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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 forTunbridge Wells | |
| In office 28 February 1974 – 8 April 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Archie Norman |
| Member of theHouse of Lords | |
| Life peerage 12 June 1997 – 1 June 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew (1929-09-11)11 September 1929 Cookham, England |
| Died | 25 June 2016(2016-06-25) (aged 86) Kilndown, England |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford Middle Temple |
Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew, Baron Mayhew of Twysden,PC, QC, DL (11 September 1929 – 25 June 2016) was a Britishbarrister and politician.
Mayhew was born inCookham, 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 ofJames Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy, anIrish National Federation MP forKerry East. Through his father, Mayhew was descended from the Victorian social commentatorHenry Mayhew. He was educated atTonbridge School, an all boyspublic school inTonbridge, Kent.[2][3]
He then served as an officer in the4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, studied law atBalliol College, Oxford, and was president of theOxford University Conservative Association and of theOxford Union.[4] He wascalled to the Bar by theMiddle Temple in 1955.[3]
Mayhew contestedDulwich in1970,[3] but the incumbentLabour member,Sam Silkin, beat him by 895 votes.[citation needed] He wasMember of Parliament (MP) for theTunbridge Wells constituency from its creation at theFebruary 1974 general election, standing down at the1997 election.[5]
He was Under Secretary of Employment from 1979 to 1981, then Minister of State at theHome Office from 1981 to 1983.[citation needed] After this, he served asSolicitor General for England and Wales from 1983 to 1987,[6] and thenAttorney General for England and Wales[7] and simultaneouslyAttorney General for Northern Ireland[8] from 1987 to 1992.
He wasSecretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1992 to 1997.[1]
He was one of only five Ministers (Tony Newton,Kenneth Clarke,Malcolm Rifkind andLynda Chalker are the others) to serve throughout the whole 18 years of theGovernments of Margaret Thatcher andJohn Major.[citation needed] This represents the longest uninterrupted Ministerial service in Britain sinceLord Palmerston in the early 19th century.[citation needed]
Mayhew wasknighted in 1983.[6] On 12 June 1997, he was given alife peerage asBaron Mayhew of Twysden, ofKilndown in theCounty of Kent.[9] He retired from theHouse of Lords on 1 June 2015.[10]
In 1963, Mayhew married the Rev. Jean Gurney, and they had four sons.[4] His sonJerome Mayhew is the Conservative MP for the constituency ofBroadland and Fakenham (previously Broadland) in Norfolk since the2019 general election.
Mayhew, a devout Anglican, was achurchwarden atChrist Church, Kilndown.[1]
Mayhew suffered from cancer andParkinson's disease in his later years.[11] He died from cancer at his home on 25 June 2016, aged 86.[1][11]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| New constituency | Member of Parliament forTunbridge Wells 1974–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Solicitor General for England and Wales 1983–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Attorney General for England and Wales 1987–1992 | |
| Attorney General for Northern Ireland 1987–1992 | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1992–1997 | Succeeded by |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
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