Paul Murphy (politician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Right Honourable Paul Murphy MP |
|
 Paul Murphy (centre) with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Ambassador David Manning, President George W. Bush & Ambassador Mitchell Reiss at the St. Patrick's Day celebrations at the White House in 2005. |
|
|
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 24 January 2008 |
|
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | Peter Hain |
| In office 28 July 1999 – 24 October 2002 |
|
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Alun Michael |
| Succeeded by | Peter Hain |
|
|
|
| In office 24 October 2002 – 6 May 2005 |
|
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | John Reid |
| Succeeded by | Peter Hain |
|
Member of Parliament
for Torfaen |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 11 June 1987 |
|
| Preceded by | Leo Abse |
|
|
|
| Born | 25 November 1948 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | Oriel College, Oxford |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Paul Peter Murphy (born 25 November 1948) is a British politician. He is Member of Parliament for Torfaen representing the Labour Party. He is currently the Secretary of State for Wales.
Contents |
[edit] Education and background
Murphy attended St Francis Roman Catholic School in Abersychan, West Monmouth School in Pontypool and Oriel College, Oxford. His leisure interests include classical music and cooking.
He was a management trainee with the CWS, before becoming a lecturer in Government and History at Ebbw Vale College of Further Education, now known as Coleg Gwent.
He is a practising Roman Catholic[citation needed]. He was made a Knight Commander of Merit with Star of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George "for helping to promote peace in Northern Ireland".
He is an Honorary Fellow of Oriel College in 2000. He is also a Visiting Parliamentary Fellow of St. Anthony's College, Oxford.
[edit] Early political career
Murphy joined the Labour Party at the age of 15. He is also a member of the Transport and General Workers Union. He was Secretary of the Pontypool/Torfaen Constituency Labour Party from 1971 to 1987. Paul was a member of Torfaen Council from 1973 to 1987 and was Chair of its Finance Committee from 1976 to 1986. He contested Wells Constituency in Somerset in the 1979 General Election.
[edit] Senior Cabinet posts
He has been MP for Torfaen, Wales since the 1987 election, and is Secretary of State for Wales. In opposition he served as a foreign affairs spokesperson and then in defence as navy spokesperson.
He was appointed Secretary of State for Wales on 28 July 1999. He was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 24 October 2002 to 5 May 2005. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1999.
He was succeeded by Peter Hain and left the government, becoming chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee in May 2005. He was also British Chair of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body and an Executive Committee member of the British-American Parliamentary Group.
He was re-appointed Secretary of State for Wales on 24 January 2008, following the resignation of Peter Hain. He was also given the job of chairing a new Cabinet Committee on the sensitive issue of IT and information security, in the wake of a rash of scandals surrounding the loss of personal data by Government agencies. In April 2008 he was appointed as the Government's Minister for Digital Inclusion.
Prior to joining the Cabinet he was Minister of State for political development in the Northern Ireland Office from 1997 to 1999 - acting as Mo Mowlam's deputy - and was largely responsible for negotiating the so-called strand two ('North-South' or 'Island of Ireland') arrangements agreed in the Good Friday Agreement. In 1999, he was named 'Minister to Watch' at the Spectator Parliamentary Awards.
[edit] Voting Record
In a free parliamentary vote on 20 May 2008, Paul Murphy voted for cutting the upper limit for abortions from 24 to to 12 weeks, along with two other Catholic cabinet ministers Ruth Kelly and Des Browne. [1]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Paul Murphy MP's official site
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Paul Murphy MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Paul Murphy MP
[edit] Offices held
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Leo Abse |
Member of Parliament for Torfaen 1987 – present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Alun Michael |
Secretary of State for Wales 1999–2002 |
Succeeded by Peter Hain |
| Preceded by John Reid |
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 2002–2005 |
Succeeded by Peter Hain |
| Preceded by Ann Taylor |
Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee 2005–2008 |
Succeeded by Margaret Beckett |
| Preceded by Peter Hain |
Secretary of State for Wales 2008 – present |
Incumbent |
|
|||||||||||
