Christopher Murray Jackson (24 May 1935 – 13 December 2019) was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician who served as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) from 1979 to 1994. After a National Service Commission in the RAF as a pilot, Jackson read physics at

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, of which he was an Open Exhibitioner. Whilst there he founded the Magnates Club which eventually became the Oxford University Guild Society. He then trained in management with

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

, becoming a senior manager of the Group in 1967. Jackson contested East Ham South as a Conservative in the 1970 General Election and Northampton North in 1974. He was Director of Corporate Development of the Spillers Group from 1974 to 1979. Jackson was elected as the Member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

for Kent East from

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

(the first European Parliament Elections) to

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, he served as Conservative Spokesman on Development Policy; Agriculture; Economic Affairs and Foreign Affairs. In 1984 he proposed the inclusion of

subsidiarity Subsidiarity is a principle of social organization that holds that social and political issues should be dealt with at the most immediate or local level that is consistent with their resolution. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines subsid ...

in the Draft

Treaty on European Union The Treaty on the European Union (2007) is one of the primary Treaties of the European Union, alongside the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TEU forms the basis of EU law, by setting out general principles of the EU's ...

and led a European Parliament delegation, including

Altiero Spinelli Altiero Spinelli (31 August 1907 – 23 May 1986) was an Italian politician, political theorist and European federalist, referred to as one of the founding fathers of the European Union. A communist and militant anti-fascist in his youth, Spi ...

to the UK for discussions on the Draft Treaty with the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal parties, the CBI and the TUC. He was a Member of the ACP-

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

Joint Assembly of which he was Rapporteur-General in 1985. He became Deputy Leader of Conservative MEPs in 1989, remaining in that position until 1991, and Co-President of the EP Working Group on Population and Development. From 1995 to 2002 he was Chairman of CJA Consultants Ltd and from 1997 to 2003 Chairman of Natural Resources International Ltd. He left the Conservative Party in 1999 and rejoined in 2007. He was a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (

Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...

) and of the Athenaeum Club. Jackson was also the Chairman of Governors of Bethany School,

Goudhurst Goudhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. It lies in the Weald, around south of Maidstone, on the crossroads of the A262 and B2079. The parish consists of three wards: Goudhurst, Kilndown a ...

from 1999. He died on 13 December 2019, at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Christopher 1935 births 2019 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1979–1984 MEPs for England 1984–1989 MEPs for England 1989–1994 Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Royal Air Force officers Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Chatham House people