Editing Geoffrey Howe (section)

{{short description|British politician (1926–2015)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox deputy prime minister
| honorific_prefix  = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name              = The Lord Howe of Aberavon
| honorific_suffix  = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CH|PC|QC}}
| image             = Geoffrey Howe (1985).jpg
| image_upright     = .75
| alt               = photograph
| caption           = Howe in 1985
| office            = [[Deputy Prime Minister of the United&nbsp;Kingdom]]
| primeminister     = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
| term_start        = 24 July 1989
| term_end          = 1 November 1990
| predecessor       = [[The Viscount Whitelaw]] (''de{{nbsp}}facto''; 1988)
| successor         = [[Michael Heseltine]] (1995)
| office1           = {{ubl|[[Leader of the House of Commons]]|[[Lord President of the Council]]}}
| primeminister1    = Margaret Thatcher
| term_start1       = 24 July 1989
| term_end1         = 1 November 1990
| predecessor1      = [[John Wakeham]]
| successor1        = [[John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market|John MacGregor]]
| office2           = [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs]]
| primeminister2    = Margaret Thatcher
| term_start2       = 11 June 1983
| term_end2         = 24 July 1989
| predecessor2      = [[Francis Pym]]
| successor2        = [[John Major]]
| office3           = [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
| primeminister3    = Margaret Thatcher
| term_start3       = 4 May 1979
| term_end3         = 11 June 1983
| predecessor3      = [[Denis Healey]]
| successor3        = [[Nigel Lawson]]
{{collapsed infobox section begin |cont = y |[[Shadow Cabinet]] posts
| titlestyle        = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder
| embed             = yes
| office4           = [[Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
| leader4           = Margaret Thatcher
| term_start4       = 18 February 1975
| term_end4         = 4 May 1979
| predecessor4      = [[Robert Carr]]
| successor4        = Denis Healey
| office5           = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Health and&nbsp;Social&nbsp;Services]]
| leader5           = [[Edward Heath]]
| term_start5       = 11 March 1974
| term_end5         = 18 February 1975
| predecessor5      = [[Keith Joseph]]
| successor5        = [[Norman Fowler]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
{{collapsed infobox section begin
| cont              = y
|Junior ministerial offices {{nobold|1970{{nbnd}}1974}}
| titlestyle        = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder
| embed             = yes
| office6           = [[Minister of State for Trade and&nbsp;Consumer&nbsp;Affairs]]
| primeminister6    = Edward Heath
| term_start6       = 5 November 1972
| term_end6         = 4 March 1974
| predecessor6      = [[Michael Noble, Baron Glenkinglas|Michael Noble]]
| successor6        = [[Eric Deakins]]
| office7           = [[Solicitor General for England and Wales]]
| primeminister7    = Edward Heath
| term_start7       = 23 June 1970
| term_end7         = 5 November 1972
| predecessor7      = [[Arthur Irvine]]
| successor7        = [[Michael Havers]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
{{collapsed infobox section begin |last = y |Parliamentary offices
| titlestyle        = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder
| embed             = yes
| office8           = [[Member of the House of Lords]]
| status8           = [[Lord Temporal]]
| term_label8       = [[Life peer]]age
| term_start8       = 30 June 1992
| term_end8         = 19 May 2015
| parliament9       = United Kingdom
| constituency_MP9  = East Surrey
| term_start9       = 28 February 1974
| term_end9         = 16 March 1992
| predecessor9      = [[William Clark, Baron Clark of Kempston|William Clark]]
| successor9        = [[Peter Ainsworth]]
| constituency_MP10 = Reigate
| term_start10      = 18 June 1970
| term_end10        = 8 February 1974
| predecessor10     = [[John Vaughan-Morgan]]
| successor10       = [[George Gardiner (politician)|George Gardiner]]
| constituency_MP11 = Bebington
| term_start11      = 15 October 1964
| term_end11        = 10 March 1966
| predecessor11     = [[Hendrie Oakshott]]
| successor11       = [[Edwin Brooks]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
| birth_name        = Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe
| birth_date        = {{birth date|df=yes|1926|12|20}}
| birth_place       = [[Port Talbot]], Glamorgan, Wales
| death_date        = {{death date and age|2015|10|9|1926|12|20|df=y}}
| death_place       = [[Idlicote]], Warwickshire, England
| party             = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| spouse            = {{marriage|[[Elspeth Howe|Elspeth Shand]]|28 August 1953}}
| children          = 3
| occupation        = {{hlist|Barrister|politician}}
| education         = {{ubl|[[Abberley Hall School]]|[[Winchester College]]}}
| alma_mater        = [[University of Cambridge]]<!--Trinity College doesn't award degrees, the University does-->
<!--Military service-->
| rank              = [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|Lieutenant]]
| branch            = [[British Army]]
| unit              = [[Royal Corps of Signals]]
| signature         = Geoffrey Howe signature.svg
}}

'''Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|sep=,|size=100%|CH|PC|QC}} (20&nbsp;December 1926&nbsp;– 9 October 2015), known from 1970 to 1992 as '''Sir Geoffrey Howe''', was a British politician who served as [[Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] from 1989 to 1990. A member of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], he was [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s longest-serving [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] minister, successively holding the posts of [[chancellor of the Exchequer]], [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|foreign secretary]], and finally [[leader of the House of Commons]], deputy prime minister and [[Lord President of the Council]]. His resignation on 1&nbsp;November 1990 is widely considered to have precipitated the [[1990 Conservative Party leadership election|leadership challenge]] that led to Thatcher's resignation three weeks later.

Born in [[Port Talbot]], Wales, Howe was educated at Bridgend Preparatory School, [[Abberley Hall School]], [[Winchester College]], and&nbsp;– after serving in the army as a [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]]&nbsp;– [[Trinity Hall, Cambridge]], where he read law. He was [[called to the bar]] in 1952 and practised in Wales, after which he was elected as the Conservative [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Bebington (UK Parliament constituency)|Bebington]] in 1964, but lost his seat in 1966, returning to the bar. Howe became an MP again at the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 general election]] and represented various constituencies in the House of Commons until 1992. In [[Edward Heath]]'s [[Heath ministry|government]], he was [[Solicitor General for England and Wales|solicitor general]] and a [[Minister of State (United Kingdom)|minister of state]]; after [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]'s victory in 1974, Howe became the [[shadow chancellor of the Exchequer]] in [[Shadow Cabinet of Margaret Thatcher|Margaret Thatcher's shadow cabinet]].

Howe became Chancellor of the Exchequer upon Thatcher's victory in the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]], with his tenure characterised by a programme of radical policies intended to restore the [[public finance]]s, reduce inflation and liberalise the economy. As chancellor, Howe delivered five [[Budget of the United Kingdom|budgets]]. After the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]], Howe was appointed foreign secretary, serving six years. In 1989, Thatcher replaced Howe with [[John Major]], giving Howe the role of deputy prime minister. He resigned from the government on 1&nbsp;November 1990; in his [[resignation letter]], he criticised Thatcher's handling of [[United Kingdom membership of the European Union|relations with the EEC]] and further attacked Thatcher in his [[resignation speech]] to the Commons on 13&nbsp;November. The speech was widely seen as the key catalyst for the leadership challenge mounted by [[Michael Heseltine]] a few days later, which led to Thatcher's resignation and her replacement by Major.

Howe retired as an MP in 1992 and was made a [[life peer]] in June of that year. Following his retirement from the Commons, Howe took on several non-executive directorships in business and advisory posts in law and academia. He [[House of Lords Reform Act 2014|retired from the House of Lords]] in May 2015 and died in October of the same year, aged 88.