Heseltine, Michael Ray Dibdin 1933-
English Conservative politician

Born in Swansea, South Wales, and educated at Shrewsbury School and at Pembroke College, Oxford, after national service he established a successful publishing business, Haymarket Press, before entering the House of Commons in 1966, as MP for Tavistock, and, from 1974, Henley-on-Thames. After holding junior posts under Edward Heath, he joined Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet in 1979 as Secretary of State for the Environment and was made Defence Secretary in 1983. He resigned dramatically in 1986, claiming that he had been calumnied over the Westland Affair which involved the sale of the British helicopter manufacturer, Westland, to a US rather than a European company. Always popular at party conferences, he has long been seen as a potential Conservative leader, but was unsuccessful in the leadership contest which led to Margaret Thatcher's resignation in 1990. He returned to the Cabinet under John Major and again became Secretary of State for the Environment (1990-92), when he presided over the reform of the poll tax and the plans to replace it with a council tax. As President of the Board of Trade (1992-95) he announced the closure of 31 coal mines in 1992, and came under heavy public and political pressure to modify these cutbacks. First Secretary of State and deputy Prime Minister from 1995 to 1997, when the Conservatives were defeated in the general election, he declined to run in the ensuing leadership contest for health reasons. He was appointed Companion of Honour in 1997. His publications include The Challenge of Europe (1989).

Bibliography: Michael Crick, Michael Heseltine: A Life (1997)