Chris_Patten

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Chris Patten Chris Patten The Right Honourable Religion Roman Catholic [1] The Lord Patten of Barnes CH, PC Chancellor of the University of Oxford Incumbent Assumed office 2003 Preceded by Roy Jenkins 28th Governor of Hong Kong In office 9 July 1992 – 30 June 1997 Preceded by Succeeded by David Wilson Office Abolished Chairman of the Conservative Party and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster In office 28 November 1990 – 9 April 1992 Prime Minister Preceded by Succeeded by John Major Kenneth Baker Norman Fowler (Chairman) William Waldegrave (Chancellor) Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC (born 12 May 1944 in Cleveleys, Lancashire) is a prominent British Conservative politician and a Patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament, eventually rising to a cabinet minister and party chairman. In the latter capacity, he orchestrated the Conservatives’ unexpected fourth consecutive electoral victory in 1992, but lost his own seat in the House of Commons. He then accepted the post of last Commander in Chief and British Governor of Hong Kong, a post which came to an end after Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in July 1997. From 2000 to 2004 he served as one of Britain’s two members of the European Commission. After leaving that post, he returned to the UK and was elevated to the peerage in 2005. He is the Chancellor of Newcastle University and of the University of Oxford. On 23 May 2005 he was appointed by Cadbury (formerly Cadbury’s) as a non-executive director.[2] Secretary of State for the Environment In office 24 July 1989 – 28 November 1990 Preceded by Succeeded by Nicholas Ridley Michael Heseltine Early life Chris Patten was educated at the independent St Benedict’s School in Ealing, West London, and at Balliol College, Oxford. He worked in the Conservative Party from 1966, first as desk officer and then director (from 1974 to 1979) of the Conservative Research Department. Minister for Overseas Development In office 10 September 1986 – 24 July 1989 Prime Minister Preceded by Succeeded by Born Political party Spouse Alma mater Margaret Thatcher Timothy Raison Lynda Chalker 19 June 1944 (1944-06-19) Cleveleys, Lancashire, UK Conservative Lavender Patten Balliol College, Oxford Member of Parliament In government Patten was a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1992, serving as Minister for Overseas Development at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1986 to 1989. In 1989 he was appointed to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for the Environment and became responsible for the unpopular Poll Tax. Though he robustly defended the 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia policy at the time, in his 2006 book Not Quite the Diplomat (published in the United States as Cousins and Strangers: America, Britain and Europe in the New Century) he claims to have thought it was a mistake on Margaret Thatcher’s part. He also introduced, and steered through Parliament, the major legislation that became the Environmental Protection Act 1990. In 1990, John Major made Patten Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chairman of the Conservative Party, with responsibility for organising the coming general election campaign. As party chairman, he was widely considered to be the main architect of the somewhat unexpected Conservative victory in the 1992 election. However, he lost his seat for Bath to the Liberal Democrat candidate, Don Foster, in 1992. Patten’s defeat was attributed to several factors; the Poll Tax that he implemented which was especially unpopular in his constituency, and his duties as party chairman that prevented him from much local campaigning. Chris Patten reeling from the Tiananmen Square Massacre a few years earlier, while others were suspicious of whether or not the British would act in their best interest. However the general opinion regarded him positively. He took steps to get in touch with the people of the colony, and was known for his penchant to take public strolls around Hong Kong as well as in the media limelight. Hong Kong affectionately nicknamed him Fat Pang or Fei Peng (??), making him the only governor to have a Chinese nickname.[1] Patten’s most controversial actions are related to the election of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. Legco members returned in 1995 were originally to serve beyond the handover, thereby providing institutional continuity across the reversion of Hong Kong to the PRC. Beijing had expected that the use of functional constituencies with limited electorates would be used to elect this council, however Patten extended the definition of functional constituencies and thus virtually every Hong Kong subject was able to vote for the so-called indirectly elected members (see Politics of Hong Kong) of the Legislative Council. Not surprisingly, his measure was strongly criticised by the pro-Beijing political parties of Hong Kong, who would suffer from the electoral changes. Patten was also denounced by the PRC government as the ’whore of the East,’ a ’serpent’ and a ’criminal who would be condemned for a thousand generations’ (????). The legislative council which was elected under Patten’s governorship was dissolved upon the handover of Hong Kong to the PRC and replaced by a Provisional Legislative Council(?????) which functioned until elections were held under the previous rules in 1998. However, Patten’s institutional reform gained unprecedented support in Hong Kong and the criticism from the PRC government raised his popularity to a level he had not previously enjoyed in the UK; he was widely seen as standing up for the colony’s rights. Not withstanding the electoral controversy, even some of his critics admired his eloquency and praised his efforts to raise the level of debate in the colony. Ending up, the PRC did bow to pressure and after the handover, an increasing portion of seats in the Legco would be directly elected. At 00:00 HKT/16:00 GMT, 1 July 1997, he sent the following telegram: Governor of Hong Kong Had Patten been re-elected in 1992, he might have been rewarded by appointment as Foreign Secretary, although in his autobiography John Major said that he would have made Patten Chancellor of the Exchequer. However, in the three weeks leading up to the election, many party insiders sensed that Patten lost his seat, and Major was considering a patronage appointment. In any event, in July 1992, he became the 28th and the last Governor of Hong Kong until its handover to the People’s Republic of China on 30 June 1997. He was given an official Chinese name, Pang Ting Hong/Peng Dingkang (???), a name with an etymology based on the words "stability" and "health", before which he was known in Hong Kong as "BRIT" with an imperialist taint. Unlike most previous Hong Kong Governors, he was not a career bureaucrat from the UK Foreign Office but a politician. However, he was not the first former MP to become a Governor of Hong Kong: that was John Bowring (Governor of Hong Kong 1854–1859). Also, John Pope Hennessy (Governor of Hong Kong 1877-1882), was a Conservative MP before he entered Colonial Service. Patten’s tenure faced several different challenges, as many in Hong Kong were still 2 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I HAVE RELINQUISHED THE ADMINISTRATION OF THIS GOVERNMENT. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN. PATTEN. This marked the end of British rule in Hong Kong and after the handover ceremony he left the city, together with Prince Charles, on board the British royal yacht, HMY Britannia. Chris Patten Post Governorship In 1998, Queen Elizabeth II appointed him a Companion of Honour. From 1998 to 1999, he chaired the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, better known as the Patten Commission, which had been established in 1998 as part of the Belfast Agreement. On 9 September 1999, the Commission produced its report, entitled A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland but popularly known as the Patten Report, which contained 175 symbolic and practical recommendations. This report led to the re-naming of the Royal Ulster Constabulary as the Police Service of Northern Ireland. He is the cochair of International Crisis Group, overseeing many international operations. He is also a member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organization which works to promote good governance around the world. [3] European Commissioner In 1999, he was appointed as one of the United Kingdom’s two members to the European Commission as Commissioner for External Relations where he was responsible for the Union’s development and co-operation programmes, as well as liaison with Javier Solana, the High Representative of the CFSP. He held this position within the Prodi Commission from 23 January 2000 until 22 November 2004. Patten oversaw many crises in the area of European foreign policy, most notably the failure of the European Union to come up with a common unified policy before the Iraq war in 2003. Although nominated for the post of President in the next Commission in 2004, he was unable to gain support from France and Germany. Lord Patten of Barnes in ceremonial dress as the Chancellor of the University of Oxford Chancellor of the University of Oxford in 2003. In 2005 he was raised to the Peerage as Baron Patten of Barnes, of Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond. In September 2005 he was elected a Distinguished Honorary Fellow of Massey College in the University of Toronto (the only person so elected except for the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh, the Duke of Edinburgh) as well as receiving an honorary Doctorate of Sacred Letters from the University of Trinity College, Toronto and an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Ulster.[4]. In October 2008, it was announced that Lord Patten will step down as Chancellor of Newcastle University in July 2009 after a decade in the University roles and elevation to the Peerage Patten was appointed Chancellor of Newcastle University in 1999, and elected 3 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia role[5]. In March 2009, Lord Patten received the title Doctor Honoris Causa by South East European University. Chris Patten External links • The Chris Patten Archive – This website aims to archive all articles, speeches and material by or about Chris Patten. • Chris Patten’s profile on BBC News website • Chris Patten’s monthly op/ed commentary series "History in Motion" for Project Syndicate • European Commissioner • Patten Gets Peerage (BBC News Article) • Still looking for trouble at (nearly) 60 — Jackie Ashley talks to Chris Patten • His thought patterns(Biswadip Mitra talks to Chris Patten) Personal life Lord Patten of Barnes is married to Lavender, who is a barrister. They have three daughters — Kate, Laura (married to Elton Charles), and Alice Patten (actress); and two Norfolk terriers — Whisky and Soda. On 29 September 2005, he published his memoirs, Not Quite the Diplomat: Home Truths About World Affairs. In the media Patten was interviewed about the rise of Thatcherism for the 2006 BBC TV documentary series Tory! Tory! Tory!. Offices held Books • Chris Patten (1983). The Tory Case. Longman Higher Education. ISBN 0-582-29612-9. • Chris Patten (1997). Letters to Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Information Services Department. • Chris Patten (1998). East and West: The Last Governor of Hong Kong on Power Freedom and the Future. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-74787-2. • Chris Patten (2005). Not Quite the Diplomat: Home Truths About World Affairs. Allen Lane. ISBN 0-7139-9855-5. • Chris Patten (2006). Cousins and Strangers: America, Britain, and Europe in a New Century. Times Books. ISBN 0-8050-7788-X. • Chris Patten (2008). What Next? Surviving the Twenty-First Century. Allen Lane. ISBN 978-0-7139-9856-6. • Reviewed by Jonathan Sumption in The Spectator References • Jonathan Dimbleby (1997). The Last Governor. ISBN 0-316-18583-3. • Chris Patten (2005). Not Quite the Diplomat: Home Truths About World Affairs. Allen Lane. ISBN 0-7139-9855-5. [1] http://us.rediff.com/getahead/2006/mar/ 13ga-inter.htm 4 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by Sir Edward Brown Political offices Preceded by Timothy Raison Preceded by Nicholas Ridley Preceded by Kenneth Baker Preceded by Neil Kinnock and Leon Brittan Preceded by Leon Brittan Party political offices Preceded by Kenneth Baker Government offices Preceded by Sir David Wilson Governor of Hong Kong 1992 – 1997 Chairman of the Conservative Party 1990 – 1992 Minister for Overseas Development 1986 – 1989 Secretary of State for the Environment 1989 – 1990 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1990 – 1992 European Commissioner from the United Kingdom 1999 – 2004 with Neil Kinnock European Commissioner for External Relations 1999 – 2004 Member of Parliament for Bath 1979 – 1992 Succeeded by Don Foster Chris Patten Succeeded by Lynda Chalker Succeeded by Michael Heseltine Succeeded by William Waldegrave Succeeded by Peter Mandelson Succeeded by Benita Ferrero-Waldner Succeeded by Sir Norman Fowler Post abolished later succeeded by Tung Chee-hwa As Chief Executive of Hong Kong Preceded by Sir David Ford Academic offices Preceded by The Viscount Ridley Preceded by The Lord Jenkins of Hillhead President of the Legislative Council 1992 – 1993 Chancellor of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne 1999 – present Chancellor of the University of Oxford 2003 – present Succeeded by John Joseph Swaine Incumbent Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Patten" 5 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Chris Patten Categories: Governors of Hong Kong, 1944 births, Living people, People from Thornton-Cleveleys, Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies, Conservative MPs (UK), British Secretaries of State, Secretaries of State for the Environment (UK), Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster, Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour, British European Commissioners, Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford, People associated with Newcastle University, Chancellors of the University of Oxford, Life peers, Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, Conservative Party politicians (UK), Old Priorians, UK MPs 1979-1983, UK MPs 1983-1987, UK MPs 1987-1992 This page was last modified on 18 May 2009, at 15:54 (UTC). 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