George Walden

For the American chemist, seeGeorge B. Walden.

For the American baseball player, seeGeorge Walden (baseball).

George Walden
Member of Parliament forBuckingham
In office 9 June 1983 – 8 April 1997
Preceded by	Sir Bill Benyon
Succeeded by	John Bercow
Personal details
Born	(1939-09-15)15 September 1939
Nationality	British
Spouse	Sarah Hunt ​ (m.1970)​
Children	3, includingCelia
Education	Latymer Upper School
Alma mater	Jesus College, Cambridge Moscow University
Occupation	Journalist, diplomat, politician

George Gordon Harvey WaldenCMG(born 15 September 1939) is an English journalist, formerdiplomatand formerpoliticianfor theConservative Party,who served asMember of Parliament(MP) forBuckinghamfrom1983to1997and Minister for Higher Education underMargaret Thatcher.

Early life and education

Walden was educated atLatymer Upper SchoolinHammersmith,London, atJesus College, Cambridge,and for post-graduate studies atMoscow University.During his time in the diplomatic service, he studied Chinese at theUniversity of Hong Kong(1965–67), spent a year at theÉcole nationale d'administration(ÉNA, then located inParis), from 1973 to 1974, and asabbaticalyear atHarvard(1981–82).

Diplomat

Walden joined theForeign Officein 1962 and worked there as a researcher until 1965, when he went toHong Kongto study Chinese. After that, he was posted as Second Secretary in the office of the BritishChargé d'AffairesinPeking,from 1967 to 1970 (there was no ambassador at that time). As First Secretary, he was at the Soviet Desk in theForeign and Commonwealth Office(FCO), 1970–1973 (during which time he was formally appointed an Officer in the Diplomatic Service) and, after his year at ÉNA, at the British Embassy in Paris 1974–78. He was then appointedPrincipal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,servingDavid OwenandLord Carrington,for which he was decorated CMG in theNew Year Honoursof 1981.After his sabbatical at Harvard, he was head of the planning staff at the FCO (1982–83), and then left theDiplomatic Serviceto stand for Parliament.

Politician

Walden was elected as the MP forBuckinghamat the1983 general election.He wasParliamentary Private Secretaryto the thenSecretary of State for Education and Science,Sir Keith Joseph,1984–85 and Minister for Higher Education 1985–1987. He was re-elected in 1987 and 1992 and retired from parliament at the1997 general election.His successor was futureSpeaker of the House of CommonsJohn Bercow.

Journalist

Walden wrote a column for theEvening Standard1991–2002 and now writes for various papers as a guest columnist.

Publications

• The Shoeblack and the Sovereign: Reflections on Ethics and Foreign Policy,New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988.ISBN0312022816
• The Blocked Society,Cambridge:Tory Reform Group,1990
• Ethics and Foreign Policy,London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1990.ISBN978-0-297-82021-5
• We Should Know Better: Solving the Education Crisis,London: Fourth Estate, 1996.ISBN1857025202
• Lucky George: Memoirs of an Anti-Politician,London: Allen Lane, 1999.ISBN0713993162
• The New Elites: Making a Career in the Masses,London: Allen Lane, 2000.ISBN0713993170
• Who's a Dandy?: Dandyism and Beau Brummell(including a translation ofDu Dandysme et de Georges BrummelbyJules Barbey), London: Gibson Square, 2002.ISBN1903933188
• God Won't Save America: Psychosis of a Nation,London: Gibson Square, 2006.ISBN190393379X
• Time to Emigrate?,London: Gibson Square, 2006.ISBN1903933935(new edition 2007,ISBN1906142009)
• China: A Wolf in the World?,London: Gibson Square, 2011.ISBN1906142173

Family

In 1970, George Walden married the art historian Sarah Hunt, daughter of Dr Thomas Hunt, physician toWinston Churchill,Clement AttleeandAnthony Eden.They have two sons and a daughter, the journalist, novelist and criticCelia Pughe-Morgan.Pughe-Morgan is married to journalistPiers Morgan.

References

• "WALDEN, George Gordon Harvey",Who's Who 2012,A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2011, retrieved 21 August 2012

External links

• "The evil that Stalin did".An article by George Walden discussing a letter from Nikolai Bukharin to Stalin. Published online by Yale University Press.
• Hansard1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by George Walden