Sir Andrew Bowden (born 8 April 1930) is a British Conservative Party politician. From 2004 to 2010, he was an international consultant at Global Equities Corporation.

Early life

Bowden was born the son of William Victor Bowden, a solicitor, and Francesca Wilson. He was educated at Ardingly College. He started his career as a sales executive. He served as a councillor on Wandsworth Borough Council from 1956 to 1961 and as national chairman of Young Conservatives from 1960 to 1961. Bowden worked in the paint industry from 1955 to 1968.

Parliamentary career

He entered the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

on his fourth attempt in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

by gaining the Brighton Kemptown seat from the Labour Party. As well as fighting Kemptown in the previous election, he had fought Hammersmith North in 1955 and Kensington North in 1964. He remained Member of Parliament for Kemptown until his defeat by Labour's Desmond Turner in the 1997 election.Siobhan Ryan
Ex-MP's wife to sue hospital over fall
'' The Argus'', 26 September 2008Committee Powerless to Act Against "Sleaze" MPs

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

As an MP, he acted as a parliamentary consultant for Southern Water. He was a member of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

from 1987 to 1997. He was accused of failing to register an election donation of £5,319 from lobbyist Ian Greer, who acted for Mohammed Al Fayed, as well as business interests with the House of Fraser.

After Parliament

In recent years he has become a regular on the poker circuit. He also plays

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

. From 1975 to 1997, he served as national president of the Captive Animals Protection Society. He is a patron of the Sussex & Kent

ME/CFS Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling Chronic condition, chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory ...

Society. He is president of Brighton's Royal British Legion branch. He has also acted as vice president of the League Against Cruel Sports.David Selby, ''Earthkind: Teachers' Handbook on Humane Education'', Trentham Books, 1995, p. 19

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Honours

Bowden received an MBE (Order of the British Empire), MBE in 1961. He was knighted in 1994.

Personal life

Bowden married Benita Napier in 1970. He has a son and daughter. Bowden lives in Ovingdean,

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, and is a member of the Carlton Club. His recreations include birdwatching, chess and poker.

Bibliography

*''Dare We Trust Them – A New Vision for Europe'' (2005)

References

*'' Times Guide to the House of Commons 1997'' *''Who's Who 2007'' *''Paul Kelbie, The Independent (London), 17 Jun 2006'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowden, Andrew 1930 births Living people People educated at Ardingly College Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of Wandsworth Metropolitan Borough Council UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Knights Bachelor Members of the Order of the British Empire