18 Facts About Francis Pym

Francis Pym was Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire from 1961 to 1987.

Francis Pym's father, Leslie Pym, was an MP, while his grandfather, the Rt Revd Walter Pym, was Bishop of Bombay.

Francis Pym was not a direct descendant of the 17th-century parliamentarian John Pym as has been commonly held, but a collateral descendant.

Francis Pym was educated at Eton, before going on to Magdalene College, Cambridge.

For much of the Second World War, Francis Pym served in North Africa and Italy as a captain and regimental adjutant in the 9th Lancers.

Francis Pym was mentioned in despatches twice, awarded the Military Cross, and ended his military service as a major.

Francis Pym was a managing director and landowner before he went into politics.

Francis Pym entered politics as a member of Herefordshire County Council in 1958.

Francis Pym contested Rhondda West without success in 1959 and entered Parliament in 1961 at a by-election as MP for Cambridgeshire.

Francis Pym held the seat until 1983, and thereafter was MP for South East Cambridgeshire until 1987.

Francis Pym was an opposition whip from 1964 and served under Edward Heath as Government Chief Whip and Northern Ireland Secretary, and Margaret Thatcher as Defence Secretary, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council.

Francis Pym became foreign secretary during the Falklands War in 1982 following Lord Carrington's resignation, but was removed by Thatcher the following year after her second election victory.

Francis Pym was a leading member of the "wets", Conservative MPs sceptical of Thatcherism.

Francis Pym stood down at the 1987 election and was created a life peer as Baron Pym on 9 October 1987.

Francis Pym was the author of The Politics of Consent, published in 1984 after he left the government.

Francis Pym was portrayed by Jeremy Child in the 2002 BBC production of Ian Curteis's The Falklands Play, by Julian Wadham in the 2011 film The Iron Lady and by Guy Siner in the fourth series of The Crown.

Francis Pym died in Sandy, Bedfordshire, on 7 March 2008 after a prolonged illness, aged 86.

Francis Pym was survived by his wife, Valerie, whom he married on 25 June 1949, and their four children.