| Channon,
(''Henry''), Paul |
 |
|
| Name:
Channon, (''Henry''), Paul |
| Date
of Birth: 9 October 1935 |
| Roles / Positions:
Politician; Conservative Party; (Westminster) MP; Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) March-November 1972 |
|
| Titles:Life Peerage 1997 |
| |
Brief
Biography:
Paul Channon was elected in 1959 as Conservative MP for Southend West (1959-97) he served in a number of junior ministerial positions before being appointed as Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) in March 1972 (March-November 1972). Amongst his responsibilities during this period was to take charge of the departments of Health and Social Services, as well as Education. During this period however Channon came to public prominence when it was disclosed that his house in London had been used as a venue for secret talks in July 1972 between William Whitelaw, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and leaders of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). When the Conservative Party returned to power in 1979 he again held a number of junior posts before entering the Cabinet in 1986 as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1986-87), as well as later as Secretary of State for Transport (1987-89). Prior to the 1997 general election Channon announced his decision to stand down as an MP and later in the year was awarded a life peerage.
|
Book
References:
Elliott, Sydney. and Flackes, W.D. (1999), Northern Ireland: A Political Directory 1968-1999. Belfast: Blackstaff Press.
Ramsden, John. (ed.) (2002), The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century British Politics. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
|
| [Entry written by B.Lynn - 25 March 2003]
|
|
