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Westland Affair
The Westland affair in 1985–86 was an episode in which Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and her Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Heseltine, went public over a cabinet dispute with questions raised about whether the conventions of cabinet government were being observed and about the integrity of senior politicians. The argument was over the future of Westland Helicopters, Britain's last helicopter manufacturer, which was to be the subject of a rescue bid. The Defence Secretary, Heseltine, favoured a European solution, integrating Westland with a consortium including British Aerospace (BAe), Italian (Agusta) and French companies. Thatcher and Trade and Industry Secretary Leon Brittan, while ostensibly maintaining a neutral stance, wanted to see Westland merge with Sikorsky, an American company. Heseltine refused to accept Thatcher's choice and claimed that Thatcher had refused to allow a free ministerial discussion of the matter, even suggesting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by length of tenure, longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position. As prime minister, she implemented policies that came to be known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. Thatcher studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, and worked briefly as a research chemist before becoming a Barristers in England and Wales, barrister. She was List of MPs elected in the 1959 United Kingdom general election, elected Member of Parliament for Finchley (UK Parliament constituency), Finc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
John Cuckney, Baron Cuckney
John Graham Cuckney, Baron Cuckney (12 July 1925 – 30 October 2008) was a British industrialist, civil servant and peer. Early life and career Born in India to Air Vice-Marshal E. J. Cuckney and his wife Lilian, Cuckney was educated at Shrewsbury School. He read medicine at the University of St Andrews, returning after service with the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and the King's African Rifles during World War II to study history and economics. He was recruited by MI5, with whom he served until 1959. Cuckney's time in MI5 featured in Peter Wright's book ''Spycatcher'', where Wright described him as "a tough, no-nonsense" officer. Business and public service After leaving MI5, he worked in the City at stockbroking firm Standard Industrial Group, before joining merchant bank Lazard, where he became the first director to resign in over 100 years. He then established Anglo-Eastern Bank with Sir David Alliance, specialising in trade finance between Britain and the Middle East. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Robert Armstrong, Baron Armstrong Of Ilminster
Robert Temple Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Ilminster, (30 March 1927 – 3 April 2020) was a British civil servant and life peer. Early life and education Armstrong was born on 30 March 1927, the only son of the musician Sir Thomas H. W. Armstrong and his wife (married in 1926) Hester Muriel, daughter of Rev. W. H. Draper, at one time vicar of Adel, Leeds. He had one sister. Armstrong was educated at the Dragon School and then at Eton College, where he was a King's Scholar, following which he went up to Christ Church, Oxford, where he read Greats. Career In a long civil service career, Armstrong worked in several departments, including HM Treasury and the Home Office. From 1970 to 1975 he served as the Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Principal Private Secretary to Prime Ministers Edward Heath and Harold Wilson. He was knighted in 1978. From 1979 to 1987, he served as Cabinet Secretary (United Kingdom), Cabinet Secretary under Margaret ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Cabinet Secretary (United Kingdom)
The cabinet secretary is the most senior civil servant in the United Kingdom and is based in the Cabinet Office. The person in this role acts as the senior policy adviser to the prime minister and Cabinet, and as the secretary to the Cabinet is responsible to all ministers for the efficient running of government. The role is currently occupied by Sir Chris Wormald. Origin The position of cabinet secretary was created in 1916 for Sir Maurice Hankey, when the existing secretariat of the Committee of Imperial Defence, headed by Hankey, became secretariat to a newly organised War Cabinet. Responsibilities Civil Service Since 1981 (except for a period 2011–2014), the position of cabinet secretary has been combined with the role of Head of the Civil Service. The cabinet secretary used to also hold the position of the permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office, but this has been passed to the chief executive of the civil service. The first means that the cabinet secretary is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, (11 March 1932 – 3 April 2023) was a British politician and journalist. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament for Blaby in Leicestershire from 1974 to 1992, and served in Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet from 1981 to 1989. Prior to entering the Cabinet, he served as the Financial Secretary to the Treasury from May 1979 until his promotion to Secretary of State for Energy. He was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in June 1983 and served until his resignation in October 1989. In both Cabinet posts, Lawson was a key proponent of Thatcher's policies of privatisation of several key industries. Lawson was a backbencher from 1989 until he retired in 1992 and sat in the House of Lords from 1992 to his further retirement in 2022. He remained active in politics as the president of Conservatives for Britain, a campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, and was a prominent critic of the EU. He also served a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Geoffrey Howe
Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015), known from 1970 to 1992 as Sir Geoffrey Howe, was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to 1990. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Margaret Thatcher's longest-serving Cabinet minister, successively holding the posts of chancellor of the Exchequer, foreign secretary, and finally leader of the House of Commons, deputy prime minister and Lord President of the Council. His resignation on 1 November 1990 is widely considered to have precipitated the leadership challenge that led to Thatcher's resignation three weeks later. Born in Port Talbot, Wales, Howe was educated at Bridgend Preparatory School, Abberley Hall School, Winchester College, and – after serving in the army as a lieutenant – Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he read law. He was called to the bar in 1952 and practised in Wales, after whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
William Whitelaw
William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw (28 June 1918 – 1 July 1999) was a British Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary from 1979 to 1983 and as '' de facto'' Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1988. He was Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1991. After the Conservative Party won an unexpected victory at the 1970 general election, Whitelaw was appointed as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council by Prime Minister Edward Heath. After the suspension of the Stormont Parliament resulted in the imposition of direct rule, Whitelaw served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1972 to 1973. He also served under Heath as Secretary of State for Employment from 1973 to 1974 and as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1974 to 1975. Whitelaw served Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher throughout her leadership of the C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ad Hoc
''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances (compare with ''a priori and a posteriori, a priori''). Common examples include ad hoc committees and commissions created at the national or international level for a specific task, and the term is often used to describe arbitration (ad hoc arbitration). In other fields, the term could refer to a military unit created under special circumstances (see ''task force''), a handcrafted network protocol (e.g., ad hoc network), a temporary collaboration among geographically-linked franchise locations (of a given national brand) to issue advertising coupons, or a purpose-specific equation in mathematics or science. Ad hoc can also function as an adjective describing temporary, provisional, or improvised methods ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Peter Levene
Peter Keith Levene, Baron Levene of Portsoken (born 8 December 1941), is a British businessman who was the chairman of Lloyd's of London from 2003 to 2011 and served as Lord Mayor of London from 1998 to 1999. He was a member of the House of Lords from 1997 to 2024. Education He was educated at the City of London School and then studied at the University of Manchester where he graduated with a degree in Economics and Political Science. Life Lord Levene is chairman of Starr Underwriting Agents Limited. Previously, he served as chairman of the Lloyd's of London insurance and reinsurance market from 2002 to 2011, after having been vice chairman of Deutsche Bank. Prior to this, he held the position of chairman of Bankers Trust International and was formerly with both Morgan Stanley and Wasserstein Perella. He joined United Scientific Holdings in 1963, a small company which grew into a substantial supplier to UK and overseas Ministries of Defence. He eventually rose to the post ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellantis Europe. Fiat Automobiles was formed in January 2007 when Fiat S.p.A. reorganized its automobile business, and traces its history back to 1899, when the first Fiat automobile, the Fiat 4 HP, was produced. Fiat Automobiles is the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy. During its more than century-long history, it remained the largest automobile manufacturer in Europe and the third in the world after General Motors and Ford Motor Company, Ford for over 20 years, until the car industry crisis in the late 1980s. In 2013, Fiat S.p.A. was the second-largest European automaker by volumes produced and the Automotive industry, seventh in the world, while FCA was the world's eighth-largest automaker. In 1970, Fiat Automobiles employed more th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) was a West Germany, West German aerospace manufacturer. It was formed during the late 1960s as the result of efforts to consolidate the West German aerospace industry; aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG merged with the civil engineering and aviation firm Bölkow in 1968, while rival aircraft manufacturer Hamburger Flugzeugbau was acquired by the company in the following year. The company was responsible for the development and manufacture of various aircraft during its existence. Among its best-known products were the MBB Bo 105 light twin-engine helicopter and its enlarged derivative, the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117. MBB was also a key early partner on the Airbus A300, a wide-body twin-jet airliner; the company's involvement in the A300's development and production led to it forming a key component of the multinational Airbus consortium. It was also involved in numerous experimental aircraft programmes, such as the MBB Lampyridae, an aborted stealth a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Aérospatiale
Aérospatiale () was a major French state-owned aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as () through the merger of three established state-owned companies: Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation and Société d'étude et de réalisation d'engins balistiques, SEREB. The company was headquartered in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. During its existence, Aérospatiale was one of the world's largest aerospace companies. It was Europe's biggest general aeronautics manufacturer and its leading exporter in the industry. Its activities covered civilian and military airplanes and helicopters; launch vehicles and spacecraft; as well both strategic and tactical weapon systems, from intercontinental ballistic missiles to man-portable anti-tank guided missile systems. The company was also prominently involved in many high-profile multinational programmes such as the Concorde supersonic airliner, the Ariane (rocket family), Ariane series of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
