Geoffrey Howe

The Right Honourable The Lord Howe of Aberavon CH PC QC
Howe in 1985
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 24 July 1989 – 1 November 1990
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	The Viscount Whitelaw (de facto; 1988)
Succeeded by	Michael Heseltine (1995)
Leader of the House of Commons Lord President of the Council
In office 24 July 1989 – 1 November 1990
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	John Wakeham
Succeeded by	John MacGregor
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 11 June 1983 – 24 July 1989
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Francis Pym
Succeeded by	John Major
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 4 May 1979 – 11 June 1983
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Denis Healey
Succeeded by	Nigel Lawson
Shadow Cabinet posts Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer In office 18 February 1975 – 4 May 1979 Leader Margaret Thatcher Preceded by Robert Carr Succeeded by Denis Healey Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Services In office 11 March 1974 – 18 February 1975 Leader Edward Heath Preceded by Keith Joseph Succeeded by Norman Fowler
Junior ministerial offices 1970‍–‍1974 Minister of State for Trade and Consumer Affairs In office 5 November 1972 – 4 March 1974 Prime Minister Edward Heath Preceded by Michael Noble Succeeded by Eric Deakins Solicitor General for England and Wales In office 23 June 1970 – 5 November 1972 Prime Minister Edward Heath Preceded by Arthur Irvine Succeeded by Michael Havers
Parliamentary offices Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal Life peerage 30 June 1992 – 19 May 2015 Member of Parliament for East Surrey In office 28 February 1974 – 16 March 1992 Preceded by William Clark Succeeded by Peter Ainsworth Member of Parliament for Reigate In office 18 June 1970 – 8 February 1974 Preceded by John Vaughan-Morgan Succeeded by George Gardiner Member of Parliament for Bebington In office 15 October 1964 – 10 March 1966 Preceded by Hendrie Oakshott Succeeded by Edwin Brooks
Personal details
Born	Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe (1926-12-20)20 December 1926 Port Talbot, Glamorgan, Wales
Died	9 October 2015(2015-10-09) (aged 88) Idlicote, Warwickshire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Elspeth Shand ​ (m. 1953)​
Children	3
Education	Abberley Hall School Winchester College
Alma mater	University of Cambridge
Occupation	Barrister politician
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	British Army
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	Royal Corps of Signals

Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, CH, PC, QC (20 December 1926 – 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, he was Margaret Thatcher's longest-serving Cabinet minister, successively holding the posts of chancellor of the Exchequer, foreign secretary, and finally leader of the House of Commons, deputy prime minister and lord president of the Council. His resignation on 1 November 1990 is widely considered to have precipitated the 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 – after serving in the army as a lieutenant – 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 (MP) for Bebington in 1964, but lost his seat in 1966, returning to the bar. Howe became an MP again at the 1970 general election and represented various constituencies in the House of Commons until 1992. In Edward Heath's government, he was solicitor general and a minister of state; after Labour's victory in 1974, Howe became the shadow chancellor of the Exchequer in Margaret Thatcher's shadow cabinet.

Howe became Chancellor of the Exchequer upon Thatcher's victory in the 1979 general election, with his tenure characterised by a programme of radical policies intended to restore the public finances, reduce inflation and liberalise the economy. As chancellor, Howe delivered five budgets. After the 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 November 1990; in his resignation letter, he criticised Thatcher's handling of relations with the EEC and further attacked Thatcher in his resignation speech to the Commons on 13 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 retired from the House of Lords in May 2015 and died in October of the same year, aged 88.