David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford
Encyclopedia
David Arthur Russell Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford, PC (born 18 January 1936), is a British Conservative
politician, journalist, and economic consultant. Having been successively Secretary of State for Energy and then for Transport
under Margaret Thatcher
, Howell is now a Minister of State in the Foreign Office
. Along with William Hague
, Sir George Young
and Kenneth Clarke
, he is one of the few Cabinet ministers from the 1979-1997 governments who still holds high office in the party, being its deputy leader in the House of Lords. His daughter, Frances
, is married to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
, Conservative MP George Osborne
.
, gained the rank of Colonel in the service of the Royal Artillery
and was decorated with the awards of the Territorial Decoration
(TD) and Companion of the Distinguished Service Order
(DSO) (son of Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Alfred Russell Howell), and wife (m. 9 April 1931) Beryl Stuart Bowater, daughter of Sir Frank Henry Bowater, 1st Baronet and Ethel Anita Fryar. His sister Jane Duncombe Howell (b. 25 May 1932) married on 30 January 1957 and divorced before 1976 Lt.-Col. Sir Peter Evan Wyldbore Gibbs (b. 1 February 1934), who was educated at Eton College, Eton, Berkshire, gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the service of the Coldstream Guards
, was invested as a Knight Commander
of the Royal Victorian Order
(KCVO) in 1997 and lived in 1999 at Leigh House, Chagford
, Devon
, having remarried on 11 June 1976 E. Sally (?), formerly Mrs. Tyser, having issue from both marriages.
, Berkshire
prior to going up to King's College, Cambridge
, where he graduated in 1959 with a Master of Arts (MA). He worked in HM Treasury
with the Treasury Economic Section from 1959–60, in which year he wrote the book Principles to Practice, published 1960, jointly, and then spent four years between then and 1964 as a journalist, leader writer and special correspondent on The Daily Telegraph
and as editor of Crossbow from 1962-64 before he unsuccessfully contested the constituency of Dudley
in the 1964 general election
. He then became the Director of the Conservative Political Centre between 1964 and 1966 and wrote the book The Conservative Opportunity, published 1965.
seat of Guildford
in Surrey
, for the Conservative Party, a position he retained until retiring at the 1997 general election
, at which time he was made a life peer
as Baron Howell of Guildford, of Penton Mewsey
, in the County of Hampshire
, on 19 April.
Howell, a junior minister in the Edward Heath
Government (1970–1974), served as Lord Commissioner of Treasury between 1970 and 1971 and Parliamentary Secretary for the Civil Service Department between 1970 and 1972, and played a key role in the establishment of the Central Policy Review Staff
, a "central capability" policy unit based in the Cabinet Office. He also held the offices of Under-Secretary for Employment (1971-1972), Under-Secretary for Northern Ireland (1972), Minister of State for Northern Ireland (1972-1974) and Minister of State for Energy (1974).
When Margaret Thatcher
was elected in 1979, she made Howell her first Secretary of State for Energy and then moved him to Transport
in the reshuffle of September 1981 and until 1983. By that time he wrote the book Freedom and Capital, published 1981. In 1979 he was also invested as a Privy Counsellor (PC). He then wrote the book Blind Victory: a study in income, wealth and power, published 1986. In 1987 he became chairman of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs. He later wrote the book The Edge of Now: new questions for democracy in the network age, published 2000, and was decorated with the award of Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
of Japan
in 2001.
In May 2010, Howell was appointed a Minister of State
in the Foreign Office
in David Cameron
's government, under William Hague
as Foreign Secretary.
, World War II
, Greece
, 1944, son of Euan Wallace
by first wife Idina Sackville
) and wife (m. 1939) Joan Prudence Magor (who later remarried on 3 March 1948 Gerald Frederick Walter de Winton), and had three children:
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Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician, journalist, and economic consultant. Having been successively Secretary of State for Energy and then for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
under Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, Howell is now a Minister of State in the Foreign Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
. Along with William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
, Sir George Young
Sir George Young, 6th Baronet
Sir George Samuel Knatchbull Young, 6th Baronet is a British politician. He is currently the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal, and has served as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament since 1974, having represented North West Hampshire since 1997, and Ealing Acton before...
and Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
, he is one of the few Cabinet ministers from the 1979-1997 governments who still holds high office in the party, being its deputy leader in the House of Lords. His daughter, Frances
Frances Osborne
Frances Osborne is a British author. She is the eldest daughter of former and current Conservative Cabinet Minister David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford and Cary Davina Wallace....
, is married to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, Conservative MP George Osborne
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne, MP is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in...
.
Family
Howell is the son of Colonel Arthur Howard Eckford Howell, who lived at 5 Headford Place, LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, gained the rank of Colonel in the service of the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
and was decorated with the awards of the Territorial Decoration
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
(TD) and Companion of the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(DSO) (son of Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Alfred Russell Howell), and wife (m. 9 April 1931) Beryl Stuart Bowater, daughter of Sir Frank Henry Bowater, 1st Baronet and Ethel Anita Fryar. His sister Jane Duncombe Howell (b. 25 May 1932) married on 30 January 1957 and divorced before 1976 Lt.-Col. Sir Peter Evan Wyldbore Gibbs (b. 1 February 1934), who was educated at Eton College, Eton, Berkshire, gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the service of the Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
, was invested as a Knight Commander
Knight Commander
Knight Commander is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant . The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the recipient to use the title 'Sir' or 'Dame' before his or her name...
of the Royal Victorian Order
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(KCVO) in 1997 and lived in 1999 at Leigh House, Chagford
Chagford
Chagford is a small town and civil parish on the north-east edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign. It is located off the A382, about 4 miles west of Moretonhampstead. The name Chagford is derived from the word chag, meaning gorse or broom, and the ford suffix indicates its...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, having remarried on 11 June 1976 E. Sally (?), formerly Mrs. Tyser, having issue from both marriages.
Early life
Educated at Eton CollegeEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
prior to going up to King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, where he graduated in 1959 with a Master of Arts (MA). He worked in HM Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
with the Treasury Economic Section from 1959–60, in which year he wrote the book Principles to Practice, published 1960, jointly, and then spent four years between then and 1964 as a journalist, leader writer and special correspondent on The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
and as editor of Crossbow from 1962-64 before he unsuccessfully contested the constituency of Dudley
Dudley (UK Parliament constituency)
Dudley was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Dudley, which was historically in Worcestershire, before being transferred into Staffordshire in 1966 and since 1974 has been in the West Midlands....
in the 1964 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
. He then became the Director of the Conservative Political Centre between 1964 and 1966 and wrote the book The Conservative Opportunity, published 1965.
Political career
Two years later, in 1966, he won the MPMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
seat of Guildford
Guildford (UK Parliament constituency)
Guildford is a county constituency in Surrey which returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, for the Conservative Party, a position he retained until retiring at the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, at which time he was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Howell of Guildford, of Penton Mewsey
Penton Mewsey
Penton Mewsey is a village in Hampshire, England. It is located 3 miles north-west of Andover at grid reference .The village is home to approximately 400 people and has about 110 houses. The name Penton derives from the word Penitone, which is a word for a farm held at penny rent...
, in the County of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, on 19 April.
Howell, a junior minister in the Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
Government (1970–1974), served as Lord Commissioner of Treasury between 1970 and 1971 and Parliamentary Secretary for the Civil Service Department between 1970 and 1972, and played a key role in the establishment of the Central Policy Review Staff
Central Policy Review Staff
The Central Policy Review Staff , nicknamed the "Think-Tank", was an independent unit within the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom tasked with developing long term strategy and co-ordinating policy across government departments...
, a "central capability" policy unit based in the Cabinet Office. He also held the offices of Under-Secretary for Employment (1971-1972), Under-Secretary for Northern Ireland (1972), Minister of State for Northern Ireland (1972-1974) and Minister of State for Energy (1974).
When Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
was elected in 1979, she made Howell her first Secretary of State for Energy and then moved him to Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
in the reshuffle of September 1981 and until 1983. By that time he wrote the book Freedom and Capital, published 1981. In 1979 he was also invested as a Privy Counsellor (PC). He then wrote the book Blind Victory: a study in income, wealth and power, published 1986. In 1987 he became chairman of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs. He later wrote the book The Edge of Now: new questions for democracy in the network age, published 2000, and was decorated with the award of Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
Order of the Sacred Treasure
The is a Japanese Order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. It is awarded in eight classes . It is generally awarded for long and/or meritorious service and considered to be the lowest of the Japanese orders of merit...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 2001.
In May 2010, Howell was appointed a Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
in the Foreign Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
in David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
's government, under William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
as Foreign Secretary.
Marriage and issue
Lord Howell married in 1967 Cary Davina Wallace, daughter of David John Wallace (1914 - k.i.a.Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, 1944, son of Euan Wallace
Euan Wallace
Captain David Euan Wallace, MC, MP, PC was a British Conservative politician who briefly served as Minister of Transport during World War II...
by first wife Idina Sackville
Idina Sackville
Lady Myra Idina Sackville was a British aristocrat and member of the infamous Happy Valley set. Her deviant behaviour and promiscuous lifestyle scandalised upper class society.-Life and marriages:...
) and wife (m. 1939) Joan Prudence Magor (who later remarried on 3 March 1948 Gerald Frederick Walter de Winton), and had three children:
- Hon. Frances Victoria HowellFrances OsborneFrances Osborne is a British author. She is the eldest daughter of former and current Conservative Cabinet Minister David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford and Cary Davina Wallace....
(b. 18 February 1969), a writerWriterA writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, wife of George Gideon Oliver OsborneGeorge OsborneGeorge Gideon Oliver Osborne, MP is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in...
, MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,... - Hon. Katherine "Kate" Davina Howell (born 6 October 1970), wife of Paul Bain, by whom she had Jack-Daniel Maconald(b. 22 June 1992) and Oliver Bartholomew (b. 20 September 1995)
- Hon. Tobias "Toby" David Howell (b. 1975), unmarried and without issue
Sources
- Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, pages 51 and 456.
- Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition, volume 2, page 1989.
External links
- http://www.geneall.net/U/per_page.php?id=1309303
- http://www.thepeerage.com/p17578.htm#i175774
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