1. Sir John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale was born on 16 October 1959 and is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Maldon since 1992 and Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care since July 2024.
30 Facts About John Whittingdale
1. 2.
John Whittingdale previously served as Culture Secretary from 2015 to 2016.
3.
John Whittingdale has been an MP since the 1992 general election, for a series of constituencies centred on the town of Maldon, Essex.
4.
John Whittingdale was a member of the Executive of Conservative Way Forward and the Conservative Party Board.
5.
John Whittingdale served as Chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee from 2005 to 2015.
6.
John Whittingdale was appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by Prime Minister David Cameron in May 2015.
7.
John Whittingdale was one of the six Cabinet ministers to come out in favour of Brexit during the 2016 EU referendum and was afterwards a supporter of the Eurosceptic campaign Leave Means Leave.
8.
John Whittingdale was dismissed in July 2016 by incoming-Prime Minister Theresa May.
9.
John Whittingdale was born on 16 October 1959, in Sherborne, Dorset.
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John Whittingdale is the only son of John Whittingdale FRCS and Margaret Esme Scott, nee Napier.
11.
On his mother's side, John Whittingdale is in distant remainder to the lordship of Napier.
12.
John Whittingdale was privately educated at both Sandroyd School and Winchester College, followed by University College London where he was Chairman of UCL Conservative Society.
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John Whittingdale graduated with a 2:2 in Economics in 1982.
14.
From 1982 to 1984, John Whittingdale was head of the political section of the Conservative Research Department.
15.
John Whittingdale then served as Special Adviser to three successive Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry, Norman Tebbit ; Leon Brittan, and Paul Channon.
16.
John Whittingdale worked on international privatisation at NM Rothschild in 1987 and in January 1988, became Political Secretary to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
17.
In 1999, John Whittingdale became Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, succeeding David Lidington.
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In 2012, John Whittingdale was Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Privacy and Injunctions.
19.
John Whittingdale was among the 175 MPs who voted against the Same-sex Marriage Bill in 2013.
20.
John Whittingdale was in favour of Brexit during the 2016 EU membership referendum.
21.
On 14 July 2005 John Whittingdale became the chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
22.
John Whittingdale was alleged to have warned members of the committee to consider not compelling former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks to testify due to the potential risk that their personal lives would be investigated in revenge, but has strongly denied the accusation.
23.
For its successful work on the phone hacking scandal, John Whittingdale accepted The Spectators 2011 "Inquisitor of the Year" award on behalf of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
24.
John Whittingdale was appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by Prime Minister David Cameron on 11 May 2015.
25.
John Whittingdale was sworn in to the Privy Council following his appointment.
26.
The hospitality was not declared in the Register of members' interests, or later when John Whittingdale later spoke out in the Commons against new regulations introduced by the Labour Government.
27.
On 14 July 2016, John Whittingdale was dismissed from his position as Culture Secretary by the new prime minister, Theresa May.
28.
John Whittingdale returned to the DCMS in February 2020, but as a minister of state rather than secretary of state.
29.
John Whittingdale was the minister of state for media and data.
30.
John Whittingdale married Ancilla Campbell Murfitt, a nurse and school governor, in 1990; the couple had two children before their divorce.