John Wakeham, Baron Wakeham, (born 22 June 1932) is a British businessman and Conservative Party politician. He was chancellor of Brunel University between 1998 and 2012, and since then has been its chancellor emeritus.
Wakeham was a director of Enron from 1994 until its bankruptcy in 2001.
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Early life and education
Wakeham was educated at two independent schools in Surrey: Aldro School in Shackleford, and Charterhouse near Godalming. He became a successful accountant and later a businessman.
Political career
Wakeham stood unsuccessfully in Coventry East in 1966 and in Putney in 1970 before his election to the House of Commons at the February 1974 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Maldon in Essex. He became a minister following Margaret Thatcher's victory in 1979.
During the late 1980s he served as Leader of the House of Commons, in which capacity he was responsible for the televising of Parliament, and as Energy Secretary (1989–92), where he drew up plans for the privatisation of electricity supply. Following a recommendation by John Major, he was created a life peer on 29 April 1992 taking the title Baron Wakeham, of Maldon in the County of Essex, serving as the Leader of the House of Lords until 1994.
Wakeham became chairman of the Press Complaints Commission in 1995, retiring in 2001. In 1997 he was appointed a Deputy lieutenant of Hampshire. Tony Blair appointed him in 1999 to head a Royal commission on reform of the House of Lords – the resulting Wakeham Report suggested a mainly-appointed Lords be maintained, with a small elected component.
Personal life
His first wife, Roberta, was killed in the Brighton hotel bombing in October 1984 and he was trapped in rubble for seven hours, suffering serious crush injuries to his legs. The couple had two children. Wakeham married his secretary, Alison Ward MBE, in 1985 and they have a son of their own. Before being Wakeham's secretary, Ward had been Margaret Thatcher's secretary.