Member of Parliament
Which position did Richard Needham hold from Apr 1992 to Apr 1997?
Richard Needham Richard Francis Needham , 6th Earl of Kilmorey , ( born 29 January 1942 ) , usually known as Sir Richard Needham , is a British Conservative politician . A Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1997 , he served as Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland between 1985 and 1992 and as Minister of State for Trade between 1992 and 1995 . From January 1961 until April 1977 , he was entitled to use the courtesy title Viscount Newry and Mourne . Early life . Needham is eldest of the three sons of The 5th Earl of Kilmorey by his marriage to Helen Bridget Faudel-Phillips , a daughter of Sir Lionel Faudel-Phillips , 3rd and last Baronet . He was educated at Eton . When his father succeeded as The 5th Earl of Kilmorey in January 1961 , Richard became entitled to use the courtesy title Viscount Newry and Mourne , known for short as Lord Newry . Richard himself succeeded his father to become The 6th Earl of Kilmorey in April 1977 . Political career . Needham was a member of the Somerset County Council between 1967 and 1974 . In 1974 , he stood unsuccessfully for parliament for the safe Labour seat of Pontefract and Castleford in the February general election , and was then also defeated at the more marginal Gravesend in October . He succeeded his father to the earldom in 1977 . This is an Irish peerage and did not bar him from sitting in the House of Commons . At the 1979 general election , he was returned as Member of Parliament for Chippenham in Wiltshire . He was one of the Wiltshire Wets , Conservative MPs from the county who expressed concern at the perceived loss of jobs resulting from the monetarist policies of Margaret Thatcher ; in 1990 he called Thatcher a cow in a leaked telephone conversation with his wife . His constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election , when he was returned to the House of Commons for the new North Wiltshire constituency . He held the seat until he retired from Parliament at the 1997 general election . In Government . Needham was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland , James Prior , between 1983 and 1984 , and to the Secretary of State for the Environment , Patrick Jenkin , between 1984 and 1985 . He served under Thatcher and later John Major as an Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland between 1985 and 1992 and under Major as Minister of State for Trade between 1992 and 1995 , and was instrumental in transforming Northern Irelands economic base and the UKs export strategy under Michael Heseltine . He was the longest serving British government Northern Ireland minister . Books . Lord Kilmorey has written two books : Honourable Member and Battling for Peace : Northern Irelands Longest-Serving British Minister ( 1999 ) ; an account of his years in Northern Ireland and his contribution to peace . Honours . Lord Kilmorey holds an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Ulster . A founder member of the UK-Japan 21st Century Group , he was appointed a member of the Order of the Rising Sun , Gold and Silver Star , by the Emperor of Japan . He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1994 and knighted in 1997 . Personal life . Needham married Sigrid Thiessen-Gairdner , daughter of Ernst Thiessen , in 1965 . They have three children : - Robert Francis John Needham , Viscount Newry and Mourne ( b . 1966 ) - Hon . Andrew Francis Needham ( b . 1969 ) - Lady Christina Clare Needham ( b . 1977 ) Although Needham inherited the Earldom of Kilmorey and Viscountcy of Newry and Mourne on the death of his father in 1977 , he did not petition the House of Lords to formally claim succession until October 2012 . The Needham estate , known as Mourne Park , is near Kilkeel in County Down in Northern Ireland but the title and estate were separated when the fifth Earl inherited the title but opted to live in England . The Needham estate or Mourne Park is now owned by the Anley family , descendants of the 4th Earl of Kilmorey . The house was badly damaged by fire on 18 May 2013 . External links . - geni.com