Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne Articles & Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne Websites

The Lord Brittan of Spennithorne
	The Right Honourable; The Lord Brittan of Spennithorne ; QC PC DL
	First Vice President of the European Commission
	In office; 16 March 1999 – 15 September 1999
President	Manuel Marín (Acting)
Preceded by	Manuel Marín
Succeeded by	Neil Kinnock
	European Commissioner for External Relations
	In office; 23 January 1995 – 15 September 1999
President	Jacques Santer; Manuel Marín (Acting)
Preceded by	Frans Andriessen
Succeeded by	Chris Patten
	European Commissioner for Trade
	In office; 6 January 1993 – 15 September 1999
President	Jacques Delors; Jacques Santer; Manuel Marín (Acting)
Preceded by	Frans Andriessen
Succeeded by	Pascal Lamy
	European Commissioner for Competition
	In office; 6 January 1989 – 6 January 1993
President	Jacques Delors
Preceded by	Peter Sutherland
Succeeded by	Karel Van Miert
	Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
	In office; 2 September 1985 – 24 January 1986
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Norman Tebbit
Succeeded by	Paul Channon
	Home Secretary
	In office; 11 June 1983 – 2 September 1985
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	William Whitelaw
Succeeded by	Douglas Hurd
	Chief Secretary to the Treasury
	In office; 5 January 1981 – 11 June 1983
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	John Biffen
Succeeded by	Peter Rees
	Member of Parliament; for Richmond (Yorks)
	In office; 9 June 1983 – 31 December 1988
Preceded by	Timothy Kitson
Succeeded by	William Hague
	Member of Parliament; for Cleveland and Whitby
	In office; 28 February 1974 – 9 June 1983
Preceded by	James Tinn
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Born	25 September 1939 (age 70); North London, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Diana Clemetson
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge
Profession	Barrister
Religion	Judaism

For the footballer, see Leon Britton.

Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, QC, PC, DL (born 25 September 1939, North London) 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.

[edit] Early life

Leon Brittan 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 and Chairman of Cambridge University Conservative Association) as well as being a contemporary of Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen. He started his career as a lawyer. He is a cousin of both Malcolm Rifkind and Mark Ronson.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] European Commission

He was knighted in 1989.^[1] He was made European Commissioner for Competition at the European Commission early in 1989, resigning as an MP to take the position. In 1995 he became European Commissioner for Trade and European Commissioner for External Affairs, also serving as Vice-President of the European Commission. Brittan resigned with the rest of the commission in 1999 amid accusations of fraud.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Peerage

He was created Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, of Spennithorne in the County of North Yorkshire in February 2000. He is Vice Chairman of UBS AG Investment Bank, non-executive director of Unilever and member of the international advisory committee for Total.

[edit] Return to government

In August 2010 Leon Brittan returned to the government under the Conservative-Liberal coalition acting as a trade advisor.^[2]

[edit] Marriage

His wife, Diana (née Clemetson), The Lady Brittan of Spennithorne (born 1940), was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2004. Leon Brittan has two stepdaughters.

[edit] External links

Profile of Sir Leon Brittan
Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Leon Brittan
Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 29 February 2000

[edit] References

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by James Tinn	Member of Parliament for Cleveland and Whitby 1974–1983	Constituency abolished
Preceded by Timothy Kitson	Member of Parliament for Richmond (Yorks) 1983–1988	Succeeded by William Hague
Political offices
Preceded by John Biffen	Chief Secretary to the Treasury 1981–1983	Succeeded by Peter Rees
Preceded by William Whitelaw	Home Secretary 1983–1985	Succeeded by Douglas Hurd
Preceded by Norman Tebbit	Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 1985–1986	Succeeded by Paul Channon
Preceded by The Lord Cockfield	European Commissioner from the United Kingdom 1989–1999 Served alongside: Bruce Millan (1989–1995) Neil Kinnock (1995–1999)	Succeeded by Chris Patten
Preceded by Stanley Clinton-Davis		Succeeded by Neil Kinnock
Preceded by Peter Sutherland	European Commissioner for Competition 1989–1993	Succeeded by Karel Van Miert
Preceded by Frans Andriessen	European Commissioner for Trade 1994–1999	Succeeded by Pascal Lamy
Preceded by Frans Andriessen	European Commissioner for External Relations 1995–1999	Succeeded by Chris Patten
Preceded by Manuel Marín	First Vice President of the European Commission 1999	Succeeded by Neil Kinnock
Academic offices
New office	Chancellor of the University of Teesside 1993–2005	Succeeded by The Lord Sawyer

[0] Industry forum biography

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