Sir Andrew Bowden (born 8 April 1930) is 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. From 2004 to 2010, he was an international consultant at Global Equities Corporation.

Early life

Bowden was born the son of William Victor Bowden, a solicitor, and Francesca Wilson. He was educated at

Ardingly College Ardingly College () is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located near Ardingly, West Sussex, England. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Woodard ...

. He started his career as a sales executive. He served as a councillor on Wandsworth Borough Council from 1956 to 1961 and as national chairman of Young Conservatives from 1960 to 1961. Bowden worked in the paint industry from 1955 to 1968.

Parliamentary career

He entered the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

on his fourth attempt in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

by gaining the

Brighton Kemptown Brighton Kemptown, often referred to as Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven by local political parties, is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Lloyd Russell-Moyle, a Labour Co-op MP. The consti ...

seat from the Labour Party. As well as fighting Kemptown in the previous election, he had fought Hammersmith North in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangs ...

and Kensington North in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

. He remained

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 o ...

for Kemptown until his defeat by Labour's Desmond Turner in the 1997 election.Siobhan Ryan
Ex-MP's wife to sue hospital over fall
'' The Argus'', 26 September 2008Committee Powerless to Act Against "Sleaze" MPs
'' BBC'' As an MP, he acted as a parliamentary consultant for Southern Water. He was a member of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

from 1987 to 1997. He was accused of failing to register an election donation of £5,319 from lobbyist

Ian Greer Ian Bramwell Greer (5 June 1933 – 4 November 2015) was a British political lobbyist whose career was affected by the cash-for-questions affair. Early life Ian Bramwell Greer was born on 5 June 1933, the son of Salvation Army parents. He was ...

, who acted for

Mohammed Al Fayed Mohamed Al-Fayed (; arz, محمد الفايد ; born 27 January 1929) is an Egyptian-born businessman whose residence and chief business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. His business interests include ownership of ...

, as well as business interests with the

House of Fraser House of Fraser (also operating as Frasers) is a British department store group with 44 locations across the United Kingdom, which is now part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it ...

After Parliament

In recent years he has become a regular on the poker circuit. He also plays

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. From 1975 to 1997, he served as national president of the

Captive Animals Protection Society Freedom for Animals (FFA) is the working name of the Captive Animals' Protection Society, a charity registered in England campaigning to end the display of animals in zoos, and the use of animals in entertainment, such as circuses, the exotic ...

. He is a patron of the Sussex & Kent

ME/CFS Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...

Society. He is president of Brighton's

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ...

branch. He has also acted as vice president of the League Against Cruel Sports.David Selby, ''Earthkind: Teachers' Handbook on Humane Education'', Trentham Books, 1995, p. 19

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Honours

Bowden received an MBE (Order of the British Empire), MBE in 1961. He 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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

in 1994.

Personal life

Bowden married Benita Napier in 1970. He has a son and daughter. Bowden lives in

Ovingdean Ovingdean is a small, formerly agricultural, village in the east of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. Overview It was absorbed into the administrative borough of Brighton, East Sussex, England in 1928, and now forms part of the city of ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, and is a member of the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History T ...

. His recreations include birdwatching, chess and poker.

Bibliography

*''Dare We Trust Them - A New Vision for Europe'' (2005)

References

*''

Times Guide to the House of Commons ''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'' is a political reference guide book published by Times Newspapers giving coverage of general elections in the United Kingdom. Following most general elections since 1880, the book has been published. T ...

1997'' *''Who's Who 2007'' *''Paul Kelbie, The Independent (London), Jun 17, 2006'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowden, Andrew 1930 births Living people People educated at Ardingly College Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of Wandsworth Metropolitan Borough Council UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Knights Bachelor Members of the Order of the British Empire Politicians awarded knighthoods