Theodore Constantine, Baron Constantine of Stanmore

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Theodore Constantine, Baron Constantine of Stanmore Kt CBE DL AE (March 15, 1910 - February 13, 2004 ) was a British entrepreneur and politician of the Conservative Party , who was chairman of the National Union of Conservative and Union between 1967 and 1968 and President in 1980 Associations (NUCUA) and became a member of the House of Lords in 1981 as Life Peer under the Life Peerages Act 1958 .

Life

Professional activities, World War II and constituency chairman

Constantine, the son of a tobacco importer of Greek descent, worked as a salesman for the hearing aid manufacturer Allen and Hanburys after attending Acton College and was initially personal assistant to the chairman of the board from 1926 to 1928, then manager and finally managing director between 1938 and 1939. During the Second World War he did his military service as a draftsman at the headquarters of the Fighter Command of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAAF). In 1945 he received the Air Efficiency Award (AE) for his military service. After the end of the war he resumed his professional activity, before he founded his own hearing aid company, Bonochord , in 1959 , which also included Winston Churchill among his customers.

Constantine was involved for many years in the Conservative Party and within the party organization a member of the National Executive Committee, the National Political Committee and the National Propaganda Committee. For his many years of service he was beaten Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1956 and a Knight Bachelor degree in 1964 , so that from then on he carried the suffix "Sir".

When Constantine became chairman of the Harrow East Conservative Party in the mid-1960s, clashes broke out with Anthony Courtney , a former frigate captain in the British Naval Intelligence Department , who between 1959 and 1966 supported the Harrow East constituency as a member of the House of Commons represented. This hit the headlines after he was lured into a trap by the Soviet intelligence service KGB after anti-communist speeches and distributed photos of Courtney with a tourist guide in a precarious situation. Constantine then asked Courtney to resign, but this refused. However, as predicted by Constantine , the latter then lost his lower house mandate in the 1966 general election. He then charged Constantine with defamation and was reimbursed £ 200 in damages and expenses.

Chairman and President of NUCUA and Member of the House of Lords

However, this could not hinder the further rise of Constantine, who was in 1967 as the successor to Adelaide Doughty until his replacement by DP Crossman in 1968, chairman of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations. At the same time he was first High Sheriff in 1967 and then from 1967 to 1985 Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London . He later became director of Stratstone , a franchising company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars , and 1975 champion of the guild ( Livery Company ) of the body and Kutschenbauer (Worshipful Company of Makers Coach and Coach Harness Makers) .

In 1980 he succeeded Francis Pym as President of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations and held that position for a year until he was replaced by Edward du Cann in 1981. In the 1980s, he was Director of Health Care Services plc and joined this function for the increasing role of private nursing advocated by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher .

He was then raised to the nobility by a letters patent dated July 21, 1981 as a life peer with the title Baron Constantine of Stanmore , of Stanmore in Greater London, and was a member of the House of Lords until his death. On July 28, 1981, he was officially introduced (Introduction) as a member of the House of Lords with the support of Eric Edwards, Baron Chelmer and Richard Fraser, Baron Fraser of Kilmorack . While he complained about the price hikes for gas and electricity in his maiden speech, he later became known for his infrequent speeches.

His marriage to Sylvia Mary Legge-Pointing in 1935 resulted in a daughter and a son.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hansard (July 28, 1981)
personal data
SURNAME Constantine, Theodore, Baron Constantine of Stanmore
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Constantine, Theodore, Baron Constantine of Stanmore (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British politician
DATE OF BIRTH March 15, 1910
DATE OF DEATH February 13, 2004