Sybil Judith Chaplin , known as Judith Chaplin (née Schofield; 19 August 193919 February 1993), was a Conservative Party politician in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...

Career

Chaplin was elected councillor for

Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is the top-tier local government authority for Norfolk, England. Its headquarters are based in the city of Norwich. Below it there are 7 second-tier local government district councils: Breckland District, Broadland Dis ...

1975, following her husband into the role. There she became chairman of the education committee. She took on a role in 1986 with

Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and inco ...

, becoming head of policy for the group. in 1988 she became special advisor to

Nigel Lawson Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, (born 11 March 1932) is a British Conservative Party politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974 to 1992, and served in the cabinet of Margare ...

, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, and remained in the role when

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Huntin ...

took over the following year. When Major became

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is n ...

, she acted as his Private Secretary and political assistant. She was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

for Newbury at the 1992 election. In the following June, she was appointed

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, and she was considered likely to become chancellor of the exchequer herself in the future. However, her death less than a year later meant that she did not achieve the role.

Personal life

Sybil Judith Schofield born in

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. Har ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gover ...

on 19 August 1939. Her father, Theodore Thomas Schofield was a dentist and her mother was Sybil Elsie, née Saunders. She was educated at

Wycombe Abbey , motto_translation = Go in faith , established = 1896 , type = Independent boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Headmistress , head = J. Duncan , chair_label = Chair ...

and before studying economics at

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status ...

. She would also go on to gain a post-graduate economics degree from

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution ...

. She married Robert Walpole, 10th Baron Walpole in 1962 with whom she had two sons and two daughters, including

Alice Walpole Alice Louise Walpole (born 1 September 1963) is a British diplomat who is the current Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq. She has previously served as ...

, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Luxembourg. However, their marriage was ultimately dissolved in 1979, and she married Luke Keohane in 1984. Chaplin died of a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathing ...

on 19 February 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaplin, Judith 1939 births 1993 deaths 20th-century British women politicians Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of East Anglia Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) councillors Deaths from pulmonary embolism Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of Norfolk County Council Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Berkshire Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Wycombe Abbey People from Harpenden UK MPs 1992–1997 Judith 20th-century English women 20th-century English people Women councillors in England

Career

Personal life

See also

References