Age, Biography and Wiki

Leon Brittan was born on 25 September, 1939 in London, England, is a British politician (1939–2015). Discover Leon Brittan's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 76 years old?

Popular As Leon Brittan
Occupation miscellaneous
Age 76 years old
Zodiac Sign Libra
Born 25 September, 1939
Birthday 25 September
Birthplace London, England
Date of death 2015
Died Place London, England
Nationality United Kingdom

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 25 September. He is a member of famous Miscellaneous with the age 76 years old group.

Leon Brittan Height, Weight & Measurements

At 76 years old, Leon Brittan height not available right now. We will update Leon Brittan's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Who Is Leon Brittan's Wife?

His wife is Diana Peterson (m. 23 December 1980)

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Diana Peterson (m. 23 December 1980)
Sibling Not Available
Children 2

Leon Brittan Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Leon Brittan worth at the age of 76 years old? Leon Brittan’s income source is mostly from being a successful Miscellaneous. He is from United Kingdom. We have estimated Leon Brittan's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income Miscellaneous

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Timeline

1922

Jonathan Aitken wrote of Brittan's resignation: "Soon after a poisonous meeting of Tory backbenchers at the 1922 Committee, he fell on his sword. It was a combination of a witch hunt and a search for a scapegoat – tainted by an undercurrent of anti-Semitism. […] I believed what should have been obvious to anyone else, that he was being used as a lightning conductor to deflect the fire that the Prime Minister had started and inflamed".

It was later revealed that Brittan had attempted to persuade British Aerospace and General Electric Company (GEC) to withdraw from the European consortium.

1939

Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, (25 September 1939 – 21 January 2015) was a British Conservative politician and barrister who served as a European Commissioner from 1989 to 1999.

1966

After unsuccessfully contesting the constituency of Kensington North in 1966 and 1970, he was elected to Parliament in the general election of February 1974 for Cleveland and Whitby, and became an opposition spokesman in 1976.

1974

As a member of Parliament from 1974 to 1988, he served several ministerial roles in Margaret Thatcher's government, including Home Secretary from 1983 to 1985.

Leon Brittan was born in London, the son of Rebecca (née Lipetz) and Joseph Brittan, a doctor.

His parents were Lithuanian Jews who had migrated to Britain before the Second World War.

He was educated at the Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was President of the Cambridge Union Society and Chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association.

Brittan then studied at Yale University on a Henry Fellowship.

Sir Samuel Brittan, the economics journalist, was his brother.

The former Conservative MP Malcolm Rifkind, and the music producer Mark Ronson, were cousins.

1978

He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1978.

1979

Between 1979 and 1981, he was Minister of State at the Home Office.

He was then promoted to become Chief Secretary to the Treasury, becoming the youngest member of the Cabinet.

He warned cabinet colleagues that spending on social security, health and education would have to be cut "whether they like it or not".

1981

Margaret Thatcher's government had carefully planned for a miners' strike, and a Whitehall committee had been meeting in secret since 1981 to prepare for a protracted dispute.

1983

At the 1983 election, Brittan was elected MP for Richmond.

Following the election, he was promoted to Home Secretary, becoming the youngest since Churchill.

1984

During the 1984–85 miners' strike, Brittan was a strong critic of the leadership of the National Union of Mineworkers.

He accused them of organising violence by flying pickets, whom he described as "thugs".

One factor in the defeat of the strike was central control of local police forces.

As soon as the strike began, Brittan set up a National Reporting Centre in New Scotland Yard to coordinate intelligence and the supply of police officers between forces as necessary.

In 1984, after the murder of British police officer Yvonne Fletcher during a protest outside the Libyan embassy in London, Brittan headed the government's crisis committee as both Thatcher and the Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe, were away at the time.

1985

In September 1985, Brittan was moved to Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

The reason for his demotion, according to Jonathan Aitken, was that the prime minister Margaret Thatcher felt that Brittan was "not getting the message across on television".

In her memoirs, Thatcher wrote of Brittan: "Everybody complained about his manner on television, which seemed aloof and uncomfortable."

Brittan had been criticised as a poor communicator and for his role in the suppression of a BBC television programme in the Real Lives series on The Troubles in Northern Ireland, At the Edge of the Union.

Brittan stated that transmission of the programme would be against the national interest and in August 1985 he wrote to the BBC chairman, Stuart Young, asking for the broadcast to be cancelled.

The BBC's Board of Governors called an emergency meeting and ruled that the documentary could not be shown.

The controversy led to a rift between the BBC's boards of management and governors.

It also led to a day of strike action by hundreds of television and radio workers who protested against what they perceived as government censorship.

1986

In September 1986, Brittan was cleared by a High Court Judge of acting unlawfully when, as Home Secretary, he gave MI5 permission to tap the telephone of a leader of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Brittan resigned as Trade and Industry Secretary in January 1986 over the Westland affair.

Brittan had authorised the leaking of a letter from the Solicitor General that had accused Michael Heseltine of inaccuracies in his campaign for Westland to be rescued by a consortium of European investors.

The rest of the government, led by Margaret Thatcher, supported a deal with the American business Sikorsky Fiat.

In October 1986, in a House of Commons debate, Brittan made a bitter attack on Michael Heseltine, accusing him of "thwarting the Government at every turn" in its handling of the Westland affair.

Brittan said that Government decisions "should have the support of all its members and should not be undermined from within".

1989

In 1989, Brittan revealed in a Channel 4 programme that two senior Downing Street officials, Bernard Ingham and Charles Powell, had approved the leaking of the letter from the Solicitor General.

Brittan's claim led to calls from some Labour MPs for a new inquiry into the Westland affair.

2014

In January 2014, secret government documents released by the National Archives disclosed that Libya twice warned British officials that the Libyan embassy protest would become violent – hours before WPC Fletcher was killed.