About Kenneth Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking
Kenneth Wilfred Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking (born 3 November 1934) is a British politician, Conservative Member of Parliament from 1968 to 1997, and a cabinet minister, including holding the offices of Home Secretary, Education Secretary and Chairman of the Conservative Party. He is a life member of the Tory Reform Group. Baker stood down from the House of Commons at the 1997 election and was created a life peer as Baron Baker of Dorking, joining the House of Lords. == Early life == The son of a civil servant, Baker was born in Newport, Monmouthshire. He was educated at Hampton Grammar School between 1946 and 1948, a boys' voluntary aided school in West London (now Hampton School, an independent school). He then went on to study at St Paul's School, and at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1958 with a BA Degree in History. Whilst at Oxford, Baker served as Secretary of The Oxford Union. Four years later he graduated with a MSc degree in International Law and Regulations. He did National Service in the Royal Artillery, reaching the rank of lieutenant, and worked for Royal Dutch Shell before being elected as a Member of Parliament at a by-election in March 1968. == Career == === Political career === ==== Member of Parliament ==== Having unsuccessfully contested Poplar in 1964 and Acton in 1966, Baker was first elected to Parliament when he won Acton at a March 1968 by-election, gaining it from Labour following the suicide of Bernard Floud.
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