38 Facts About Tony Baldry

In 1975, Tony Baldry was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn and became a common lawyer, joining the Oxford and Midlands Circuit.

In 1971, whilst at university, Tony Baldry joined the Sussex Yeomanry.

Tony Baldry was promoted to lieutenant on 19 May 1976, and to captain on 18 February 1981.

Tony Baldry retired from the TA on 1 April 1990 with the rank of acting major.

Tony Baldry began his political career in the February 1974 general election, serving as personal assistant to Maurice Macmillan, then Chief Secretary to the Treasury and in the October 1974 general election, he was personal assistant to Margaret Thatcher.

When Thatcher later became Leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, Tony Baldry joined her Private Office, working as the link between Thatcher and the "Britain in Europe Campaign" and the "Yes" Campaign, for the 1975 EU referendum.

Tony Baldry was active in the European movement and won the Robert Schumann Silver Medal in 1978 for contributions to Europe.

Tony Baldry was first selected as a parliamentary candidate for the Thurrock constituency for the 1979 general election where he secured one of the largest swings to the Conservative Party, reducing a 19,000 Labour majority at the last general election to 6,400.

From 1985 to 1990, Tony Baldry was a Parliamentary Private Secretary, successively to Lynda Chalker and John Wakeham, who was leader of the House of Commons.

Tony Baldry was one of the last of those made a Minister by Margaret Thatcher still to be in the House of Commons.

In 1994 Tony Baldry moved to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to cover in the House of Commons for Lynda Chalker who was the Minister for Overseas Development but in the House of Lords.

On 21 June 2010, Tony Baldry was appointed Second Church Estates Commissioner, with responsibility for answering questions in the House in a manner similar to questions to ministers on the work of the Church Commissioners.

Tony Baldry announced his decision to stand down as an MP at the May 2015 general election on 1 September 2014.

Tony Baldry stepped down on 11 July 2019 and was replaced by the vice chair Jennie Page.

Tony Baldry is a member of the Council of the Overseas Development Institute, was vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development, a Trustee of Friends of Africa, which is a UK-based charity, and a Trustee of Afghan Action, a UK-based charity working in Afghanistan.

Tony Baldry was one of eleven MPs to volunteer for the VSO's project PolVol in 2008.

Tony Baldry is on the council of governors of Chatham House.

From 2001 to 2005, Tony Baldry chaired the House of Commons Select Committee on International Development.

Since the summer of 2009, Tony Baldry had chaired the Conservative Party's Commission on Human Rights.

Tony Baldry gave Lord Feldman a letter of support for a recommendation of a public honour that Lord Feldman was making on behalf of Sarosh Zaiwalla.

Tony Baldry was consequently ordered to apologise to the House over the incident.

In January 2005 Tony Baldry wrote to Hilary Benn, Secretary for International Development, on behalf of Milestone Trading, a British company involved in diamond mining in Sierra Leone.

Tony Baldry asked Benn whether his department could endorse the company as conforming to "best practices" in the diamond industry.

At the time Tony Baldry was the chairman of the House of Commons International Development Committee.

Tony Baldry had written letters to the president and vice-president of Sierra Leone on behalf of Milestone in late 2004.

Tony Baldry sent a series of letters on Angelgate Aviation notepaper from St James's Square to Sierra Leone Vice President Solomon Berewa on behalf of Angel Gate Aviation, a company that was trying to set up flights between London and Freetown.

Tony Baldry consequently made an apology to the House for the use of House stationery; however, the Commissioner stated that he found no indication whatsoever, in the course of his inquiry, that Mr Tony Baldry had sought to exploit his position as Chairman of the International Development Committee to further his private interests.

Later that same month, The Independent printed a correction and an apology over a report in which they had suggested that Tony Baldry had "lobbied" on behalf of James Ibori.

The correction clarified that Mr Tony Baldry had not lobbied on Mr Ibori's behalf, and supported his claim that despite it being contrary to legal protocol, he had written to the Foreign Secretary in his capacity as a barrister, and not as an MP.

Tony Baldry was chairman of Westminster Oil Ltd, which was a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Tony Baldry is a practising barrister and Head of Chambers at 1 Essex Court in the Temple, London.

Tony Baldry married his second wife, Pippa, on 25 May 2001 and has two children, Honor and Edward, from his first marriage.

Tony Baldry is a declared Freemason and has made speeches to parliament on the subject.

In 1998 Tony Baldry described himself as "the only surviving member of the Grand Lodge in the House" and in subsequent interviews stated that he was aware of "about a dozen" fellow MPs who were active Freemasons.

Tony Baldry is a director of Mastermailer Holdings plc, and Deputy Chair of Woburn Energy plc, a company "specialising in oil exploration and recovery".

In September 2012 it was reported that Tony Baldry crashed his car into four stationary vehicles, a bollard, and a portable toilet while attempting to park.

Tony Baldry was knighted in the 2012 Birthday Honours for public and political service.

Tony Baldry was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Oxfordshire on 4 February 2016.