Loading AI tools
British barrister and politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew, Baron Mayhew of Twysden, PC, QC, DL (11 September 1929 – 25 June 2016) was a British barrister and politician.
The Lord Mayhew of Twysden | |
|---|---|
| |
| Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 10 April 1992 – 2 May 1997 | |
| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | Peter Brooke |
| Succeeded by | Mo Mowlam |
| Attorney General for England and Wales Attorney General for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 13 June 1987 – 10 April 1992 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher John Major |
| Preceded by | Michael Havers |
| Succeeded by | Sir Nicholas Lyell |
| Solicitor General for England and Wales | |
| In office 13 June 1983 – 13 June 1987 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Ian Percival |
| Succeeded by | Sir Nicholas Lyell |
| Minister of State for the Home Office | |
| In office 5 January 1981 – 13 June 1983 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Leon Brittan |
| Succeeded by | Douglas Hurd |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment | |
| In office 4 May 1979 – 5 January 1981 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | John Grant |
| Succeeded by | David Waddington |
| Member of Parliament for Tunbridge Wells | |
| In office 28 February 1974 – 2 May 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Archie Norman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew 11 September 1929 Cookham, England |
| Died | 25 June 2016 (aged 86) Kilndown, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse |
Jean Gurney (m. 1953) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford Middle Temple |
Mayhew was born in Cookham, Berkshire, on 11 September 1929.[1] His father, George Mayhew, was a decorated army officer turned oil executive; his mother, Sheila Roche, descended from members of the Anglo-Irish Protestant ascendancy, was a relative of James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy, an Irish National Federation MP for Kerry East. Through his father, Mayhew was descended from the Victorian social commentator Henry Mayhew. He was educated at Tonbridge School, an all boys public school in Tonbridge, Kent.[2][3]
He then served as an officer in the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, studied law at Balliol College, Oxford, and was president of the Oxford University Conservative Association and of the Oxford Union.[4] He was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1955.[3]
Mayhew contested Dulwich in 1970,[3] but the incumbent Labour member, Sam Silkin, beat him by 895 votes.[citation needed] He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tunbridge Wells constituency from its creation at the February 1974 general election, standing down at the 1997 election.[5]
He was Under Secretary of Employment from 1979 to 1981, then Minister of State at the Home Office from 1981 to 1983.[citation needed] After this, he served as Solicitor General for England and Wales from 1983 to 1987,[6] and then Attorney General for England and Wales[7] and simultaneously Attorney General for Northern Ireland[8] from 1987 to 1992.
He was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1992 to 1997.[1]
He was one of only five Ministers (Tony Newton, Kenneth Clarke, Malcolm Rifkind and Lynda Chalker are the others) to serve throughout the whole 18 years of the Governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major.[citation needed] This represents the longest uninterrupted Ministerial service in Britain since Lord Palmerston in the early 19th century.[citation needed]
Mayhew was knighted in 1983.[6] On 12 June 1997, he was given a life peerage as Baron Mayhew of Twysden, of Kilndown in the County of Kent.[9] He retired from the House of Lords on 1 June 2015.[10]
In 1963, Mayhew married the Rev. Jean Gurney, and they had four sons.[4] Mayhew's son the Hon Henry Mayhew appeared in the fourth episode of the series The Secret History Of Our Streets, discussing life in Portland Road, Notting Hill, London.[citation needed] His son Jerome Mayhew is the Conservative MP for the constituency of Broadland and Fakenham (previously Broadland) in Norfolk since the 2019 general election. Another son, Tristram, co-founded the outdoor adventure company Go Ape.[11]
Mayhew, a devout Anglican, was a churchwarden at Christ Church, Kilndown.[1]
Mayhew suffered from cancer and Parkinson's disease in his later years.[12] He died from cancer at his home on 25 June 2016, aged 86.[1][12]
  |
|
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
