Michael Heseltine

Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine CH PC (born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 as a member of the Conservative Party.

He was born in Swansea, Wales and studied at the University of Oxford. He was briefly conscripted into the army, before becoming a self-made millionaire in the 1960s. At the 1966 General Election, Heseltine became the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Tavistock in Devon. From 1970 to 1974, he was a junior minister in the government of Edward Heath. From 1979 to 1983, he was in the cabinet of Margaret Thatcher as Secretary of State for the Environment. He was Defence Secretary from 1983 to 1986, but resigned in 1986 and became a backbencher.

As a backbencher, Heseltine became very critical of Thatcher's government and refused to support the Poll Tax in 1989. In November 1990, Heseltine challenged Thatcher for Conservative Party leadership and this led to Thatcher resigning, but Heseltine did not get to become party leader. New Conservative Prime Minister John Major made Heseltine Secretary of State for the Environment (1990-1992), President of the Board of Trade (1992-1995) and Deputy Prime Minister (1995-1997).

In 2001, Heseltine stood down as an MP and entered the House of Lords. He was considered to be one of Britain's top 200 richest people in 2004, owning a wealth of about £240 million.

Publications
 Michael Heseltine, Raising The Sights - A Tory Perspective, in the Primrose League Gazette, vol.91, no.2, Aug/Sept 1987 edition, London.
 Julian Critchley, Heseltine - The Unauthorised Biography, André Deutsch, London, September 1987, 
 Michael Crick, Michael Heseltine: A Biography, Hamish Hamilton, 1997, 
 Michael Heseltine, Life in the Jungle, Hodder & Stoughton, 2000, , written with the acknowledged assistance of Heseltine's lifelong friend Anthony Howard.

References
 Michael Crick, Michael Heseltine: A Biography, Hamish Hamilton, 1997, 

Category:1933 births
Category:Living people
Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford
Category:British autobiographers
Category:British businesspeople
Category:Companions of Honour
Category:Deputy Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs
Category:Members of the British House of Commons for English constituencies
Category:Conservative Life Peers
Category:Politicians from Swansea
Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Category:Secretaries of State of the United Kingdom
Category:UK MPs 1966–1970
Category:UK MPs 1970–1974
Category:UK MPs 1974
Category:UK MPs 1974–1979
Category:UK MPs 1979–1983
Category:UK MPs 1983–1987
Category:UK MPs 1987–1992
Category:UK MPs 1992–1997
Category:UK MPs 1997–2001