| The Right Honourable Lord Brittan of Spennithorne QC PC |
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| In office 26 September 1995 – 10 June 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Henning Christophersen (Vice-President) Frans Andriessen (External) |
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| Succeeded by | Neil Kinnock (Vice-President) Chris Patten (External) |
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| In office 15 June 1989 – 15 June 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Peter Sutherland |
| Succeeded by | Karel Van Miert |
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| In office 2 September 1985 – 22 January 1986 |
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| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Norman Tebbit |
| Succeeded by | Paul Channon |
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| In office 11 June 1983 – 2 September 1985 |
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| Preceded by | William Whitelaw |
| Succeeded by | Douglas Hurd |
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| In office 5 January 1981 – 11 June 1983 |
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| Preceded by | John Biffen |
| Succeeded by | Peter Rees |
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| Born | 25 September 1939 North London, UK |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Profession | Barrister |
| Religion | Judaism |
Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, QC, PC, DL (born 25 September 1939 in North London, United Kingdom) is a British barrister, politician and former Conservative Member of Parliament, as well as former member of the European Commission. His brother is Sir Samuel Brittan, an economics commentator at the Financial Times and financial journalist.
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Early life
Leon was born to parents of Lithuanian Jewish extraction, and was educated at the Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School and then Trinity College, Cambridge (where he was President of the Cambridge Union Society), he started his career as a lawyer. He is a cousin of Malcolm Rifkind and Mark Ronson[citation needed].
Member of Parliament
After unsuccessfully contesting the constituency of North Kensington in 1966 and 1970, he was elected to parliament in the general election of February 1974 for Cleveland and Whitby, and became an opposition spokesman in 1976. He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1978. Between 1979 and 1981 he was Minister of State at the Home Office, and then was made Chief Secretary to the Treasury, a Cabinet position. At the 1983 election he changed his seat to Richmond. He was Home Secretary from 1983 to 1985, and was then moved to Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. He resigned over the Westland affair.
In Jeffrey Archer's 1984 novel First Among Equals Brittan was mentioned briefly as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the late 1980s. This was in the future at the time of publication - and before the Westland Affair; in reality Brittan would never hold that position.
European Commission
He was made a commissioner at the European Commission early in 1989, resigning as an MP at this time, and became vice-president, but resigned with the rest of the commission in 1999 amid accusations of fraud.
During his 14 years as an MP he served the constituencies of Cleveland and Whitby (1974-1983) and Richmond (1983-1988).
Peerage
He was created Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, of Spennithorne in the County of North Yorkshire in February 2000 and is an non-executive director of Unilever and a consultant to the City law firm Herbert Smith. He is married to Diana and has two stepdaughters.
External links
- Profile of Sir Leon Brittan
- Leon Brittan's contributions in Parliament
- Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 29 February 2000
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