John Redwood
Sir John Alan Redwood (born 15 June 1951) is a British politician and academic who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wokingham in Berkshire since 1987. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Secretary of State for Wales in the Major government and was twice an unsuccessful candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party in the 1990s. Redwood subsequently served in the Shadow Cabinets of William Hague and Michael Howard; he has remained a backbencher since then.
The Right Honourable Sir John Redwood MP | |
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Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Deregulation | |
| In office 6 May 2005 – 5 December 2005 | |
| Leader | Michael Howard |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions | |
| In office 15 June 1999 – 2 February 2000 | |
| Leader | William Hague |
| Preceded by | Gillian Shephard |
| Succeeded by | Archie Norman |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry | |
| In office 11 June 1997 – 15 June 1999 | |
| Leader | John Major William Hague |
| Preceded by | Michael Heseltine |
| Succeeded by | Angela Browning |
| Secretary of State for Wales | |
| In office 27 May 1993 – 26 June 1995 | |
| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | David Hunt |
| Succeeded by | William Hague |
| Minister of State for Local Government | |
| In office 15 April 1992 – 27 May 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | Michael Portillo |
| Succeeded by | David Curry |
| Minister of State for Corporate Affairs | |
| In office 26 July 1989 – 15 April 1992 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher John Major |
| Preceded by | Francis Maude |
| Succeeded by | Neil Hamilton |
| Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit | |
| In office 5 May 1982 – 12 November 1987 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Ferdinand Mount |
| Succeeded by | Brian Griffiths |
| Member of Parliament for Wokingham | |
| Assumed office 11 June 1987 | |
| Preceded by | William van Straubenzee |
| Majority | 7,383 (11.9%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Alan Redwood 15 June 1951 Dover, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse |
Gail Chippington
(m. 1974; div. 2003) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Kent College, Canterbury |
| Alma mater | Magdalen College, Oxford (BA) St Antony's College, Oxford (MPhil) All Souls College, Oxford (DPhil) |
| Academic background | |
| Thesis | The fear of atheism in England, from the Restoration to Berkeley's Alciphron' (1975) |
| Part of the politics series on |
| Thatcherism |
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Prior to becoming an MP, Redwood completed a doctorate at All Souls College, Oxford and served as Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit under Margaret Thatcher. He is a veteran Eurosceptic who was described in 1993 as a "pragmatic Thatcherite". He was the co-chairman of the Conservative Party's Policy Review Group on Economic Competitiveness until 2010. He has the role of Chief Global Strategist of investment management company Charles Stanley & Co Ltd (part of Charles Stanley Group). Redwood supported Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum, and is a member of the British Eurosceptic pressure group Leave Means Leave.