Sir John Giles Dunkerley Shaw (16 November 1931 – 12 April 2000), known as Giles Shaw, was a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician. Shaw was born in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, the son of an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

. He was educated at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...

and

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, joining the Conservative association and becoming President of the

Cambridge Union The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debatin ...

for the

Michaelmas term Michaelmas term is the first academic term of the academic year in a number of English-speaking universities and schools in the northern hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Michaelmas term derives its name from the Feast of St Micha ...

, 1954. On returning to York, he became an executive of the confectionery firm

Rowntree Mackintosh Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery was a British company formed by the merger of Rowntree's and John Mackintosh Co. The company was famous for making chocolate brands, such as Kit Kat, Aero and Quality Street. It was purchased by Nestlé in 19 ...

, rising to advertising manager, then marketing director. He was an advertising manager and chairman of the Conservative Divisional Executive. Shaw contested Kingston upon Hull West at the 1966 general election. He was subsequently the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds, City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford, Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of ...

from 1974 until he retired at the 1997 general election. He held a number of ministerial posts during the Thatcher administration: Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office (1979–1981); Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Environment (1981–1983); Parliamentary Under- Secretary, Department of Energy (1983–1984); Minister of State, Home Office (1984–1986); Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (1986–1987) Shaw was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1987 in recognition of his service as a Member of Parliament. Sir Giles was also elected treasurer of the

1922 Committee The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbench member ...

in 1988, the Speaker's Panel of Chairmen and later became Chairman of the

Science and Technology Committee Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence fo ...

. He was Chairman of Governors at

from 1992 to 1997. Shaw was also appointed director of both

British Steel plc British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British Englis ...

and

Yorkshire Water Yorkshire Water is a water supply and treatment utility company servicing West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of Derbyshire, in England. The company has its ...

in 1990, and became the 2nd Chairman of

Broadcasters' Audience Research Board The Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB) is a British organisation that compiles audience measurement and television ratings in the United Kingdom. It was created in 1981 to replace two previous systems whereby ITV ratings were compiled ...

Ltd (BARB) in 1997. Shaw died of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

aged 68.

Sources

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', Times Newspapers Limited, 1992 and 1997 editions. *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Giles 1931 births 2000 deaths People educated at Sedbergh School Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Presidents of the Cambridge Union UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Northern Ireland Office junior ministers