Francis Pym

Francis Pym   (politician)
Born	Francis Leslie Pym 1922-02-13 Abergavenny, Monmouthshire
Died	2008-03-07 (Age 86) Sandy, Bedfordshire
Alma mater	Eton, Magdalene College (Cambridge)
Member of	Nobody's Friends, The Other Club
Party	Conservative
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs In office 6 April 1982 - 11 June 1983 Preceded by Peter Carrington Succeeded by Geoffrey Howe  Lord President of the Council In office 14 September 1981 - 5 April 1982 Preceded by Christopher Soames  Leader of the House of Commons  In office 5 January 1981 - 5 April 1982 Preceded by Norman St John-Stevas  Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster  In office 5 January 1981 - 14 September 1981 Preceded by Norman St John-Stevas  UK/Paymaster General  In office 5 January 1981 - 14 September 1981 Succeeded by Cecil Parkinson  Secretary of State for Defence In office 4 May 1979 - 5 January 1981 Preceded by Fred Mulley Succeeded by John Nott  Shadow Foreign Secretary  In office 6 November 1978 - 4 May 1979 Succeeded by David Owen  Shadow Leader of the House of Commons  In office 19 November 1976 - 6 November 1978 Succeeded by Norman St John-Stevas  Shadow Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food In office 18 February 1975 - 19 November 1976  Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland  In office 4 March 1974 - 29 October 1974 Preceded by Merlyn Rees Succeeded by Ian Gilmour  Secretary of State for Northern Ireland  In office 2 December 1973 - 4 March 1974 Preceded by William Whitelaw Succeeded by Merlyn Rees  Chief Whip of the Conservative Party In office 19 June 1970 - 2 December 1973  Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury  In office 19 June 1970 - 2 December 1973 Succeeded by Humphrey Atkins  Member of Parliament for South East Cambridgeshire In office 16 March 1961 - 11 June 1987 Succeeded by James Paice

Francis Leslie Pym, Baron Pym was a British Conservative politician who served in various Cabinet positions in the 1970s and 1980s, including Foreign, Defence and Northern Ireland Secretary, and Leader of the House of Commons.

Having previously been considered Thatcher's chief challenger, Pym was sacked as foreign secretary in 1983, the final role in which he and a long line of similar semi-patrician top Tories had failed to curb her more extreme policies.

John Hughes-Wilson stated in 2013 that Francis Pym supported the "Arms to Iraq" project.

Early life

Pym was born at Penpergwm Lodge, near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire. His father, Leslie Pym, was also an MP, while his grandfather, the Rt Revd Walter Pym, was Bishop of Bombay.

He was educated at Eton, before going on to Magdalene College, Cambridge. For much of the Second World War, Pym served in North Africa and Italy as a captain and regimental adjutant in the 9th Lancers. He was mentioned in despatches twice, awarded the Military Cross, and ended his military service as a major. Pym was a managing director and landowner before he went into politics.

Career

Pym entered politics as a member of Herefordshire County Council in 1958. He contested Rhondda West without success in 1959 and entered Parliament in 1961 at a by-election as MP for Cambridgeshire. He held the seat until 1983, and thereafter was MP for South East Cambridgeshire until 1987. He was an opposition whip from 1964 and served under Edward Heath as Government Chief Whip (1970–1973) and Northern Ireland Secretary (1973–1974), and Margaret Thatcher as Defence Secretary (1979–1981), Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council (1981–1982).

He became foreign secretary during the Falklands War in 1982 following Lord Carrington's resignation, but was removed by Thatcher the following year after her second election victory.

Pym was a leading member of the "wets", Conservative MPs sceptical of Thatcherism. During the 1983 general election campaign he said on the BBC's Question Time that "Landslides don't on the whole produce successful governments". This was publicly repudiated by Thatcher and he was sacked after the election. Shortly afterwards, he launched a pressure group called Conservative Centre Forward to argue for more centrist, one-nation policies. But with Thatcher at the height of her powers, it was unsuccessful. He stood down at the 1987 election and was created a life peer as Baron Pym (of Sandy in the County of Bedfordshire) on 9 October 1987.

He was the author of The Politics of Consent, published in 1984 after he left the government. The book is a guide to the Wets' opposition to Thatcher's leadership style and politics.

Personal life

Pym died in Sandy, Bedfordshire, on 7 March 2008 after a prolonged illness, aged 86. He was survived by his wife, Valerie (1929–2017), whom he married in 1949, and their four children.

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