Jonathan Hopkin Hill, Baron Hill of Oareford, (born 24 July 1960) is a British Conservative politician and former

European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union The European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union is the member of the European Commission responsible for banking and finance. The current officeholder is Mairead McGuinness. Responsibilities Th ...

. Hill was

Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the majority party in the House of Lords who acts as ...

and

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...

from 2013 to 2014. Prior to that, he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools from 2010 to 2013 in the Conservative-Lib Dem Government. Hill, a former political lobbyist and PR consultant, was special adviser to Cabinet Minister

Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...

and an adviser to the Conservative Prime Minister

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 Hunting ...

before being appointed a Government Minister in 2010. Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

put Hill's name forward, on 15 July 2014, to be the next British EU Commissioner, upon which Lord Hill resigned from the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

. On 10 September 2014, President Juncker appointed Hill as the European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union. He took office as Britain's representative in the

Juncker Commission The Juncker Commission was the European Commission in office from 1 November 2014 to 30 November 2019. Its president was Jean-Claude Juncker, who presided over 27 other commissioners (one from each of the states composing the European Union, exc ...

on 1 November 2014 but announced his resignation on 25 June 2016 following the

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

in the UK to leave the EU, leaving office on 15 July.

Early life and education

Jonathan Hill was born in Cockfosters, London, on 24 July 1960, the youngest child of Rowland Louis Hill and Paddy Marguerite ''née'' Henwood. He was educated at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgat ...

, then an independent all-boys school in Highgate village,

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

, before going to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he read History, graduating with the degree of Master of Arts (MA).

Career

Hill worked in the

Conservative Research Department The Conservative Research Department (CRD) is part of the central organisation of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. It operates alongside other departments of Conservative Campaign Headquarters in Westminster. The CRD has been desc ...

(1985–86), before becoming a Special Adviser to

at the

Department of Employment The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment. In 2001 the employment functions w ...

, Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Health until 1989. After working for Lowe Bell Communications (1989–91), he joined the

Number 10 Policy Unit The Number 10 Policy Unit is a body of policymakers based in 10 Downing Street, providing policy advice directly to the British Prime Minister. Originally set up to support Harold Wilson in 1974, it has gone through a series of guises to suit the ...

(1991–92) and served as Political Secretary to PM

and

Head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals ...

of the Prime Minister's Political Office (1992–94) during the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...

negotiations. He was appointed CBE in the 1995

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

List. Subsequently, Hill worked at

Bell Pottinger Bell Pottinger Private (legally BPP Communications Ltd.) was a British multinational public relations, reputation management and marketing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. On 12 September 2017 it went into administration (bankr ...

from 1994 until 1998 as a senior consultant, before leaving to become a founding director of

Quiller Consultants Quiller Consultants is a British lobbying and public relations firm based in Westminster in central London that has close links to the Conservative party. The company was formed in 1998 by John Eisenhammer, a former journalist with ''The Indepen ...

On 27 May 2010, he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Hill of Oareford, of Oareford, in the County of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, and was introduced to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

on the same day, taking office as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister ...

for Schools in the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Departme ...

. There are reports (contradicted by Hill) that in July 2012, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to resign as a Minister. Lord Hill succeeded Lord Strathclyde as

and Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords in January 2013, and was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

Nomination to EU Commission

In July 2014, Prime Minister

nominated Lord Hill to be UK

European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...

under

Jean-Claude Juncker Jean-Claude Juncker (; born 9 December 1954) is a Luxembourgish politician who served as the 21st Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and 12th President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. He also served as Finance Minister ...

, President-elect of the European Commission, aiming for a "top economic portfolio". Cameron's nomination, rather than that of a better-known British politician, was regarded as controversial at that time since Hill had allegedly expressed initial reluctance to serve in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

; two former Conservative Party leaders,

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posit ...

and

William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, had both reportedly turned down this opportunity and it appeared David Cameron was keen to avoid triggering a potentially difficult by-election by nominating any other sitting Conservative MP. Juncker stated after his election that female and high-profile candidates would be among his preferred choices, prompting speculation by some that Cameron's nomination – of a virtually unknown male in European political circles, despite his competence – to be a protest against Juncker whose election he had opposed. On 10 September 2014 Lord Hill was announced as

EU Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...

-designate for the Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union portfolio in the forthcoming Juncker Commission. This newly created Directorate-General is tasked with assimilating existing EU expertise as well as responsibility for ensuring that the European Commission remains vigilant over the banking and financial sectors and remains pro-active in implementing new supervisory and regulatory rules accordingly, save overseeing pay in the financial sector where Lord Hill and Elżbieta Bieńkowska will share joint responsibility. He was one of four appointees who allegedly "struggled to impress" at their initial confirmation hearings before the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

, and was required to appear for a second hearing — leading some hostile

MEPs A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, it ...

to start speculating that his appointment could be revoked in a reshuffle. With some "diplomatic smoothing of the way by Juncker", Hill it is said "managed" to give satisfactory answers as to the UK's position regarding

European banking union The banking union of the European Union is the transfer of responsibility for banking policy from the national to the EU level in several EU member states, initiated in 2012 as a response to the Eurozone crisis. The motivation for banking union w ...

. Lord Hill secured the endorsement of sceptical

at his second EU hearing in Brussels. Lord Hill announced his resignation from his post of European Commissioner on 25 June 2016, to take effect on 15 July 2016, following the result of the referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union.

Personal life

In 1988 Hill married Alexandra Jane, daughter of

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

John Nettelfield , a British Army officer who served with distinction in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

; Lord and Lady Hill have a son and two daughters. He holds shareholdings in

Huntsworth Huntsworth is an international healthcare and communications group. The Group's principal area of focus is health, which provides marketing and medical communications services to healthcare clients, which are primarily large and mid-size pharmac ...

plc, an international public relations company. In January 2013, ''The Independent'' stated he reportedly held at least £50,000+ worth of shares in the company which bought Quiller in 2006 for £5.9m, headed by Conservative parliamentarian

Lord Chadlington Peter Selwyn Gummer, Baron Chadlington FCIPR FIoD FCinstM FRSA (born 24 August 1942) is an English businessman. He is currently President of the Witney Conservative constituency association, and is a PR adviser, long-standing supporter and d ...

Bibliography

*''Too Close to Call: John Major, Power and Politics in No.10''; by Sarah Hogg & Jonathan Hill, ''Little Brown'' (1995),

Honours

Life Peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Hill of Oareford, of Oareford, in the County of Somerset (''created'' 27 May 2010) * Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon

CBE (1995)

References

External links

Debrett's People of Today

www.dodspeople.com

www.elections2014.eu
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Jonathan 1960 births Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British businesspeople British European Commissioners British public relations people British special advisers Department for Education Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) life peers Leaders of the House of Lords Living people Members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Highgate School Politicians from London European Commissioners 2014–2019 Life peers created by Elizabeth II