Sir Peter Frank Hannibal Emery (27 February 1926 – 9 December 2004) was a Conservative Party

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...

.

Emery was born in London

London

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...

, but was evacuated to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 during 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...

. He was educated at Scotch Plains High School, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 before serving with the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

. He attended Oriel College, Oxford. While at Oriel he founded the political group United Europe with Sir Edward Boyle, Peter Kirk

Peter Michael Kirk

Sir Peter Michael Kirk, was a British Conservative politician and a junior minister in the governments of Alec Douglas-Home and Edward Heath....

, and Dick Taverne. He was librarian of the Oxford Union

Oxford Union

The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...

.

Emery was a councillor on Hornsey Borough Council

Municipal Borough of Hornsey

Hornsey was a local government district in east Middlesex from 1867 to 1965.In 1867, a Local Board was formed for part of the civil parish of Hornsey. The rest of the parish was already under South Hornsey Local Board formed in 1865....

, chairing the housing committee. He was a school governor and a member of the executive committee of the London Municipal Society

London Municipal Society

The London Municipal Society was formed in 1894 to support the pro-Unionist Moderate candidates in London local elections. It was a Liberal Unionist society, and was wound up in 1963, following the legislation that would create the Greater London Council....

.

He stood for Parliament without success in Poplar

Poplar (UK Parliament constituency)

Poplar was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Poplar district of the East End of London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:...

 at the 1951 general election

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...

 and Lincoln

Lincoln (UK Parliament constituency)

Lincoln is a borough 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....

. He first gained a seat in parliament at the 1959 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1959

This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...

, when he famously ousted trade unionist Ian Mikardo

Ian Mikardo

Ian Mikardo , commonly known as Mik, was a British Labour and Co-operative politician. An ardent socialist and a Zionist, he remained a backbencher throughout his four decades in the House of Commons...

 from his Reading

Reading (UK Parliament constituency)

Reading was a parliamentary borough, and later a borough constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Reading in the county of Berkshire....

 seat. He became a founding member of the Bow Group

Bow Group

The Bow Group is one of the oldest think tanks in the United Kingdom. Taking its name from the Bow area of London where it first met, it was founded in 1951...

.

Emery spent most of his long political career as a backbencher

Backbencher

In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...

, although he did serve as a junior minister under 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 ....

 and, during his final term, served as treasurer of the powerful 1922 committee

1922 Committee

In British politics, the 1922 Committee is a committee of Conservative Members of Parliament. Voting membership is limited to backbench MPs although frontbench Conservative MPs have an open invitation to attend meetings. While the party was in opposition, frontbench MPs other than the party leader...

.

He served as a 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,...

 continuously for Reading, Honiton

Honiton (UK Parliament constituency)

Honiton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Honiton in east Devon, formerly represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sent members intermittently from 1300, consistently from 1640. It elected two Members of Parliament until it was...

, and East Devon

East Devon (UK Parliament constituency)

East Devon 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.- Boundaries :...

 until stepping down at the 2001 general 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...

. He was made a Privy Counsellor

Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...

in 1993.