Dominic Grieve
Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve, QC (born 24 May 1956)[1] is an English Conservative politician, barrister, Queen's Counsel[2] and a Member of the Privy Council. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Beaconsfield since 1997, and served as Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland from May 2010 to July 2014, attending Cabinet.[3] He left the office of Attorney General as part of the 14 July 2014 Cabinet reshuffle, and was replaced by Jeremy Wright.
Contents
Early life
Grieve was born in Lambeth, the son of Percy Grieve QC (the MP for Solihull 1964–83) and of an Anglo-French mother, Evelyn Raymonde Louise Mijouain.[4] He was educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle on Cromwell Road in South Kensington, Colet Court preparatory school in Barnes, Westminster School,[2] and Magdalen College, Oxford,[2] where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern History[2] in 1978. He was the President of the Oxford University Conservative Association in 1977.
He continued his studies at the Polytechnic of Central London (now the University of Westminster), where he received a Diploma in Law[2] in 1979.
Legal career
He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1980[5] and is a specialist in occupational safety and health law. He was made a Bencher of the Middle Temple in 2005 and appointed a Queen's Counsel in 2008.
Political career
Local council
He was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in 1982, remaining a councillor until 1986.[2] He contested the Norwood constituency in the London Borough of Lambeth at the 1987 general election[2] but finished in second place some 4,723 votes behind the veteran Labour MP John Fraser (although increasing the Conservative vote).
Member of Parliament
He was elected to the House of Commons for the Buckinghamshire seat of Beaconsfield at the 1997 general election[2] following the resignation of Tim Smith in the cash-for-questions affair. Grieve was elected with a majority of 13,987 votes and has remained the MP there since, increasing his majority at each successive election. He made his maiden speech on 21 May 1997.[6]
He was a member of both the Environmental Audit and the Statutory Instruments select committees from 1997 to 1999.[7] William Hague promoted him to the frontbench in 1999 when he became a spokesman on Scottish affairs, moving to speak on home affairs as the spokesman on criminal justice following the election of Iain Duncan Smith as the new leader of the Conservative Party in 2001, and was then promoted to be shadow Attorney General by Michael Howard in 2003.[2] He also had responsibility for community cohesion on behalf of the Conservative Party. He was retained as shadow Attorney General by the new Conservative Leader, David Cameron and was appointed Shadow Home Secretary on 12 June 2008 following the resignation of David Davis.[8]
Grieve was instrumental in the defeat of the Labour government in early 2006 in relation to the proposal that the Home Secretary should have power to detain suspected terrorists for periods up to 90 days without charge.
In the last Conservative Shadow Cabinet reshuffle before the General Election of 2010, carried out on 19 January 2009, Grieve was moved to become Shadow Justice Secretary, opposite Jack Straw. According to the BBC, Grieve was said to be "very happy with the move" which would suit his talents better.[9]
After the 2010 general election, Grieve was appointed as the new Attorney General. Grieve was one of four members of the cabinet who abstained in the May 2013 Same-Sex Marriage vote. He said that he believed that the Bill had been 'badly conceived'.[10]
On 28 May 2010 he was appointed to the Privy Council as part of the 2010 Dissolution of Parliament Honours List.[11][12]
Corruption in minority claims
On 22 November 2013 he was reported as stating politicians need to "wake up" to the issue of corruption in some minority communities [13] and that "corruption in parts of the Pakistani community is 'endemic'".[14] Two days later he apologised and said he had not meant to suggest there was a "particular problem in the Pakistani community".[15]
Personal life
He is a practising Anglican and was a member of the London Diocesan Synod of the Church of England[7] for six years from 1994. He married fellow barrister Caroline Hutton[7] in October 1990 in the City of London and they have two teenage sons.[16]
He lists his hobbies as "canoeing, boating on the Thames at weekends, mountain climbing, skiing and fell walking, architecture, art and travel".[7] He was a police station lay visitor[7] for six years from 1990 and worked in Brixton on various bodies set up to reconcile the different communities after the riots.
He broadcasts in French on French radio and television.[17]
Grieve's wealth is estimated at £3.1 million.[18][19]Grieve was criticised for investments in multinational companies with significant projects in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe.[20]
Styles
- Mr Dominic Grieve (1956–97)
- Mr Dominic Grieve MP (1997–2008)
- Mr Dominic Grieve QC MP (2008–2010)
- The Rt Hon. Dominic Grieve QC MP (2010–)
References
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<references />, or <references group="..." />External links
- Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP official constituency website
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
- Articles authored at Journalisted
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Beaconsfield 1997–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Attorney General 2003–2009 |
Succeeded by Edward Garnier |
| Preceded by | Shadow Home Secretary 2008–2009 |
Succeeded by Chris Grayling |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Justice 2009–2010 |
Succeeded by Jack Straw |
| Preceded by | Attorney General for England and Wales 2010–2014 |
Succeeded by Jeremy Wright |
| Advocate General for Northern Ireland 2010–2014 |
||
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- ↑ http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/10440767.Beaconsfield_MP__gay_marriage_bill__badly_conceived_/
- ↑ http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/peerages-honours-and-appointments/
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- ↑ Samira Shackle, Stephanie Hegarty and George Eaton The new ruling class New Statesman 1 October 2009.
- ↑ Glen Owen The coalition of millionaires: 23 of the 29 member of the new cabinet are worth more than £1m...and the Lib Dems are just as wealthy as the Tories Mail on Sunday 23 May 2010.
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- Pages with reference errors
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- 1956 births
- Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
- Alumni of the University of Westminster
- English Queen's Counsel
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- Councillors in Hammersmith and Fulham
- English Anglicans
- English barristers
- Living people
- Members of the Middle Temple
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- People educated at Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
- People educated at Colet Court
- People educated at Westminster School, London
- People from Lambeth
- Queen's Counsel 2001–
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