John Haggitt Charles Patten, Baron Patten, (born 17 July 1945) is a British politician. He was formerly

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament for

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 ...

and subsequently for

Oxford West and Abingdon Oxford West and Abingdon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Layla Moran, a Liberal Democrat. Constituency profile The constituency includes the town of Abingdon, and the central, wester ...

Early life

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, he was educated by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Wimbledon College Wimbledon College is a government-maintained, voluntary-aided, Jesuit Catholic secondary school and sixth form for boys aged 11 to 19 in Wimbledon, London. The college was founded in 1892 "for improvement in living and learning for the greate ...

before graduating from

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

. Patten then moved to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, working as a Geography Fellow, and taught political geography to former UK Prime Minister

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

while she was a student at

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a ...

Parliamentary career

He was first elected for

in 1979, transferring to

in 1983 after boundary changes divided the seat. He stood down at the 1997 general election. The seat was subsequently won by the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

Evan Harris Evan Leslie Harris (born 21 October 1965) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Oxford West and Abingdon from 1997 to 2010, losing his seat in the 2010 general election by 176 votes to Conservati ...

. Patten was offered the role of

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 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 ...

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 ...

, but refused. Patten served as

Secretary of State for Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

from 1992 to 1994. He was interviewed at some length by Brian Sherratt in 1994 regarding his role as Secretary of State. While he was Education Secretary, Patten described Birmingham education chief

Tim Brighouse Sir Timothy Robert Peter Brighouse (15 January 1940 – 15 December 2023) was a British educator. He was the Schools Commissioner for London between 2002 and 2007, where he led the London Challenge. Early life and career Brighouse was born in L ...

as "a madman ... wandering the streets, frightening the children." Brighouse sued, and won substantial damages which were donated to educational charities.

House of Lords

Patten 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as ''Baron Patten of

Wincanton Wincanton ( or ) is a town and electoral ward in Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. In the 2021 census the civil parish had a populatio ...

in the County of

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

'' on 17 June 1997. In 2013, Patten voted against the

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (c. 30) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which introduced same-sex marriage in England and Wales. Background Civil partnerships were Civil partnership in the United Kingdom, introduce ...

Family

He is married to the businesswoman

Louise Patten Louise Alexandra Virginia Charlotte Patten, Baroness Patten (born 2 February 1954) is a British businesswoman and author, who is the wife of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician John Patten, Baron Patten, John Patten and the grandd ...

, whom he taught at

, and they have one daughter, Mary-Claire, married to Daniel Lloyd Johnson of Essex.Louise Patten
, ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'', 27 August 2009

Other work

He was on the governing body of

Abingdon School Abingdon School is an independent day and boarding school in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It is the List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, twentieth oldest Independent School (UK), independent British school. In May 202 ...

from 1983 to 1986. He has been a senior advisor to

Charterhouse Capital Partners Charterhouse Capital Partners is a London based private equity investment firm focused on investing in European mid-market companies valued between €200m and €1.5bn. The company targets investments across the services, healthcare, specialis ...

since 2001.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Patten, John Patten, Baron 1945 births Living people People educated at Wimbledon College Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge English Roman Catholics British Secretaries of State for Education Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) life peers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Northern Ireland Office junior ministers Governors of Abingdon School Life peers created by Elizabeth II