Chris Patten

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC (born 12 May 1944) is a prominent British Conservative politician and a Patron of the Tory Reform Group. Originally a Member of Parliament, he failed to win back his seat at a critical juncture in 1992 (when a Cabinet Minister and close to the Prime Minister of the day). Excluded from the House of Commons, he accepted the post of last Commander in Chief and British Governor of Hong Kong. After Hong Kong's handover to the People's Republic of China, Patten became the European Commissioner for foreign relations. After leaving that post, he returned to the UK and was raised to the Peerage. He is the Chancellor of Newcastle University, and Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

Contents 1 Early career 2 Governor of Hong Kong 3 Elder statesman 3.1 European Commissioner 3.2 University Roles 4 Personal life 5 Books 6 Reference 7 External links

[edit] Early career

A Roman Catholic of at least partial Irish extraction, Patten was educated at St Benedict's School at Ealing Abbey, and at Balliol College, Oxford. He worked in the Conservative Party from 1966, first as desk officer and then director (from 1974 to 1979) of the Conservative Research Department.

Patten was a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1992, serving as Minister for Overseas Development at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1986 to 1989. In 1989 he was appointed to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for the Environment and became responsible for the unpopular Poll Tax. Though he robustly defended the policy at the time, in his 2006 book Not Quite the Diplomat (published in the United States as Cousins and Strangers: America, Britain and Europe in the New Century) he claims to have thought it was a mistake on Margaret Thatcher's part.

In 1990, John Major made him Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chairman of the Conservative Party, with responsibility for organising the coming general election campaign. He lost his seat for Bath to the Liberal Democrat candidate, Don Foster, in 1992. Ironically, as party chairman he was widely considered to be the main architect of the somewhat unexpected Conservative victory in the 1992 election.

[edit] Governor of Hong Kong

Had Patten been re-elected in 1992, he might have been rewarded by appointment as Foreign Secretary^{[citation needed]}, although in his autobiography John Major claims he was planning to make him Chancellor. In the event, in July 1992, he became the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong until its handover to the People's Republic of China on 30 June 1997. He was given an official Chinese name, Pang Ting Hong/Peng Dingkang (彭定康), for his governorship, before which he was known in Hong Kong as "Pak Ten" (柏藤). Unlike most previous Hong Kong Governors, he was not a career bureaucrat from the UK Foreign Office but a politician. However, he was not the first politician to become a Governor of Hong Kong. That honour goes to John Bowring (Governor of Hong Kong 1854–1859) and John Pope Hennessy (Governor of Hong Kong 1877-1882), who was a Conservative MP before he entered Colonial Service.

Patten's most controversial actions related to the election of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. Legco members returned in 1995 were originally to serve beyond the handover, thereby providing institutional continuity across the reversion of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. Beijing had expected that the use of functional constituencies with limited electorates would be used to elect this council, however Patten extended the definition of functional constituencies and thus virtually every Hong Kong subject was able to vote for the so-called indirectly elected members (see Politics of Hong Kong) of the Legislative Council.

His measure was strongly objected to by the pro-Beijing political parties of Hong Kong, who suffered from the electoral changes, and he was criticized by the PRC government as an 'historic criminal/eternal sinner/sinner condemned for a thousand generations' (千古罪人). The legislative council which was elected under Patten's governorship was dissolved upon the handover of Hong Kong to the PRC and replaced by a Provisional Legislative Council which functioned until elections were held under the previous rules in 1998.

The institutional reform gained some support in Hong Kong, however, and it is believed in certain circles that the criticism from the PRC government raised his popularity to a level he never enjoyed in the UK. People in Hong Kong affectionately nicknamed him Fat Pang or Fei Peng (肥彭), making him the first and only governor to have a Chinese nickname.

He left Hong Kong on 1 July 1997 after the handover, together with The Prince of Wales, on board HM Yacht Britannia.

[edit] Elder statesman

In 1998, Queen Elizabeth II appointed him a Companion of Honour. From 1998 to 1999, he chaired the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, better known as the Patten Commission, which had been established in 1998 as part of the Belfast Agreement. On 9 September 1999, the Commission produced its report, entitled A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland but popularly known as the Patten Report, which contained 175 symbolic and practical recommendations. This report led to the re-naming of the Royal Ulster Constabulary as the Police Service of Northern Ireland. He is also the co-chair of International Crisis Group, overseeing many international operations.

[edit] European Commissioner

In 1999, he was appointed one of the United Kingdom's two members of the Commission of the European Communities, with responsibility for Foreign Relations. He held this position within the Prodi Commission from 23 January 2000 until 22 November 2004. Although nominated for the post of President in the next Commission in 2004, he was unable to gain support from France and Germany. Once an unwelcome figure in the Peoples' Republic of China, he was warmly greeted by Chinese officials in his European Union role.^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] University Roles

Patten was appointed Chancellor of Newcastle University in 1999, and elected Chancellor of the University of Oxford in 2003. In 2005 he was raised to the Peerage as Baron Patten of Barnes, of Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond. In September 2005 he was elected a Distinguished Honorary Fellow of Massey College in the University of Toronto (the only person so elected except for the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, the Duke of Edinburgh) as well as receiving an honorary Doctorate of Sacred Letters from the University of Trinity College, Toronto.

[edit] Personal life

Lord Patten of Barnes is married to Lavender, who is a barrister. They have three daughters — Kate, Laura, and Alice Patten; and two Norfolk terriers — Whisky and Soda.

On 29 September 2005, he published his memoirs, Not Quite the Diplomat: Home Truths About World Affairs.

[edit] Books

• Chris Patten (1983). The Tory Case. Longman Higher Education. ISBN 0-582-29612-9. 
• Chris Patten (1998). East and West : The Last Governor of Hong Kong on Power Freedom and the Future. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-74787-2. 
• Chris Patten (2005). Not Quite the Diplomat: Home Truths About World Affairs. Allen Lane. ISBN 0-7139-9855-5. 
• Chris Patten (2006). Cousins and Strangers: America, Britain, and Europe in a New Century. Times Books. ISBN 0-8050-7788-X. 

[edit] Reference

• Jonathan Dimbleby (1997). The Last Governor. ISBN 0-316-18583-3. 

[edit] External links

• The Chris Patten Archive – This website aims to archive all articles, speeches and material by or about Chris Patten.
• Chris Patten's profile on BBC News website
• Carnegie Council discussion on, Cousins and Strangers: America, Britain, and Europe in a New Century [http://www.cceia.org/resources/audio/data/000021 Audio [http://www.cceia.org/resources/video/data/000002 Video
• Chris Patten: Reflections on Hong Kong
• European Commissioner
• Patten Gets Peerage (BBC News Article)
• Still looking for trouble at (nearly) 60 — Jackie Ashley talks to Chris Patten
• chinadialogue

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir Edward Brown	Member of Parliament for Bath 1979–1992	Succeeded by Don Foster
Political offices
Preceded by Timothy Raison	Minister for Overseas Development 1986–1989	Succeeded by Lynda Chalker
Preceded by Nicholas Ridley	Secretary of State for the Environment 1989–1990	Succeeded by Michael Heseltine
Preceded by Kenneth Baker	Chairman of the Conservative Party 1990–1992	Succeeded by Sir Norman Fowler
Preceded by Kenneth Baker	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1990–1992	Succeeded by William Waldegrave
Preceded by David Wilson	Governor of Hong Kong 1992–1997	Succeeded by Post Abolished
Preceded by David Wilson	President of the Legislative Council 1992–1993	Succeeded by John Joseph Swaine