Michael Howard

The Right Honourable The Lord Howard of Lympne CH PC KC
Official portrait, 2023
Leader of the Opposition
In office 6 November 2003 – 6 December 2005
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Iain Duncan Smith
Succeeded by	David Cameron
Leader of the Conservative Party
In office 6 November 2003 – 6 December 2005[note 1]
Preceded by	Iain Duncan Smith
Succeeded by	David Cameron
Home Secretary
In office 27 May 1993 – 2 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Kenneth Clarke
Succeeded by	Jack Straw
Secretary of State for the Environment
In office 11 April 1992 – 27 May 1993
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Michael Heseltine
Succeeded by	John Gummer
Secretary of State for Employment
In office 3 January 1990 – 11 April 1992
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher John Major
Preceded by	Norman Fowler
Succeeded by	Gillian Shephard
Junior ministerial offices Minister of State for Housing In office 25 July 1989 – 3 January 1990 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Preceded by The Earl of Caithness Succeeded by Michael Spicer Minister of State for the Environment In office 25 July 1988 – 25 July 1989 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Preceded by The Earl of Caithness Succeeded by David Trippier Minister of State for Local Government In office 13 June 1987 – 25 July 1988 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Preceded by Rhodes Boyson Succeeded by John Gummer
Shadow cabinet offices Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer In office 18 September 2001 – 6 November 2003 Leader Iain Duncan Smith Preceded by Michael Portillo Succeeded by Oliver Letwin Shadow Foreign Secretary In office 11 June 1997 – 15 June 1999 Leader William Hague Preceded by John Major Succeeded by John Maples Shadow Home Secretary In office 2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997 Leader John Major Preceded by Jack Straw Succeeded by Brian Mawhinney Shadow Constitutional Affairs Spokesperson In office 2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997 Serving with William Hague Leader John Major Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Michael Ancram
Parliamentary offices Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal Life peerage 20 July 2010 Member of Parliament for Folkestone and Hythe In office 9 June 1983 – 12 April 2010 Preceded by Albert Costain Succeeded by Damian Collins
Personal details
Born	Michael Hecht (1941-07-07) 7 July 1941 (age 83) Gorseinon, Swansea, Wales
Political party	Conservative
Other political affiliations	Labour (1961)
Spouse	Sandra Paul ​ (m. 1975)​
Children	2[citation needed]
Alma mater	Peterhouse, Cambridge (MA, LLB) Inns of Court School of Law

Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne CH PC KC (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941)^[1] is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet positions in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Secretary of State for Employment, Secretary of State for the Environment and Home Secretary.

Howard was born in Swansea to a Jewish family, his father from Romania and his mother from Wales. He studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge, following which he joined the Young Conservatives. In 1964, he was called to the Bar and became a Queen's Counsel in 1982. He first became a Member of Parliament at the 1983 general election, representing the constituency of Folkestone and Hythe. This quickly led to his promotion and Howard became Minister for Local Government in 1987. Under the premiership of John Major, he served as Secretary of State for Employment (1990–1992), Secretary of State for the Environment (1992–1993) and Home Secretary (1993–1997).

Following the Conservative Party's landslide defeat at the 1997 general election, he unsuccessfully contested the leadership, and subsequently held the posts of Shadow Foreign Secretary (1997–1999) and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (2001–2003). In November 2003, following the Conservative Party's vote of no confidence in Iain Duncan Smith, Howard was elected to the leadership unopposed.

At the 2005 general election, the Conservatives gained 33 new seats in Parliament, including five from the Liberal Democrats; but this still gave them only 198 seats to Labour's 355. Following the election, Howard resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party and was succeeded by David Cameron. Howard did not contest his seat of Folkestone and Hythe in the 2010 general election and entered the House of Lords as Baron Howard of Lympne. Prior to Brexit, he was supportive of the Eurosceptic pressure group Leave Means Leave.^[2]

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