Chris Huhne

Chris Huhne (2010)

Christopher "Chris" Murray Paul-Huhne (* 2. July 1954 in London ) is a British journalist , politician of the Liberal Democrats , former member of the European Parliament and was from May 2010 to February 2012 Minister for Energy and Climate Change ( Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change ).

biography

After attending school, Huhne studied French at the Sorbonne in Paris, as well as philosophy, politics and economics at Magdalen College at Oxford University . During this time he was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper Isis . After completing his studies, he worked as a business editor for the daily newspapers The Guardian and The Independent , and was named Financial Journalist of the Year in both 1980 and 1989 . He then founded a company in London forBusiness consulting .

He began his political career as a candidate for the Liberal Democrats when he was elected member of the 5th European Parliament in 1999 . This he was following his re-election in 2004 as a representative of the constituency of South East England for the 6th legislature , but resigned as an MEP after being in the 2005 elections as a member of the lower house ( House of Commons ) was chosen. Since then he has represented the constituency of Eastleigh there . Sharon Bowles succeeded him as Member of the European Parliament .

Shortly after the election to the House of Commons, he also became spokesman for the office of Chief Secretary of the Treasury and thus a member of his party's shadow cabinet in May 2005 , before he became spokesman for the environment, food and rural areas in March 2006.

In 2006 he ran for the first time for the office of chairman of the Liberal Democrats, but was subject to Menzies Campbell . After his resignation in October 2007 and the activity of the interim chairman Vince Cable , he ran again on December 18, 2007 for the functions of chairman of the Liberal Democrats. This time he lost to Nick Clegg , as around 1,300 postal votes arrived at the party headquarters of the Liberal Democrats only after the official end of the election. After the election, Nick Clegg appointed him to his shadow cabinet as spokesman for domestic politics. He held this position until May 2010.

After the coalition with the Conservative Party was formed after the general election in May 2010 , Prime Minister David Cameron appointed him Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on May 12, 2010 , making him one of five Liberal Democrats in the Cameron I cabinet .

It hit the headlines in June 2010 when a suspected love affair between the minister, who has been married since 1984, and public relations advisor Carina Trimingham became known.

On September 22nd, 2010 he inaugurated the Thanet wind farm , which was then the largest offshore wind farm in the world. Shortly before that, he expressed concern about the financing of wind energy in the press .

On February 3, 2012, Huhne resigned from his post as Minister of Energy. The reason for this was the allegation that he illegally passed car driving violations on to his then wife Vicky Pryce in 2003 . On the same day, prosecutors brought judicial fraud charges against Huhne. On March 11, 2013, Huhne and Pryce were sentenced to eight months in prison by Southwork Crown Court. That same month, he was also expelled from the Privy Council , which he had been a member of since 2010. On May 13, 2013, he and his ex-wife were released from prison after serving two months in prison with electronic ankle cuffs .

Web links

• Official website (English)
• Ralf Sotscheck: Chris Huhne, rich and radical , TAZ from May 14, 2010
• Article about Chris Huhne in The Guardian
• Entry for Chris Huhne in the European Parliament 's database of MEPs

Individual evidence

1. ↑ businessgreen.com: Updated: Chris Huhne expected as new energy and climate change secretary (May 12, 2010)
2. ↑ THE MIRROR: Cabinet minister Chris Huhne admits affair with PR girl (June 20, 2010)
3. ↑ THE DAILY MAIL: Chris Huhne's bisexual lover: Life and very different loves of the PR girl in Doc Martens (June 21, 2010)
4. ↑ THE TELEGRAPH: Chris Huhne worried on wind investment (September 16, 2010)
5. ↑ British minister resigned over fraud affair. In: ORF . February 3, 2012, accessed February 3, 2012 . 
6. ↑ Carsten Volkery: prison sentence for British ex-minister: bitter end of a glamorous couple. In: Spiegel Online . March 11, 2013, accessed June 9, 2018 . 
7. ↑ Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce released from prison. BBC News, May 13, 2013, accessed May 14, 2013 .