biography
| name: |
Parkinson (of Carnforth), Cecil (Edward), Baron
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1932– )
|
| biography:
| British statesman, born in Carnforth, Lancashire, NW England, UK. He studied at Cambridge, qualified as an accountant, and in 1970 became a Conservative MP. In 1979 he was appointed trade minister by Margaret Thatcher, then became paymaster-general and Conservative Party national chairman (1981–3), Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1982–3), and secretary of state for trade and industry (1983). In 1983, he was forced to resign from the Cabinet and as Party chairman following the news of the pregnancy of his mistress, Sarah Keays, which resulted in the birth of his illegitimate daughter. He returned to the Cabinet in 1987 as secretary of state for energy, and was transport secretary from 1989, until surrendering office in the Cabinet reshuffle that followed John Major's election in 1990. He was created a life peer in 1992. After the Conservative government's 1997 general election defeat, Parkinson was appointed Party chairman for a second time, leaving the post in 1998. |
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