Paul Keetch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Paul Keetch | |
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| In office 2 May 1997 – present |
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| Preceded by | Sir Colin Shepherd |
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| Constituency | Hereford |
| Majority | 962 (2.1%) |
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| Born | 21 May 1961 |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats |
| Spouse | Mrs. Keetch |
| Website | www.paulkeetch.org.uk |
Paul Stuart Keetch (born 21 May 1961, Hereford) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom.
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[edit] Early life
He went to Hereford High School for Boys (grammar school, since 1976 the comprehensive Aylestone School), then Hereford Sixth Form College. Keetch was elected a Liberal Hereford City Councillor in 1983. He was a self-employed business consultant from 1979-1995. Since 1996, he has been a non-executive director of the London Computer Company.
[edit] Political career
He is Member of Parliament for Hereford, and has been since 1997. He was the Liberal Democrat spokesman for Foreign Affairs from 1999-2001, and Defence from October 1999 until the May 2005 General Election.
In July 2005, Keetch succeeded Sharon Bowles MEP as Chair of the Liberal International British Group. He also sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee. He founded the Cider APPG.
He will step down at the next General Election [1] which under the provisions of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, must be held on or before 3 June 2010, barring exceptional circumstances.
The Liberal Democrats have selected Sarah Carr as their candidate to replace Mr Keetch for the revised Hereford and South Herefordshire constituency at the General Election. The local Conservative Party selected Jesse Norman to be their candidate.
[edit] Personal life
He married Claire Elizabeth Baker on 21 December 1991 and together they have one son.
On 8 July 2007 he was taken seriously ill whilst travelling to the United States on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Heathrow Airport. Onboard medics treated him as the pilot turned the aeroplane back to London, and he was admitted to London Chest Hospital. The following day a spokesman described his condition as "stable", though the cause of his illness remained undetermined.[2] Doctors eventually diagnosed him with idiopathic ventricular fibrillation and fitted an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator to combat any relapses, though his condition was described as a "one-off".[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Official site - Keetch to stand down at the next election retrieved 2006-12-24
- ^ Staff writer. "MP still recovering in hospital", BBC News Online, 2007-07-10. Retrieved on 2007-07-10.
- ^ Morris, Ian. "Paul Keetch returns home to Hereford", Hereford Times Internet Edition, 2007-07-23. Retrieved on 2007-07-24.
[edit] Further reading
- Welcoming a flood defence report in 2004
- Telegraph report of Paul Keetch being taken seriously ill whilst on a flight to the USA on 08th July 2007
[edit] External links
- Paul Keetch MP official site
- Paul Keetch MP profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
- Hereford Liberal Democrats
- ePolitix.com - Paul Keetch
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Paul Keetch MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Paul Keetch MP
- The Public Whip - Paul Keetch
- BBC News - Paul Keetch profile 30 March 2006
