Francis Leslie Pym, Baron Pym, (13 February 1922 – 7 March 2008) was a British Conservative Party politician who served in various Cabinet positions in the 1970s and 1980s, including

Foreign Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

, Defence and

Northern Ireland Secretary The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (; ), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The offi ...

, and

Leader of the House of Commons The Leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The Leader is always a memb ...

. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

(

South East Cambridgeshire South East Cambridgeshire was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2015 to 2024 by Lucy Frazer, a member of the Conservative Party who has served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 20 ...

after 1983) from 1961 to 1987. Pym was made 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in 1987.

Early life

Pym was born at Penpergwm Lodge, near

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

. His father, Leslie Pym, was also an MP, while his grandfather, the Rt Revd Walter Pym, was Bishop of Bombay. He was not a direct descendant of the 17th-century parliamentarian

John Pym John Pym (20 May 1584 – 8 December 1643) was an English politician and administrator who played a major role in establishing what would become the modern Westminster system, English Parliamentary system. One of the Five Members whose attempte ...

as has been commonly held (see Pym's own published family history), but a

collateral descendant A lineal or direct descendant, in legal usage, is a blood relative in a person's direct line of descent – the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. In a legal procedure sense, lineal descent refers to the acquisition of estate b ...

. He was educated at Eton, before going on to

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

. For much of the Second World War, Pym served in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and regimental adjutant in the

9th Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, ...

. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

twice, awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

, and ended his military service as a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. Pym was a managing director and landowner before he went into politics.

Political career

Pym entered politics as a member of Herefordshire County Council in 1958. He contested Rhondda West without success in 1959 and entered Parliament in 1961 at a by-election as MP for

. He held the seat until 1983, and thereafter was MP for

until 1987. He was an opposition whip from 1964 and served under

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

as Government Chief Whip (1970–1973) and

(1973–1974), and

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 th ...

as Defence Secretary (1979–1981),

and

Lord President of the Council The Lord President of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lor ...

(1981–1982). He became foreign secretary during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

in 1982 following

Lord Carrington Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton (6 June 1919 – 9July 2018), was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secreta ...

's resignation, but was removed by Thatcher the following year after her second election victory. Pym was a leading member of the "

wets Wets and dries are British political terms that refer to opposing factions within the Conservative Party. The terms originated in the 1980s during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher: those who opposed some of Thatcher's more hard-line polic ...

", Conservative MPs sceptical of

Thatcherism Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character a ...

. During the 1983 general election campaign he said on the BBC's '' Question Time'' that "Landslides don't on the whole produce successful governments". This was publicly repudiated by Thatcher and he was sacked after the election. Shortly afterwards, he launched a

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

called Conservative Centre Forward to argue for more

centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...

, one-nation policies but with Thatcher at the height of her powers, it was unsuccessful. He stood down at the 1987 election and was created a

as Baron Pym (of

Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Sandy (surname), a list of people * Sandy (Iranian music band), Iranian singer, comp ...

in the County of Bedfordshire) on 9 October 1987. He was the author of , published in 1984 after he left the government. The book is a guide to the Wets' opposition to Thatcher's leadership style and politics. He was portrayed by

Jeremy Child Sir Coles John Jeremy Child, 3rd Baronet (20 September 1944 – 7 March 2022) was a British actor. Early life Coles John Jeremy Child was born on 20 September 1944 in Woking, Surrey, son of Foreign Office diplomat Sir Coles John Child, 2nd B ...

in the 2002 BBC production of Ian Curteis's '' The Falklands Play'', by

Julian Wadham Julian Neil Rohan Wadham (born 7 August 1958) is an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life The third son of Rohan Nicholas Wadham DFC and Juliana Wadham (''née'' Macdonald Walker), Wadham was educated at Ampleforth College ...

in the 2011 film '' The Iron Lady'' and by

Guy Siner Guy Domville Siner (born October 16, 1947) is an English-American actor best known for his role as Lieutenant Hubert Gruber in Allo 'Allo!'' and Dr. Mittenhand in '' Leprechaun 4: In Space''. Early life Guy Domville Siner was born in New Y ...

in the fourth series of ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

''.

Personal life

Pym died in Sandy,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, on 7 March 2008 after a prolonged illness, aged 86. He was survived by his wife, Valerie (1929–2017), whom he married on 25 June 1949, and their four children.

Arms

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* *
Obituary, ''The Guardian'', 7 March 2008Obituary, ''The Times'', 8 March 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pym, Francis 1922 births 2008 deaths 9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War II British people of the Falklands War British Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Conservative Party (UK) life peers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in Herefordshire Deputy lieutenants of Cambridgeshire Leaders of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Lord Presidents of the Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College People from Abergavenny Recipients of the Military Cross Secretaries of State for Defence (UK) Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 United Kingdom Paymasters General Welsh military personnel People from Sandy, Bedfordshire Life peers created by Elizabeth II