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Richard Ottaway
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Richard Ottaway
Sir Richard Geoffrey James Ottaway (born 24 May 1945) is a British Conservative Party politician and consultant. He was the Member of Parliament for Croydon South from 1992 to 2015. Ottaway also served as the MP for Nottingham North from 1983 to 1987.
Ottaway was born on 24 May 1945 in Sonning, Berkshire. He attended Backwell School, a secondary modern school in Backwell, North Somerset. He joined the Royal Navy as an artificer apprentice in 1961 and undertook officer training at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in 1965. He also served as the Royal Navy officer between 1965 and 1970 as a Lieutenant, deployed in HMS Beachampton, HMS Nubian, and the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. He served as a lieutenant commander in the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) from 1971 to 1980.
Ottaway studied law at Bristol University, graduating in 1974. He qualified as a solicitor in 1977, specializing in maritime and commercial law, and was a partner of William A. Crump & Son in London in 1981–87. He was a director of Coastal States Petroleum (UK) Ltd in 1988–95.
Ottaway was Conservative MP for Nottingham North from 1983 to 1987. This was a safe Labour Party seat, which he won unexpectedly with a majority of 362 in the Conservative landslide following the Falklands War. Unsurprisingly the seat reverted to Labour in 1987, when he was defeated by Graham Allen. Ottaway re-entered Parliament in 1992 when he won the constituency of Croydon South.
On re-entering parliament in 1992, Ottaway served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Heseltine MP and from October 1995 he was a Government Whip. In opposition from 1997, he was a Front Bench spokesman as Shadow Minister for London and Local Government, Shadow Defence Minister, Shadow Paymaster General and Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment.
Between 2005 and 2010 Parliament he was a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Vice Chairman of the 1922 Committee and a member of the Conservative Party. After the 2010 election, he became the first Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee to be elected by MPs from all parliamentary parties.
In 2011, he was declared The Week's "Backbencher of the Year" based on his committee's enquiry into Afghanistan that was highly critical of Government policy and urged the UK to do more to encourage the US to talk with the Taliban in pursuance of peace.
Ottaway chaired the All Party Parliamentary London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Group and was a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Population, Development and Reproductive Health. In 2012 he won the Population Institute's Global Media Award for ground-breaking research into population growth. His report Sex, Ideology and Religion: 10 Myths about World Population won the Institute's Best Essay category.[citation needed]
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Richard Ottaway
Sir Richard Geoffrey James Ottaway (born 24 May 1945) is a British Conservative Party politician and consultant. He was the Member of Parliament for Croydon South from 1992 to 2015. Ottaway also served as the MP for Nottingham North from 1983 to 1987.
Ottaway was born on 24 May 1945 in Sonning, Berkshire. He attended Backwell School, a secondary modern school in Backwell, North Somerset. He joined the Royal Navy as an artificer apprentice in 1961 and undertook officer training at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in 1965. He also served as the Royal Navy officer between 1965 and 1970 as a Lieutenant, deployed in HMS Beachampton, HMS Nubian, and the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. He served as a lieutenant commander in the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) from 1971 to 1980.
Ottaway studied law at Bristol University, graduating in 1974. He qualified as a solicitor in 1977, specializing in maritime and commercial law, and was a partner of William A. Crump & Son in London in 1981–87. He was a director of Coastal States Petroleum (UK) Ltd in 1988–95.
Ottaway was Conservative MP for Nottingham North from 1983 to 1987. This was a safe Labour Party seat, which he won unexpectedly with a majority of 362 in the Conservative landslide following the Falklands War. Unsurprisingly the seat reverted to Labour in 1987, when he was defeated by Graham Allen. Ottaway re-entered Parliament in 1992 when he won the constituency of Croydon South.
On re-entering parliament in 1992, Ottaway served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Heseltine MP and from October 1995 he was a Government Whip. In opposition from 1997, he was a Front Bench spokesman as Shadow Minister for London and Local Government, Shadow Defence Minister, Shadow Paymaster General and Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment.
Between 2005 and 2010 Parliament he was a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Vice Chairman of the 1922 Committee and a member of the Conservative Party. After the 2010 election, he became the first Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee to be elected by MPs from all parliamentary parties.
In 2011, he was declared The Week's "Backbencher of the Year" based on his committee's enquiry into Afghanistan that was highly critical of Government policy and urged the UK to do more to encourage the US to talk with the Taliban in pursuance of peace.
Ottaway chaired the All Party Parliamentary London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Group and was a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Population, Development and Reproductive Health. In 2012 he won the Population Institute's Global Media Award for ground-breaking research into population growth. His report Sex, Ideology and Religion: 10 Myths about World Population won the Institute's Best Essay category.[citation needed]
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