Margaret Thatcher's victory in 1979.

His first wife, Roberta, was killed in the Brighton hotel bombing in October 1984 and he was trapped in rubble for seven hours, suffering serious crush injuries to his legs. The couple had two children. Wakeham married his secretary, Alison Ward MBE in 1985^[6] and they have a son of their own. Before being Wakeham's secretary, Ward had been Margaret Thatcher's secretary.

During the late 1980s he served as Leader of the House of Commons, in which capacity he was responsible for the televising of Parliament, and as Energy Secretary (1989–92), where he drew up plans for the privatisation of electricity supply. Following a recommendation by John Major, he was created a life peer on 24 April 1992 taking the title Baron Wakeham, of Maldon in the County of Essex,^[7] serving as the Leader of the House of Lords until 1994.

He became chairman of the Press Complaints Commission in 1995, retiring in 2001. In 1997 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire. Tony Blair appointed him in 1999 to head a Royal Commission on reform of the House of Lords — the resulting Wakeham Report suggested a mainly-appointed Lords be maintained, with a small elected component.

Arms

Arms of John Wakeham

Coronet A Coronet of a Baron. Crest A Greyhound statant Or, crowned with a Mural Crown chequy Azure and Argent, and supporting by the dexter foreleg a Cross Raguly Argent, nailed of three Or. Escutcheon Per fess embattled Azure and Argent, a Pale counterchanged, in the azure a Lion's Head guardant Or, langued Gules, and in the argent, a Bugle Horn Azure, garnished and stringed Or. Supporters Dexter: a Sea-Lion Azure, Mane and Head in trian aspect Argent, langued Gules, crowned with a Crown Tridenty Gold; Sinister: a Sea-Horse Azure, Head and Neck Argent, and crowned also with a Crown Tridenty Gold, the whole upon a Compartment consisting of three Bars wavy Azure, Argent and Azure, in front thereof a Grassy Mount growing therefrom three Double Roses Argent, upon Gules, barbed and seeded stalked and leaved proper. Motto Vigilo (I watch)

References

1. "Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Wakeham". Retrieved 9 April 2016.
2. "Chancellor". Brunel University.
3. "Enron's board of directors". The Guardian. 30 January 2002.
4. "UC reaches $168-million settlement with Enron directors in securities fraud case". University of California. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008.
5. Roth, Andrew; Kerbey, Janice; Tench, Judy (1984). Parliamentary Profiles S–Z. Parliamentary Profile Services. pp. 854–56. ISBN 0-900582-24-3.
6. "John Wakeham: The watchdog now has to explain why he didn't bark". The Independent. 3 February 2002. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011.
7. The London Gazette: no. 52907. p. 7461. 29 April 1992.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Wakeham
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Wakeham profile, apfn.org