Michael Howard : Ask Biography

Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC (born 7 July 1941) is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He had previously held cabinet positions in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Secretary of State for Employment (1990-92), Secretary of State for the Environment (1992-93) and Home Secretary (1993-97).

Howard was born in Gorseinon, south-Wales. He joined the Young Conservatives at age 15 and studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge. In 1964, Howard was called to the Bar and became a Queen's Counsel in 1982. Howard became a Member of Parliament (MP) in the 1983 General Election, representing the constituency of Folkestone and Hythe. This led to Howard becoming quickly promoted and he became the Minister for Local Government in 1987. Under Prime Minister John Major (1990 � 1997), Howard held several cabinet positions including Secretary of State for Employment (1990 � 1992) and Home Secretary (1993 � 1997). His tenure as Home Secretary saw offences fall by 16.8%.

Following the Conservative Party's defeat in the 1997 General Election, Howard unsuccessfully made a bid for the post of Conservative Party leader and 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 its leader Iain Duncan Smith, Howard was elected unopposed to the position of Conservative Party leader. In the 2005 General Election, the Conservatives gained 33 new seats in Westminster but this still only gave them 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.