Nicholas Francis St Aubyn (born 19 November 1955) is 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Early life

St Aubyn is the younger son of the Hon. Piers St Aubyn MC by his marriage to Mary Bailey-Southwell, and a grandson of

Baron St Levan Baron St Levan, of St Michael's Mount in the County of Cornwall, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 4 July 1887 for the former Member of Parliament Sir John St Aubyn, 2nd Baronet, becoming John St Aubyn, 1st B ...

. He went to

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, where he was a member of the

Oxford University Liberal Club The Oxford University Liberal Club (OULC) was a student political club at the University of Oxford from 1913 to 1987. Initially formed from clubs called the Russell Club and the Palmerston Club, in its early years it also occupied premises in Oxfor ...

and in the aftermath of the 1975 referendum on UK EEC-membership, President of the

Young European Federalists Young European Federalists (french: Jeunes Européens Fédéralistes, JEF) is a political youth organisation. Active in most European countries, it seeks to promote European integration through the strengthening and democratisation of the Euro ...

. He was awarded a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(BA) degree in PPE in 1977; the BA was later promoted to a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA Oxon) degree. Before Oxford, he lived and worked in Soweto, South Africa, through a placement with the Project Trust. He worked as a Loan Officer for Morgan Guaranty Trust from 1977 to 1981. He was the head of the London office of Morgan Futures from 1981 to 1984, then the head of the Sterling and Arbitrage Swaps Desk from 1984 to 1986. He was Vice President of

Kleinwort Benson Kleinwort Benson was a leading investment bank that offered a wide range of financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Two families, the Kleinworts and the Bensons, founded two different merchant banks in ...

Cross Finance from 1986 to 1987. He worked for

American International Group American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...

's Financial Products Division from 1987 to 1989. From 1989 to 1993, he was Chairman of Gemini Ltd. From 1993 to 1997, he was Chairman of Fitzroy Joinery Ltd in Plymouth.

Political career

From 1982 to 1986, St Aubyn was a Conservative councillor on

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

, representing Little Venice ward. He then fought the Truro by-election in March 1987 following the death of

David Penhaligon David Charles Penhaligon (6 June 1944 – 22 December 1986) was a British politician from Cornwall who was Liberal Member of Parliament for the constituency of Truro from 1974–86. He was a popular figure in all parties and had potential to ...

, when Matthew Taylor comfortably held the seat for the Liberals. He stood again in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

at the 1987 general election, more than halving the Liberal majority, but slipped back at the 1992 general election. Following the retirement of long-serving Conservative MP and former minister David Howell, St Aubyn was selected as Conservative candidate for Guildford in preparation for the 1997 general election. Withstanding the national landslide against his party, he held the seat with a reduced majority over the Liberal Democrats, but at the 2001 election he narrowly lost the seat to the Liberal Democrat

Sue Doughty Susan Kathleen Doughty (née Powell; born 13 April 1948) is a politician in the United Kingdom. She was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Guildford from 2001 to 2005. Early life Doughty was born on 13 April 1948. She was brought u ...

. While in parliament, he served on the

Education Select Committee The Education Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Education and any asso ...

and was Parliamentary Private Secretary to

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as '' Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Jour ...

. He did not contest the 2005 election, when

Anne Milton Anne Frances Milton ('' née'' Turner; born 3 November 1955) is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Skills and Apprenticeships from 2017 to 2019. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Guildford from 2005 to 2019. Elected ...

narrowly retook the seat for the Conservatives.

Personal life

St Aubyn married Jane Brooks on 26 April 1980 and they have two sons (Henry and Edward) and three daughters (Kitty, Alice and Camilla). His older brother inherited the title Lord St Levan from their uncle the 4th Baron St Levan.

Books

*Nick St Aubyn, ''Custom of the County'' (2010)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:St Aubyn, Nick 1955 births Living people People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1997–2001 Politics of Guildford Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Guildford Conservative Party (UK) councillors Councillors in the City of Westminster