Humphrey Atkins
(Government spokesperson for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs)
11 September 1981 – 7 April 1982
4 May 1979 – 11 September 1981
4 March 1974 – 4 May 1979
Margaret Thatcher
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
2 December 1973 – 4 March 1974
Treasurer of the Household
18 June 1970 – 2 December 1973
for Spelthorne
18 June 1970 – 18 May 1987
for Merton and Morden
26 May 1955 – 29 May 1970
Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, England[1]
Waltham St Lawrence, Berkshire, England
Humphrey Edward Gregory Atkins, Baron Colnbrook, KCMG, PC (12 August 1922 – 4 October 1996) was a British politician and a member of the Conservative Party. He served for 32 years as a Member of Parliament (MP), and served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher from 1979 to 1982.[2]
Early life
Atkins was born on 12 August 1922, in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, son of Captain Edward Davis Atkins and Violet Mary (née Preston) and lived in Kenya until the age of three. He and his wife, Margaret (née Spencer-Nairn; 1924–2012), had four children, three daughters and one son.[1]
Atkins was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire, and served in the Royal Navy from 1940 to 1948. He worked for Nairn's, his wife's family's linoleum business in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, then became a director of a financial advertising agency.
Political career
Atkins contested the constituency of West Lothian in 1951, and was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Merton and Morden in 1955. He became MP for Spelthorne in 1970.[citation needed]
Atkins was the Conservative Chief Whip from 1973 to 1979, and served as a Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1979 to 1981. In September 1981, he was appointed as Lord Privy Seal, which was a role as the chief government spokesman in the House of Commons for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. This role was necessary because the Foreign Secretary, Lord Carrington, sat in the House of Lords. He resigned in April 1982, along with Lord Carrington, over the Falklands invasion. [citation needed]
Atkins was appointed to the Order of St Michael and St George as a Knight Commander (KCMG) in the 1983 Dissolution Honours.[3] He left the House of Commons in 1987 and was created a life peer on 16 October as Baron Colnbrook, of Waltham St Lawrence in the Royal County of Berkshire.[4][1]
Death
Atkins died from cancer on 4 October 1996 at the age of 74 in Waltham St Lawrence, Berkshire.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b c Froggatt, Richard. "Humphrey Atkins (1922–1996): Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1979-1981". Dictionary of Ulster Biography. Ulster History Circle. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ Cosgrave, Patrick (7 October 1996). "Obituaries : Lord Colnbrook". The Independent. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- ^ "No. 49424". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 July 1983. p. 9700.
- ^ "No. 51097". The London Gazette. 21 October 1987. p. 12971.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Humphrey Atkins
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Merton and Morden 1955–1970 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Spelthorne 1970–1987 | Succeeded by |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Charles Morris | Treasurer of the Household 1970–1973 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Chief Whip of the Conservative Party 1973–1979 | Succeeded by |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1973–1974 | Succeeded by | |
Preceded by | Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1979–1981 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Lord Privy Seal 1981–1982 | Succeeded by |
- v
- t
- e
- Humphrey Atkins
- Kenneth Baker
- Lord Belstead
- John Biffen
- Leon Brittan
- Peter Brooke
- Mark Carlisle
- Lord Carrington
- Paul Channon
- Kenneth Clarke
- Lord Cockfield
- Nicholas Edwards
- Norman Fowler
- Sir Ian Gilmour
- Lord Gowrie
- John Gummer
- Lord Havers
- Lord Hailsham
- Michael Heseltine
- Michael Howard
- Sir Geoffrey Howe
- David Howell
- David Hunt
- Douglas Hurd
- Patrick Jenkin
- Michael Jopling
- Sir Keith Joseph
- Tom King
- Norman Lamont
- Nigel Lawson
- Peter Lilley
- John MacGregor
- James Mackay
- John Major
- Angus Maude
- John Moore
- Tony Newton
- John Nott
- Cecil Parkinson
- Chris Patten
- Jim Prior
- Francis Pym
- Peter Rees
- Nicholas Ridley
- Malcolm Rifkind
- Lord Soames
- Norman St John-Stevas
- Norman Tebbit
- David Waddington
- John Wakeham
- William Waldegrave
- Peter Walker
- William Whitelaw
- Lord Young of Graffham
- Baroness Young
- George Younger