Richard Graham (politician)

Richard Graham MP
File:Richard Graham.jpg
Member of Parliament for Gloucester
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	Parmjit Dhanda
Majority	7,241 (8.8%)
Personal details
Born	(1958-04-04) 4 April 1958
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservatives
Spouse(s)	Anthea Graham
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford
Website	Official Website

Richard Graham (born 4 April 1958) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gloucester, in one of the largest swings in the General election (8.9%).

Education

Chapel of Eton College

Graham was educated at the Downs School, Colwall, Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford where he was an exhibitioner in Modern History.

Life and early career

Graham was previously an airline manager, a diplomat and a pensions manager. He started with John Swire and Sons and became General Manager of Cathay Pacific Airways in France at 24 and in the Philippines at 26, concurrently Vice Chairman of the Board of Airline Representatives. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1986, and was Second, later First, Secretary, in the British High Commission Nairobi and then British Trade Commissioner China, First Secretary British Embassy Beijing and HM Consul Macao (1989-1992). Graham joined Barings plc as its Chief Representative China in 1993, and became a director of Baring Asset Management in 1996.

Graham is a former director of Care for Children and a current trustee of the Gloucestershire Community Foundation.

Graham has lived and worked in ten countries, speaks eight languages, and according to his website is the only parliamentarian who speaks Cantonese and Mandarin. Graham is married with three children.

Political career

Graham was elected Cotswold district councillor in 2003, becoming Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in 2006.

Following his successful election to the House of Commons in 2010, Graham was a member of the Select Committee for Work and Pensions May–November 2010, and served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt Hon Lord Howell from November 2010 to September 2012.

In November 2012 Graham was appointed Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Indonesia. He is also Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt Hon Hugo Swire, Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Graham chairs the All Party Parliamentary Groups for Pensions, Regeneration Through Innovation, the Commonwealth, Indonesia, and China.

In June 2010, a parliamentary debate regarding apprenticeships and their importance to Gloucester, called by Graham himself, had to be cancelled after he turned up late. Graham later blamed a 'printer error'.

In June 2013, Graham got himself into trouble with the ICO for breaching the Data Protection Act and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, then spamming people who had contacted him on parliamentary business.

He was reelected with an increased majority of 7,241 in the 2015 General Election. He apologised for parking his van in a disabled parking bay after a "37 hour day" following the election In July 2015 he was elected as a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee once again.

in July 2015, Graham had an award from the road safety charity Brake withdrawn after he received a six month driving ban for speeding.

Awards

Graham was shortlisted for the Grassroot Diplomat Initiative Award in 2015 for his work on building the Gloucestershire Credit Union, and he remains in the directory of the Grassroot Diplomat Who's Who publication.

External links

• Official Website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Parmjit Dhanda	Member of Parliament for Gloucester 2010–present	Incumbent