Patrick Mayhew

The Right Honourable The Lord Mayhew of Twysden PC
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office 10 April 1992 – 2 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Peter Brooke
Succeeded by	Mo Mowlam
Attorney General for England and Wales Attorney General for Northern Ireland
In office 13 June 1987 – 10 April 1992
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher John Major
Preceded by	Michael Havers
Succeeded by	Sir Nicholas Lyell
Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office 13 June 1983 – 13 June 1987
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Ian Percival
Succeeded by	Sir Nicholas Lyell
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment
In office 4 May 1979 – 5 January 1981
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	John Grant
Succeeded by	David Waddington
Member of Parliament for Tunbridge Wells
In office 28 February 1974 – 2 May 1997
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Archie Norman
Personal details
Born	(1929-09-11) 11 September 1929
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford Middle Temple

Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew, Baron Mayhew of Twysden, PC, Kt. (born 11 September 1929), is a British barrister and Conservative politician.

Early life

Tonbridge School

Through his father, Mayhew descends from the Victorian social commentator Henry Mayhew. Mayhew's mother was a Roche and a relative of Lord Fermoy. Mayhew was educated at Tonbridge School and Balliol College, Oxford. He was called to the Bar from the Middle Temple in 1955.

Career

Mayhew contested Dulwich in 1970, but the incumbent Labour member, Sam Silkin, beat him by 895 votes. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tunbridge Wells constituency from its creation at the February 1974 general election, standing down at the 1997 election.

He was Under-Secretary for Employment from 1979-81, then Minister of State at the Home Office from 1981 to 1983. After this he served as Solicitor General for England and Wales from 1983-87, and then Attorney General for England and Wales and simultaneously Attorney General for Northern Ireland from 1987-92. He was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1992-97, the longest anyone has served in this office.

Honours and awards

Mayhew was knighted in 1983. On 12 June 1997, he was given a life peerage as Baron Mayhew of Twysden, of Kilndown in the County of Kent. He retired from the House of Lords on 1 June 2015.

Personal life

Mayhew's son The Hon. Henry Mayhew appeared in the fourth episode of the series "The Secret History Of Our Streets," discussing life in the Portland Road, Notting Hill, London.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Patrick Mayhew

Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Tunbridge Wells 1974–1997	Succeeded by Archie Norman
Political offices
Preceded by Ian Percival	Solicitor General for England and Wales 1983–1987	Succeeded by Sir Nicholas Lyell
Preceded by Michael Havers	Attorney General for England and Wales 1987–1992
	Attorney General for Northern Ireland 1987–1992
Preceded by Peter Brooke	Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1992–1997	Succeeded by Mo Mowlam