Francis Pym

Infobox Minister
honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable

name = Francis Pym

honorific-suffix = The Baron Pym, MC, PC


imagesize = 125px
office = Foreign Secretary
term_start = 6 April 1982
term_end = 11 June 1983
primeminister = Margaret Thatcher
predecessor = The Lord Carrington
successor = Sir Geoffrey Howe
office2 = Lord President of the Council
term_start2 = 14 September 1981
term_end2 = 6 April 1982
primeminister2 = Margaret Thatcher
predecessor2 = The Lord Soames
successor2 = John Biffen
office3 = Leader of the House of Commons
term_start3 = 5 January 1981
term_end3 = 6 April 1982
primeminister3 = Margaret Thatcher
predecessor3 = Norman St. John-Stevas
successor3 = John Biffen
office4 = Paymaster-General
and
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
term_start4 = 5 January
term_end4 = 14 September 1981
primeminister4 = Margaret Thatcher
predecessor4 = Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster: Norman St. John-Stevas
Paymaster-General: Angus Maude
successor4 = Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster: The Lady Young
Paymaster-General: Cecil Parkinson
office5 = Secretary of State for Defence
term_start5 = 4 May 1979
term_end5 = 5 January 1981
primeminister5 = Margaret Thatcher
predecessor5 = Frederick Mulley
successor5 = John Nott
office6 = Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
term_start6 = 2 December 1973
term_end6 = 4 March 1974
primeminister6 = Edward Heath
predecessor6 = William Whitelaw
successor6 = Merlyn Rees
office7 = Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
and
Government Chief whip in the House of Commons
term_start7 = 20 June 1970
term_end7 = 2 December 1973
primeminister7 = Edward Heath
deputy7 = Humphrey Atkins
Treasurer of the Household
predecessor7 = Bob Mellish
successor7 = Humphrey Atkins
birth_date = birth date|1922|02|13|df=y
birth_place = Penpergwm, Monmouthshire
death_date = death date and age|2008|03|7|1922|02|13|df=y
death_place =
nationality = British
party = Conservative
spouse =
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Eton College
Magdalene College, Cambridge
occupation =
profession =
net worth =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Francis Leslie Pym, Baron Pym MC, PC (13 February 1922 – 7 March 2008) was a British Conservative Party politician who, during his political career, held several Cabinet positions.

He was born at Penpergwm Lodge, near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, and was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge. For much of World War II he served in North Africa and Italy as a Captain and regimental adjutant in the 9th Lancers and he was awarded the Military Cross; he ended his military service as a Major.

He was a managing director and landowner, and became a Councillor on Herefordshire County Council.

Political career

Pym contested Rhondda West without success in 1959 and entered Parliament in 1961 at a by-election as Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire. He held the seat until 1983, and was MP for Cambridgeshire South East 1983–1987.

Pym was an Opposition whip from 1964 and served under Edward Heath as Government Chief Whip (1970–1973) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1973–1974), and Margaret Thatcher as Defence Secretary (1979–1981), Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council (1981–1982). He took up the role of Tory foreign secretary during the Falklands War in 1982 following Lord Carrington's resignation, but was removed from this role by Margaret Thatcher in 1983 after her second election victory (see also Conservative Government 1979-1997).

He was regarded as a leading member of the Wets during the Thatcher administration. During the 1983 general election campaign he stated on the BBC's "Question Time" programme that he thought that "Landslides don't on the whole produce successful governments". [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk_politics/04/thatchers_government/html/pym.stm BBC News. Thatcher's Class of '79] ] This was publicly repudiated by his party leader Margaret Thatcher.

Shortly afterwards, he launched a new pressure group called Conservative Centre Forward specifically to argue for more centrist, One Nation policies. But with Mrs Thatcher now at the height of her powers, it was unsuccessful.

He stood down at the 1987 election and was created a life peer as Baron Pym, of Sandy in the County of Bedfordshire. Pym was not a descendant of the 17th century Parliamentarian John Pym as has been commonly held. See Pym's own published family history. His father, Leslie Pym, was also a Member of Parliament; his grandfather, Rt. Rev. Walter Pym, was Bishop of Bombay.

He died on 7 March 2008 after a prolonged illness, aged 86. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7283708.stm BBC News. Former Foreign Secretary Pym Dies] ]

In popular culture

Pym was the touchstone for the role of Chief Whip played by Peter Cartwright in the 1987-88 BBC TV sit-com "Yes, Prime Minister".

Pym was portrayed by Jeremy Child in the 2002 BBC production of Ian Curteis's controversial "The Falklands Play".

References

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/mar/07/3 Obituary, "The Guardian", 7 March 2008]
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3506470.ece Obituary, "The Times", 8 March 2008]
* [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lord-pym-leading-wet-in-thatchers-first-cabinet-who-became-foreign-secretary-during-the-falklands-war-793176.html Obituary, "The Independent", 8 March 2008]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2008/03/07/db0704.xml Obituary, "The Daily Telegraph", 8 March 2008]

succession box
title = Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire
years = 1961–1983
before = Gerald Howard
after = "(constituency abolished)"succession box
title = Member of Parliament for South East Cambridgeshire
years = 1983–1987
before = "(new constituency)"
after = James Paice
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