John Major

**Sir John Major** KG CH (born 29 March 1943) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Major was Foreign Secretary and then Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Thatcher Government from 1989 to 1990, and was Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdonfrom 1979 until his retirement in 2001. Since the death of Margaret Thatcher in 2013, he has been both the oldest and earliest-serving of all living former prime ministers.

## Cabinet Roles

**List of Cabinet Roles Held By John Major**

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom: 28th November 1990 to 2nd May 1997

Chancellor of the Exchequer: 26th October 1989 to 28th November 1990

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs: 24th July 1989 to 26th October 1989

Chief Secretary of the Treasury: 13th June 1987 to 24th July 1989

Minister of State for Social Security: 10th September 1986 to 13th June 1987

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security: 2nd September 1985 – 10th September 1986

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury: 3rd October 1984 – 1st November 1985

## Shadow Cabinet Roles

**List of Shadow Cabinet Roles held by John Major**

Leader of The Opposition: 2nd May 1997 to 19th June 1997

Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs: 7th May 1997 to 11th June 1997

Shadow Secretary of State for Defence: 2nd May 1997 to 11th June 1997

## Personal Life

Major married Norma Johnson (now Dame Norma Major) on 3 October 1970 at St Matthew's Church, Brixton. She was a teacher and a member of the Young Conservatives. They met on polling day for the Greater London Council elections in London, and became engaged after only ten days. They had two children; a son, James, and a daughter, Elizabeth. They have a holiday home on the coast of north Norfolk, near Weybourne, which has round-the-clock police surveillance.

Major's elder brother, Terry, who died in 2007, became a minor media personality during Major's period in Downing Street, with a 1994 autobiography, Major Major. He also wrote newspaper columns, and appeared on TV shows such as Have I Got News for You. He faced criticism about his brother but always remained loyal.

Sir John's daughter Elizabeth married Luke Salter on 26 March 2000, having been in a relationship since 1988. Salter died on 22 November 2002 from cancer.

His son James, a former nightclub promoter and flooring contractor, married gameshow hostess Emma Noble and they have a son, Harrison. Following their divorce, James married Kate Postlethwaite (née Dorrell), the mother of his second son, on 31 March 2012.

Research conducted by Paul Penn-Simkins, a genealogist formerly employed as a researcher at the College of Arms and as a heraldic consultant at Christie's, and subsequently corroborated by Lynda Rippin, a genealogist employed by Lincolnshire Council, showed that John Major and Margaret Thatcher were fifth cousins once removed, both descending from the Crust family, who farmed at Leake, near Boston, Lincolnshire.

Major is the Patron of British Gymnastics, as well as an enthusiastic follower of cricket and motor racing; he is also a supporter of Chelsea F.C.