Michael Portillo

Michael Portillo (2008)

Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (born May 26, 1953 in Bushey , Hertfordshire ) is a British politician and journalist .

Early years

Portillo is the son of a Spaniard in exile, Luis Portillo, who sided with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War , and Cora, who grew up in Scotland; his father was not allowed to return to Spain for a long time. He attended school Harrow County and acquired in 1975 with a degree in History at Peterhouse of Cambridge University .

Political career

After completing his studies, he first worked in a transport company, then from 1976 to 1979 for the research department of the Conservative Party . During the 1979 election campaign, he was responsible for gathering information for future Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher before her press conferences. From 1979 to 1981 he was an advisor to the Minister of Energy. From 1981 to 1983 he worked for an oil company.

In 1983 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the House of Commons. In 1984 he won a by-election at Enfield Southgate. This had become necessary because the mandate holder, Anthony Berry , was a victim of the Brighton bombing . Portillo held this mandate until 1997.

From 1986 to 1997 Portillo was a member of the government, since 1988 as a minister. First he was Minister of State for Transport, then for local government . In 1992, under John Major , he became a member of the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury ; In 1994 he became Minister of Labor and finally, in 1995, Minister of Defense.

After his electoral defeat in 1997 Portillo worked again as a political advisor. In addition, he pursued more and more a career in television journalism. In 1999 he was again a member of parliament through a by-election, and in 2000 shadow chancellor of the Exchequer . In 2001 he applied unsuccessfully to lead the Conservative Party. In 2005 he retired from politics.

Media career

From 2002 to 2007, Portillo had his own talk show on BBC Four , Dinner with Portillo . He appeared weekly between 2003 and 2009 on BBC 1 in the program This Week with Andrew Neil and (until 2010) the Labor politician Diane Abbott , whom he has known since her youth. Since 2002 he began to appear in a number of documentary programs (including about Spain, Richard Wagner, death penalty and suicide). Since 2009 he has presented a series of documentaries based on Great British Railway Journeys , in which he travels to individual regions (including Europe, United States, India and Australia) and explores the country using old travel guides. Portillo also writes a regular column for the Sunday Times and occasionally for other magazines. From 2004 to 2006 he was a theater critic for the New Statesman .

Political orientation

Portillo has long been on the right edge of the conservative spectrum. His advocacy of poll tax , the exclusion of homosexuals from the army and against a minimum wage were particularly controversial . In a political crisis in 1995 he was accused of half-heartedly supporting John Major, but at the same time secretly taking over the chairmanship of the party.

Since his second entry into politics in 1999, but especially since his retirement from politics in 2005, Portillo has taken significantly more moderate positions than in the years under Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

In 2001 he lost the backing of the conservative press when he surprisingly spoke about homosexual experiences in his youth.

Private

Michael Portillo has been married to Carolyn, nee Eadie, since 1982. He is a member of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) , which takes care of missing persons in connection with the clashes in the former Yugoslavia. He is on the board of directors of Andarko Petroleum Corporation and was also on the board of BAE Systems until 2006 . He is also chairman of a charity for people with epidermolysis bullosa and an association that organizes British-Spanish gatherings.

Web links

• Official website
• BBC portrait