Jonathan Hill, Baron Hill of Oareford
Jonathan Hopkin Hill, Baron Hill of Oareford CBE PC (born 24 July 1960) is a British Conservative politician who, as of 1 November 2014, serves as a European Commissioner. Hill was Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 2013 to 2014. Prior to that, he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools from 2010 to 2013 in the Conservative-Lib Dem Government.
Hill, a former political lobbyist and PR consultant, was special adviser to Cabinet Minister Kenneth Clarke and an adviser to the Conservative Prime Minister John Major before being appointed a Government Minister in 2010. Prime Minister David Cameron put Hill's name forward, on 15 July 2014, to be the next British EU Commissioner, upon which Lord Hill resigned from the Cabinet. On 10 September 2014, President Juncker appointed Hill to a finance portfolio. He took office as Britain's representative in the Juncker Commission on 1 November 2014.
Contents
Early life and education
Jonathan Hill was born in Highgate, London on 24 July 1960, the second son of Rowland Louis Hill and Paddy Marguerite née Henwood.[1][2]
He was educated at Highgate School, then an independent all-boys school in Highgate village,[3] North London, before going to Trinity College, Cambridge where he read History, graduating with the degree of Master of Arts (MA).
Career
Hill worked in the Conservative Research Department (1985–86), before becoming a Special Adviser to Kenneth Clarke at the Department of Employment, Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Health until 1989. After working for Lowe Bell Communications (1989–91), he joined the Number 10 Policy Unit (1991–92) and served as Political Secretary to PM John Major and Head of the Prime Minister's Political Office (1992–94) during the Maastricht Treaty negotiations.[4] He was appointed CBE in the 1995 New Year Honours List.[5]
Subsequently, Hill worked at Bell Pottinger Group from 1994 until 1998 as a senior consultant, before leaving to become a founding director of Quiller Consultants.[6]
On 27 May 2010, he was created a Life Peer as Baron Hill of Oareford, of Oareford, in the County of Somerset,[7] and was introduced to the House of Lords on the same day, taking office as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools in the Department for Education.[8] There are reports (contradicted by Hill) that in July 2012, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to resign as a Minister.[9][10]
Lord Hill succeeded Lord Strathclyde as Leader of the House of Lords, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords in January 2013,[11] and was sworn of the Privy Council.
Nomination to EU Commission
In July 2014, Prime Minister David Cameron nominated Lord Hill to be UK European Commissioner under Jean-Claude Juncker, President-elect of the European Commission, aiming for a "top economic portfolio".[12] Cameron's nomination, rather than that of a better-known British politician, was regarded as controversial at that time since Hill had allegedly expressed initial reluctance to serve in Brussels; two former Conservative Party leaders, Michael Howard and William Hague, had both reportedly turned down this opportunity and it appeared David Cameron was keen to avoid triggering a potentially difficult by-election by nominating any other sitting Conservative MP.[13] Juncker stated after his election that female and high-profile candidates would be among his preferred choices,[14] prompting speculation by some that Cameron's nomination – of a virtually unknown male in European political circles, despite his competence – to be a protest against Juncker whose election he had opposed.[15]
On 10 September 2014 Lord Hill was announced as EU Commissioner-designate for the Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union portfolio in the forthcoming Juncker Commission. This newly created Directorate-General is tasked with assimilating existing EU expertise as well as responsibility for ensuring that the European Commission remains vigilant over the banking and financial sectors and remains pro-active in implementing new supervisory and regulatory rules accordingly,[16] save overseeing pay in the financial sector where Lord Hill and Elżbieta Bieńkowska will share joint responsibility.[17] He was one of four appointees who allegedly "struggled to impress" at their initial confirmation hearings before the European Parliament,[18] and was required to appear for a second hearing[19] — leading some hostile MEPs to start speculating that his appointment could be revoked in a reshuffle.[20] With some "diplomatic smoothing of the way by Juncker", Hill it is said "managed" to give satisfactory answers as to the UK's position regarding European banking union ,[21] together with a questionnaire on behalf of the UK Government as requested.[22][23]
Lord Hill secured the endorsement of sceptical MEPs at his second EU hearing in Brussels.[24]
Personal life
In 1988 Hill married Alexandra Jane,[25] daughter of Major John Nettelfield MC , a British Army officer who served with distinction in the Royal Artillery during World War II;[26] Lord and Lady Hill have a son and two daughters.
He holds shareholdings in Huntsworth plc, an international public relations company.[27][28] In January 2013, The Independent stated he reportedly held at least £50,000+ worth of shares in the company which bought Quiller in 2006 for £5.9m,[29] headed by Conservative parliamentarian Lord Chadlington.
Bibliography
- Too Close to Call: John Major, Power and Politics in No.10; by Sarah Hogg & Jonathan Hill, Little Brown (1995), ISBN 0-316-87716-6
Honours and styles of address
Honours
Life Peer as Baron Hill of Oareford, of Oareford, in the County of Somerset (created 27 May 2010)
CBE (1995).
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Styles of address
- 1960-1995: Mr Jonathan H. Hill
- 1995-2010: Mr Jonathan H. Hill CBE
- 2010-2013: The Right Honourable The Lord Hill of Oareford CBE
- 2013-: The Right Honourable The Lord Hill of Oareford CBE PC
See also
References
- ↑ www.freebmd.org.uk
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ www.highgatesociety.com
- ↑ www.bbc.co.uk
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 53893. p. 9. 31 December 1994.
- ↑ www.quillerconsultants.com
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 59436. p. 10157. 27 May 2010.
- ↑ www.publications.parliament.uk
- ↑ Independent
- ↑ Ross Hawkins (BBC)
- ↑ BBC: Lord Strathclyde resigns from Cabinet
- ↑ BBC: Lord Hill set to become UK's new EU Commissioner
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ www.dodsmonitoring.com
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ www.europa.eu
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ BBC: Lord Hill set to become UK's new EU Commissioner
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ www.reuters.com
- ↑ www.nytimes.com
- ↑ www.thepeerage.com
- ↑ London Gazette, Issue 37961
- ↑ www.theguardian.com
- ↑ www.parliament.uk
- ↑ www.independent.co.uk
External links
- Debrett's People of Today
- www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk
- www.dodspeople.com
- www.ec.europa.eu
- www.elections2014.eu
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | .svg){kind=small} Leader of the House of Lords 2013–2014 |
Succeeded by The Baroness Stowell of Beeston |
 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 2013–2014 |
Succeeded by Oliver Letwin |
|
| Preceded by |  British European Commissioner 2014–present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by as European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services | European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union 2014–present |
|
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords 2013–2014 |
Succeeded by The Baroness Stowell of Beeston |
- EngvarB from September 2014
- Use dmy dates from September 2014
- Pages with broken file links
- 1960 births
- Living people
- People from London
- People educated at Highgate School
- Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
- British businesspeople
- British European Commissioners
- British public relations people
- British special advisers
- Department for Education
- Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Conservative Party (UK) life peers
- Conservative Party (UK) politicians
- Leaders of the House of Lords
- Members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
