David Faber (politician)
Encyclopedia
David James Christian Faber (born 7 July 1961) was a Conservative
member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
, then an author
, before in 2010 being appointed as head master of Summer Fields School
, Oxford
. He is the grandson of the late former Conservative prime minister Harold Macmillan (1894-1986).
and Lady Caroline Faber
, Faber comes from a staunchly conservative, aristocratic political family. His maternal grandfather Harold Macmillan
was Prime Minister at the time of his birth. His grandmother, Lady Dorothy Cavendish, was a member of a family which included two Prime Ministers, the 4th Duke of Devonshire
(1756-1757) and the 3rd Duke of Portland
(1783 and 1807-1809), related by marriage to President John F. Kennedy
. Faber's great-great-great-granduncle was Lord Hartington
and his great-grandfather Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire
was also statesman. His cousin Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire
was married to Deborah Mitford. His uncle Maurice Macmillan was a leading figure of Edward Heath
's 1970s government.
Faber was educated at Summer Fields School
, Summertown
, then at Eton
and Balliol. At Oxford
, he was a member of the Bullingdon Club
.
and as a political assistant to Jeffrey Archer before entering the House of Commons in 1992 as Conservative Member of Parliament
for Westbury
. He was parliamentary private secretary
to the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
, 1994 to 1996, and then to the Secretary of State for Health, from 1996 to 1997. In opposition, after the Conservatives lost the 1997 general election, he was their front bench spokesman on Foreign and Commonwealth affairs, until 1998. He served as a member of several Parliamentary Select Committees: Social Security, 1992–1997, Culture, Media and Sport, 1998 to 2001, and the Public Accounts Committee, 2000–2001.
In 1997, he was reported to be a director of Sterling Marketing, and in 1998 was a director of Freestream Aircraft.
Faber stood down from parliament at the 2001 general election
, to be succeeded by fellow Conservative Andrew Murrison
, when he began a new career as a writer
. His book Speaking for England: Leo, Julian and John Amery, the tragedy of a political family (2005) was about his uncle by marriage, Julian Amery
, his uncle's father, Leo, and brother, John
, the last of whom was executed after the Second World War for high treason
.
In 2009, he was appointed as head of his old prep school
, Summer Fields, with effect from September 2010.
Faber married firstly Sally Gilbert, a television weather girl, and they had one son together, Henry, but later divorced, with Faber citing James Hewitt
as co-respondent. He married secondly Sophie Amanda Hedley, and they have two daughters. He is a past committee member of the MCC
, the governing body of the game of cricket
, and a member of White's
.
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, then an author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, before in 2010 being appointed as head master of Summer Fields School
Summer Fields School
Summer Fields is a boys' independent preparatory school based in Summertown, Oxford, England.-History:Originally called Summerfield, it became a Boys' Preparatory School in 1864 with seven pupils. Its owner, Archibald Maclaren, was a fencing teacher who ran a gymnasium in Oxford; he himself was...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. He is the grandson of the late former Conservative prime minister Harold Macmillan (1894-1986).
Family and early life
The son of JulianJulian Faber
Julian Tufnell Faber was a leading figure in the insurance business.-Early life:He was educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge. He served with the Welsh Guards during the Second World War.-Career:...
and Lady Caroline Faber
Lady Caroline Faber
Lady Ann Caroline Macmillan is the daughter of Harold Macmillan and his wife Lady Dorothy Cavendish. She is the second of their four children, and since the death of her younger sister in 1991, she has been their only surviving child....
, Faber comes from a staunchly conservative, aristocratic political family. His maternal grandfather Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
was Prime Minister at the time of his birth. His grandmother, Lady Dorothy Cavendish, was a member of a family which included two Prime Ministers, the 4th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC , styled Lord Cavendish before 1729 and Marquess of Hartington between 1729 and 1755, was a British Whig statesman who was briefly nominal Prime Minister of Great Britain...
(1756-1757) and the 3rd Duke of Portland
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, KG, PC was a British Whig and Tory statesman, Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Prime Minister. He was known before 1762 by the courtesy title Marquess of Titchfield. He held a title of every degree of British nobility—Duke,...
(1783 and 1807-1809), related by marriage to President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. Faber's great-great-great-granduncle was Lord Hartington
Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire
Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire KG, GCVO, PC, PC , styled Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1834 and 1858 and Marquess of Hartington between 1858 and 1891, was a British statesman...
and his great-grandfather Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire
Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire
Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire , known as Victor Cavendish until 1908, was a British politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 11th since Canadian Confederation....
was also statesman. His cousin Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire
Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire
Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire KG, MC, PC , styled Lord Andrew Cavendish until 1944 and Marquess of Hartington from 1944 to 1950, was a British Conservative politician...
was married to Deborah Mitford. His uncle Maurice Macmillan was a leading figure of Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
's 1970s government.
Faber was educated at Summer Fields School
Summer Fields School
Summer Fields is a boys' independent preparatory school based in Summertown, Oxford, England.-History:Originally called Summerfield, it became a Boys' Preparatory School in 1864 with seven pupils. Its owner, Archibald Maclaren, was a fencing teacher who ran a gymnasium in Oxford; he himself was...
, Summertown
Summertown, Oxford
Summertown in North Oxford is a suburb of Oxford, England.Summertown is a residential area, one mile square north of St Giles, the beautiful boulevard leading out of Oxford’s city centre. Summertown is home to exclusive schools and the city’s most expensive houses. On both sides of Banbury Road are...
, then at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Balliol. At Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, he was a member of the Bullingdon Club
Bullingdon Club
The Bullingdon Club is a socially exclusive student dining club at Oxford University. The club has no permanent rooms and is notorious for its members' wealth and destructive binges. Membership is by invitation only, and prohibitively expensive for most, given the need to pay for the uniform,...
.
Life and career
Faber worked in marketingMarketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and as a political assistant to Jeffrey Archer before entering the House of Commons in 1992 as Conservative Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Westbury
Westbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Westbury was a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire from 1449 to 2010. It was represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, and then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801...
. He was parliamentary private secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
, 1994 to 1996, and then to the Secretary of State for Health, from 1996 to 1997. In opposition, after the Conservatives lost the 1997 general election, he was their front bench spokesman on Foreign and Commonwealth affairs, until 1998. He served as a member of several Parliamentary Select Committees: Social Security, 1992–1997, Culture, Media and Sport, 1998 to 2001, and the Public Accounts Committee, 2000–2001.
In 1997, he was reported to be a director of Sterling Marketing, and in 1998 was a director of Freestream Aircraft.
Faber stood down from parliament at the 2001 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, to be succeeded by fellow Conservative Andrew Murrison
Andrew Murrison
Dr Andrew William Murrison is a doctor and Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. After serving as the Member of Parliament for Westbury from 2001 to 2010, at the 2010 general election he was elected for the new seat of South West Wiltshire.-Early life:The son of William Gordon...
, when he began a new career as a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. His book Speaking for England: Leo, Julian and John Amery, the tragedy of a political family (2005) was about his uncle by marriage, Julian Amery
Julian Amery, Baron Amery of Lustleigh
Harold Julian Amery, Baron Amery of Lustleigh, PC was a British politician of the Conservative Party, who served as a Member of Parliament for 39 of the 42 years between 1950 and 1992. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1960. He was created a life peer upon his retirement from the House of...
, his uncle's father, Leo, and brother, John
John Amery
John Amery was a British fascist who proposed to the Wehrmacht the formation of a British volunteer force and made recruitment efforts and propaganda broadcasts for Nazi Germany...
, the last of whom was executed after the Second World War for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
.
In 2009, he was appointed as head of his old prep school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
, Summer Fields, with effect from September 2010.
Faber married firstly Sally Gilbert, a television weather girl, and they had one son together, Henry, but later divorced, with Faber citing James Hewitt
James Hewitt
James Hewitt is a former British household cavalry officer in the British Army. He had an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales for five years, receiving extensive media coverage after revealing details of the affair.-Early life:...
as co-respondent. He married secondly Sophie Amanda Hedley, and they have two daughters. He is a past committee member of the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
, the governing body of the game of cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, and a member of White's
White's
White's is a London gentlemen's club, established at 4 Chesterfield Street in 1693 by Italian immigrant Francesco Bianco . Originally it was established to sell hot chocolate, a rare and expensive commodity at the time...
.
Books
- David Faber, Munich (Simon & Shuster) - about the events of 1937-1938 and the Munich Conference
- David Faber, Speaking for England: Leo, Julian and John Amery (Simon & Shuster, 2005) - the Amery family and World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ISBN 1416525963