The Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byNick Sinclair, 1991 | |
| Secretary of State for National Heritage | |
| In office 22 September 1992 – 20 July 1994 | |
| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | David Mellor |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Dorrell |
| Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 24 July 1989 – 10 April 1992 | |
| Prime Minister |
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| Preceded by | Tom King |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Mayhew |
| Paymaster General | |
| In office 13 July 1987 – 24 July 1989 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Kenneth Clarke |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Caithness |
| Chairman of the Conservative Party | |
| In office 13 July 1987 – 24 July 1989 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Norman Tebbit |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth Baker |
| Member of theHouse of Lords | |
Lord Temporal | |
| Life peerage 30 July 2001 – 18 September 2015 | |
| Member of Parliament for theCities of London and Westminster City of London and Westminster South (1977–1997) | |
| In office 24 February 1977 – 14 May 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Christopher Tugendhat |
| Succeeded by | Mark Field |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Peter Leonard Brooke (1934-03-03)3 March 1934 London, England |
| Died | 13 May 2023(2023-05-13) (aged 89) Tisbury, Wiltshire, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Parents | |
| Alma mater | |
Peter Leonard Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville (3 March 1934 – 13 May 2023), was a British politician. A member of theConservative Party, he served in theCabinet under prime ministersMargaret Thatcher andJohn Major, and was amember of Parliament (MP) representingLondon and Westminster from 1977 to 2001.
Brooke was born in London, the son ofHenry Brooke, the onetimeHome Secretary, andBarbara Mathews.[1][2] His parents were one of the few married couples where both partners held noble titles in their own right. His younger brother was the judgeSir Henry Brooke.[3] He was educated atMarlborough College andBalliol College, Oxford, (where he was President of theOxford Union) before going on to theHarvard Business School in the United States.[1] After leaving university he worked as aheadhunter and was Chairman ofSpencer Stuart.[4]
After unsuccessfully challengingNeil Kinnock at theLabour stronghold ofBedwellty inOctober 1974, he was elected as MP for theCity of London and Westminster South in aby-election in 1977. He was sworn into thePrivy council in 1988. He was madeChairman of the Conservative Party in 1987, and thenSecretary of State for Northern Ireland in 1989. His speech, made in November 1990 in London, is largely credited with bringingSinn Féin to the negotiating table, in which he declared that Britain had no "selfish strategic or economic interest" in Northern Ireland and would accept unification, if the people wished it.[5]
In January 1992, Brooke appeared on the Irish chat show,The Late Late Show. After a pleasant interview, the presenter,Gay Byrne, coaxed and goaded the unwilling Brooke into singing "Oh My Darling, Clementine", on a day when seven Protestant construction workers had been killed by anIRA bomb. Many unionists were outraged at what seemed to be a moment clearly out of touch with grieving families, and requested the resignation of Brooke.[6] The incident was a factor in Brooke's being dropped from his position after theApril 1992 general election, although Brooke claimed he had offered his resignation after the incident.[7]
After leaving the Cabinet, Brooke stood unsuccessfully for the position ofSpeaker of the House of Commons. The House instead elected theLabour MPBetty Boothroyd to the role, with several Conservative MPs voting against Brooke on the grounds that he had too recently been in the Cabinet and was thus insufficiently close to the backbenches. Brooke then remained on the backbenches for a short time, before being brought back into the Cabinet later in the year asSecretary of State for National Heritage, a role he held until 1994. During his time as Heritage Secretary, he oversaw the restoration ofWindsor Castle following the fire that had struck the State Apartments in 1992.
Brooke stepped down as an MP at the2001 general election and was created alife peer as Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, ofSutton Mandeville in theCounty of Wiltshire, on 30 July 2001.[8] He was Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers. He was appointedMember of the Order of the Companions of Honour, as his father had been, in 1992.[1] He retired from theHouse of Lords on 18 September 2015.[9]
In 1964, Brooke married Joan Smith; they had four sons, one of whom died as an infant, and were married until her death in 1985, from complications of a surgical procedure.[2] He married Lindsay Allinson in 1991.[2]
Brooke died inTisbury, Wiltshire, on 13 May 2023, at the age of 89.[10]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for theCity of London and Westminster South 1977–1997 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for theCities of London and Westminster 1997–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Paymaster General 1987–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1989–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for National Heritage 1992–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Conservative Party 1987–1989 | Succeeded by |
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