David Faber | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament forWestbury | |
| In office 9 April 1992 – 14 May 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Dennis Walters |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Murrison |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1961-07-07)7 July 1961 (age 64) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | 1. Sally Gilbert 2. Sophie Hedley |
David James Christian Faber (born 7 July 1961) is aschoolmaster and formerConservative member of theParliament of the United Kingdom. He did not seek re-election in 2001, after which he became an author, before in 2010 being appointed ashead master ofSummer Fields School,Oxford. He is the grandson of the late former Conservative Prime MinisterHarold Macmillan (1894–1986).
The son ofJulian andLady Caroline Faber, Faber comes from an aristocratic political family drawn from the Whig and latterly the Conservative traditions. His maternal grandfatherHarold Macmillan was Prime Minister at the time of his birth. His maternal grandmother,Lady Dorothy Cavendish, was descended from three Prime Ministers, the4th Duke of Devonshire (1756–1757), the2nd Earl of Shelburne (1782–1783) and the3rd Duke of Portland (1783 and 1807–1809). Faber's great-great-great-granduncle wasLord Hartington and his great-grandfatherVictor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire was also a statesman. His mother's cousins includedAndrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire, who was married toDeborah Mitford, and Andrew's elder brotherWilliam Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, who was married toKathleen Kennedy, the sister of U.S. PresidentJohn F. Kennedy and SenatorsRobert F. Kennedy andEdward M. "Ted" Kennedy. His uncleMaurice Macmillan was a leading figure ofEdward Heath's 1970s government.
Faber was educated atSummer Fields School,Summertown; and then atEton College andBalliol College, Oxford. As an undergrad, Faber was a member of theBullingdon Club, an all-male dining club for Oxford University students dating back to 1780. It is known for its wealthy members, grand banquets, and bad behaviour, including vandalism of restaurants and students' rooms.[1]
Faber first stood for Parliament, unsuccessfully, in1987 atStockton North, where he was defeated byLabour'sFrank Cook.
He worked in marketing and as a political assistant toJeffrey Archer before entering theHouse of Commons in 1992 as Conservative Member of Parliament forWestbury.[2] He wasparliamentary private secretary to the Minister of State at theForeign and Commonwealth Office, 1994 to 1996, and then to the Secretary of State for Health, from 1996 to 1997. In opposition, after the Conservatives lost the 1997 general election, he was their front bench spokesman on Foreign and Commonwealth affairs, until 1998. He served as a member of severalParliamentary select committees: Social Security, 1992–1997, Culture, Media and Sport, 1998 to 2001, and thePublic Accounts Committee, 2000–2001.[3]
Faber stood down from parliament at the2001 general election, to be succeeded by fellow ConservativeAndrew Murrison, when he began a new career as a writer. His bookSpeaking for England: Leo, Julian and John Amery, the tragedy of a political family (2005) was aboutJulian Amery, his uncle by his (Amery's) marriage to Faber's maternal aunt, Julian's fatherLeo, and brotherJohn, who was executed after theSecond World War forhigh treason.
In 2009, he was appointed as head of his oldprep school, Summer Fields, with effect from September 2010.
Faber married firstly Sally Gilbert, a television weather presenter, and they had one son together, but later divorced, with Faber citingJames Hewitt asco-respondent.[4] He married secondly Sophie Amanda Hedley, and they have two daughters. He is a past committee member of theMarylebone Cricket Club, the governing body of the game ofcricket, managing an MCC tour of Canada in 2001.[5] He is also a member ofWhite's.[3]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWestbury 1992–2001 | Succeeded by |
