Jacques Arnold
Encyclopedia
Jacques Arnold Arnold is a Conservative Party
politician in the United Kingdom
. He was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Gravesham
in Kent
from 1987
, when he succeeded Tim Brinton
, until he lost his seat in the landslide 1997 election
. He is now a consultant and lecturer on Latin America
n Affairs, and is the author of two book series on political and genealogical subjects.
Unlike many of his fellow former Tory MPs, he refought the seat at the 2001 election
- only to come second place to Labour
's Chris Pond
. The Tories regained the seat in 2005
with Adam Holloway
becoming the MP, the first time since the 1951
that the seat had not been held by the winning party.
, before returning to England
in 1968, to attend the London School of Economics
, where he attained a B.Sc.(Econ)(Hons.) During that period he was Chairman of LSE Conservatives, the student society.
& Co., merchant bankers, in the City of London
.
Between 1976 and 1978 he lived in São Paulo
, where he established the Representative Office of Midland Bank
Limited, serving as the Deputy Representative.
Returning to Britain, he was from 1978 to 1983 he was Regional Director of Thomas Cook
Bankers, with responsibilities for Latin America
, Iberia
and Africa
, setting up new operations in São Paulo
, Buenos Aires
, Mexico City
and Caracas
, and running large established businesses in Spain
, Portugal
, South Africa
, Nigeria
and Libya
. He was then successively Assistant Trade Finance Director of Midland Bank, and a Director of American Express
Europe Ltd.
During that period he won the Oundle
division of Northamptonshire County Council, and served as County Councillor from 1981 to 1985. He was Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Coventry South East
in 1983. He was Chairman of Hyde Park
Tories, the Conservative team at Speakers' Corner
.
He was a Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Maclean
, Minister of State for the Environment
, and then at the Home Office
, from 1992 to 1995. He was a Member of the Education and Treasury Select Committees. He was Chairman of the Conservative backbench committee on Constitutional Affairs, and Secretary of the Conservative backbench committee on Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs
. He was a member of the executive committee of the British Group, Inter-Parliamentary Union.
He also became Chairman of both the Brazil
ian and Portuguese
Parliamentary Groups, and Secretary of the British Latin American Parliamentary Group. He was an official parliamentary observer at the 1988 Chile
an plebiscite, and also for the first elections in both Angola
and Mozambique
. He addressed a committee of the Brazilian Congress
in Brasilia
during the constitutional crisis of 1992. He was a member of the Argentine
British Conference, which brought the countries back together after the Falklands War
.
Since leaving the House of Commons he has been Adviser to a number of major companies with interests in Latin America, notably BAE Systems
, and FIRST Magazine
. He also lectures on Latin America. He is the author of two series of books: “A History of Britain’s Parliamentary Constituencies”, and “The Royal Houses of Europe” a genealogical work.
Jacques Arnold is married to Patricia, and they have a son and two daughters. He is a Grand Official of the Brazilian National Order of the Southern Cross
.
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 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He was the Member of Parliament
Member 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,...
(MP) for Gravesham
Gravesham (UK Parliament constituency)
Gravesham is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
from 1987
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
, when he succeeded Tim Brinton
Timothy Brinton
Timothy Denis Brinton , sometimes referred to as Tim Brinton, was a British broadcaster and Conservative Party politician...
, until he lost his seat in the landslide 1997 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...
. He is now a consultant and lecturer on Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n Affairs, and is the author of two book series on political and genealogical subjects.
Unlike many of his fellow former Tory MPs, he refought the seat at the 2001 election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
- only to come second place to Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
's Chris Pond
Chris Pond
Christopher Richard Pond, is a former Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament for Gravesham in Kent, from 1997 to 2005.-Early life:...
. The Tories regained the seat in 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
with Adam Holloway
Adam Holloway
Adam James Harold Holloway is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Gravesham.-Early life:...
becoming the MP, the first time since the 1951
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
that the seat had not been held by the winning party.
Biography
Jacques Arnold was educated at schools in BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, before returning to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1968, to attend the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, where he attained a B.Sc.(Econ)(Hons.) During that period he was Chairman of LSE Conservatives, the student society.
Career
Jacques Arnold started his career with Hill SamuelHill Samuel
Hill Samuel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lloyds TSB's Offshore Private Banking unit. It was formerly a leading British merchant bank and financial services firm before the takeover by TSB Group Plc. in 1987, which itself merged with Lloyds Bank to become Lloyds TSB in 1995.-History:In 1832,...
& Co., merchant bankers, in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
.
Between 1976 and 1978 he lived in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, where he established the Representative Office of Midland Bank
Midland Bank
Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836...
Limited, serving as the Deputy Representative.
Returning to Britain, he was from 1978 to 1983 he was Regional Director of Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook of Melbourne, Derbyshire, England founded the travel agency that is now Thomas Cook Group.- Early days :...
Bankers, with responsibilities for Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, Iberia
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, setting up new operations in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
and Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, and running large established businesses in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
and Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. He was then successively Assistant Trade Finance Director of Midland Bank, and a Director of American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
Europe Ltd.
During that period he won the Oundle
Oundle
Oundle is an ancient market town on the River Nene in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 5,345 or 5,674 . It lies some north of London and south-west of Peterborough...
division of Northamptonshire County Council, and served as County Councillor from 1981 to 1985. He was Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Coventry South East
Coventry South East (UK Parliament constituency)
Coventry South East was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Coventry. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
in 1983. He was Chairman of Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
Tories, the Conservative team at Speakers' Corner
Speakers' Corner
A Speakers' Corner is an area where open-air public speaking, debate and discussion are allowed. The original and most noted is in the north-east corner of Hyde Park in London, United Kingdom. Speakers there may speak on any subject, as long as the police consider their speeches lawful, although...
.
He was a Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Maclean
David Maclean
David John Maclean, Baron Blencathra is a Conservative Party life peer. He was the Member of Parliament for Penrith and The Border from 1983 to 2010.-Biography:...
, Minister of State for the Environment
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
, and then at the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, from 1992 to 1995. He was a Member of the Education and Treasury Select Committees. He was Chairman of the Conservative backbench committee on Constitutional Affairs, and Secretary of the Conservative backbench committee on Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs
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...
. He was a member of the executive committee of the British Group, Inter-Parliamentary Union.
He also became Chairman of both the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian and Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Parliamentary Groups, and Secretary of the British Latin American Parliamentary Group. He was an official parliamentary observer at the 1988 Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an plebiscite, and also for the first elections in both Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
. He addressed a committee of the Brazilian Congress
National Congress of Brazil
The National Congress of Brazil is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government.Unlike regional legislative bodies – Legislative Assemblies and City Councils -, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies .The Senate represents the 26 states and...
in Brasilia
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
during the constitutional crisis of 1992. He was a member of the Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
British Conference, which brought the countries back together after the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
.
Since leaving the House of Commons he has been Adviser to a number of major companies with interests in Latin America, notably BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
, and FIRST Magazine
First Magazine Limited
FIRST Magazine , or FIRST is a multi-disciplinary international affairs organisation based in London. The company was founded in 1984 and aims to promote communications between leaders in industry, finance and government worldwide and to promote strategic dialogue...
. He also lectures on Latin America. He is the author of two series of books: “A History of Britain’s Parliamentary Constituencies”, and “The Royal Houses of Europe” a genealogical work.
Jacques Arnold is married to Patricia, and they have a son and two daughters. He is a Grand Official of the Brazilian National Order of the Southern Cross
Order of the Southern Cross
The National Order of the Southern Cross is a Brazilian order of chivalry founded by Emperor Pedro I on 1 December 1822. This order was intended to commemorate the independence of Brazil and the coronation of Pedro I...
.