Member of Parliament
What was the position of Michael Mates from May 1979 to May 1983?
Michael Mates Michael John Mates ( born 9 June 1934 ) is a Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament ( MP ) for the constituency of East Hampshire from 1974 to 2010 . He was a minister at the Northern Ireland Office from 1992 to 1993 , resigning after his support for failed businessman Asil Nadir damaged his reputation . After his long career at Westminster , Mates lost the election for police commissioner in Hampshire in August 2012 . Early life and education . Mates was born on 9 June 1934 in Brentford , Middlesex , England . He was educated at Salisbury Cathedral School , Blundells School and Kings College , Cambridge , where he was a choral scholar . Career . Military , 1955–1974 . On 18 June 1955 , Mates was commissioned into the Royal Ulster Rifles , British Army , as a second lieutenant . On 1 February 1957 , he was promoted to lieutenant . On 3 January 1959 , he transferred from a short service commission to a regular commission . On 10 March 1961 , Mates transferred from the Royal Ulster Rifles to 1st The Queens Dragoon Guards . He was promoted to captain on 9 June 1961 , and to major on 31 December 1967 . Prior to his election to the House of Commons , he served for twenty years in the British Army leaving in 1974 with the rank of lieutenant colonel with the 1st The Queens Dragoon Guards . Parliament , 1974–2010 . Michael Mates was a Member of Parliament for 35 years . He was first elected in the October 1974 general election for Petersfield in Hampshire , following the retirement of Joan Quennell . The constituency was renamed East Hampshire in 1983 and he continued to serve as MP until the 2010 general election , having announced his intention in 2006 not to stand again . From 1992 to 1993 , Mates was Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office . He resigned after a scandal involving his links to fugitive businessman Asil Nadir . Mates served as the chairman of the Defence ( 1987–1992 ) and Northern Ireland ( 2001–2005 ) select committees and chaired the All-Party Anglo-Irish Parliamentary Group . He was appointed a member of the Privy Council in February 2004 . Police Commissioner candidacy , 2012 . In July 2012 Mates was selected as the Conservative candidate in the election for Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire , notwithstanding his links to Asil Nadir who , in August 2012 was convicted of fraud amounting to £29m . In the 1990s , when a junior minister in the Northern Ireland Office , Mates expressed his support for Nadir by sending him a watch inscribed with the words dont let the buggers get you down – a reference to an ongoing investigation into Nadirs fraudulent financial activities by British authorities . In August 2012 Nadir was found guilty at the Old Bailey of fraud , and convicted of stealing nearly £29 million . Despite this Mates maintained his support for Nadir , including testifying in his defence at the Old Bailey . In September 2012 Michael Crick of Channel 4 News said that Mates had repeatedly refused to answer questions about a windfall he received having vacated a sitting tenancy at Dolphin Square , central London , when an MP . Two city councillors publicly stated that he should step down , while Conservative MP George Hollingbery , who oversaw the partys selection process for the commissioner candidates , said : Michael Mates was selected after a transparent process involving both the public and party members . Michael is a candidate with a wealth of experience in high public office and the party believes he will make an excellent first police commissioner . In 2012 Mates was reported to Hampshire Constabulary for electoral fraud under the Fraud Act 2006 by competitor Don Jerrard who was standing for The Justice & Anti-Corruption Party . The former lawyer wrote to the countys Chief Constable alleging that Mates breached the 2006 Fraud Act by giving his address as a house where he rents rooms in Winchester . Parallel to this , Hampshire police confirmed two complaints of alleged racist language in Mates Election Statement were passed to the Thames Valley Police for investigation . Thames Valley Police were said to be getting ready to interview Mates , but it was not known whether this would be done under caution . Mates denied the allegations , saying he was the victim of a smear campaign . In 2014 Mates received an apology and undisclosed damages from the Crown Prosecution Service . He also received an apology from Hampshire Constabulary . Mates described the 18 months between the allegations and his vindication as a nightmare . Controversies . The Panama papers revealed that Mates was minority shareholder of an offshore investment company named Haylandale Limited from 2005 to at least April 2010 , the end of his parliamentary period , and owned four subsidiary firms from August 2007 to December 2008 for leasing and services connected to luxury properties in the Bahamas . Mates had , however , previously declared that he was the remunerated Chairman of Haylandale , which undertook property development in the West Indies , in the Register of Members Interests for the period of 2005 to 2010 . Personal life . Michael Mates has been married three times : to Mary Rosamund Paton in 1959 , divorced 1980 ; Rosellen Bett in 1982 , divorced 1995 ; and Christine Robinson-Moltke in 1998 . He is the father of James Mates , a senior reporter and presenter for ITN . Partnered by composer William Godfree , Mates regularly performs tributes to Flanders and Swann , Noël Coward and others in aid of charity .