David James Christian Faber (born 7 July 1961) is a

schoolmaster A schoolmaster, or simply master, is a male school teacher. The usage first occurred in England in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period. At that time, most schools were one-room or two-room schools and had only one or two such teacher ...

and former

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

member of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. He did not seek re-election in 2001, after which he became an author, before in 2010 being appointed as

head master A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

Summer Fields School Summer Fields is a fee-paying boys' independent day and boarding preparatory school in Summertown, Oxford. It was originally called Summerfield and used to have a subsidiary school, Summerfields, St Leonards-on-Sea (known as "Summers mi"). ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He is the grandson of the late former Conservative Prime Minister

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

(1894–1986).

Family and early life

The son of Julian and

Lady Caroline Faber Lady Ann Caroline Faber (''née'' Macmillan; 29 August 1923 – 14 September 2016) was an English aristocrat, political campaigner and philanthropist. She was the daughter of British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Biography Ann Carolin ...

, Faber comes from an aristocratic political family drawn from the Whig and latterly the Conservative traditions. His maternal grandfather

was Prime Minister at the time of his birth. His maternal grandmother, Lady Dorothy Cavendish, was descended from three Prime Ministers, the 4th Duke of Devonshire (1756–1757), the 2nd Earl of Shelburne (1782–1783) and the 3rd Duke of Portland (1783 and 1807–1809). Faber's great-great-great-granduncle was Lord Hartington and his great-grandfather

Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire (31 May 18686 May 1938), known as Victor Cavendish until 1908, was a British peer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada. A member of the Cavendish family, Victor ...

was also a statesman. His mother's cousins included

Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire (2 January 1920 – 3 May 2004), styled Lord Andrew Cavendish until 1944 and Marquess of Hartington from 1944 to 1950, was a British peer and politician. He was a minister in the government ...

, who was married to Deborah Mitford, and Andrew's elder brother

William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington William John Robert Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (10 December 1917 – 9 September 1944) was a British politician and British Army officer. He was the elder son of Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire, and therefore the heir to the du ...

, who was married to Kathleen Kennedy, the sister of U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and Senators

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...

and Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy. His uncle

Maurice Macmillan Maurice Victor Macmillan, Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden, (27 January 1921 – 10 March 1984), was a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament. He was the only son of Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, who was Prime ...

was a leading figure of

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

's 1970s government. Faber was educated at

, Summertown; and then at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. As an undergrad, Faber was a member of the

Bullingdon Club The Bullingdon Club is a private all-male dining club for Oxford University students. It is known for its wealthy members, grand banquets, and bad behaviour, including vandalism of restaurants and students' rooms. The club selects its members ...

, an all-male dining club for Oxford University students dating back to 1780. It is known for its wealthy members, grand banquets, and bad behaviour, including vandalism of restaurants and students' rooms.

Life and career

Faber first stood for Parliament, unsuccessfully, in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

Stockton North Stockton North is a constituency covering the town of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham and other nearby settlements in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees located north of the River Tees, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by ...

, where he was defeated by Labour's Frank Cook. He worked in marketing and as a political assistant to

Jeffrey Archer Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist and former politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Louth (Lincolnshire) from 1969 to 1974, but did not seek re-election after a fina ...

before entering 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 ...

in 1992 as Conservative Member of Parliament for Westbury. He was parliamentary private secretary to the Minister of State at the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

, 1994 to 1996, and then to the Secretary of State for Health, from 1996 to 1997. In opposition, after the Conservatives lost the 1997 general election, he was their front bench spokesman on Foreign and Commonwealth affairs, until 1998. He served as a member of several

Parliamentary select committee A select committee in the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy is a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues. Description A select committee is a special subcommit ...

s: Social Security, 1992–1997, Culture, Media and Sport, 1998 to 2001, and the

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

, 2000–2001.'Faber, David James Christian', in ''Who's Who 2010'' (London: A. & C. Black, 2009) Faber stood down from parliament at the 2001 general election, to be succeeded by fellow Conservative

Andrew Murrison Surgeon Commander Andrew William Murrison (born 24 April 1961) is a British doctor, Royal Navy, naval officer and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament ...

, when he began a new career as a writer. His book ''Speaking for England: Leo, Julian and John Amery, the tragedy of a political family'' (2005) was about

Julian Amery Harold Julian Amery, Baron Amery of Lustleigh, (27 March 1919 – 3 September 1996) was a British Conservative Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 39 of the 42 years between 1950 and 1992. He was appointed to the ...

, his uncle by his (Amery's) marriage to Faber's maternal aunt, Julian's father

Leo Leo is the Latin word for lion. It most often refers to: * Leo (constellation), a constellation of stars in the night sky * Leo (astrology), an astrological sign of the zodiac * Leo (given name), a given name in several languages, usually mas ...

, and brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, who was executed after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

. In 2009, he was appointed as head of his old prep school, Summer Fields, with effect from September 2010. Faber married firstly Sally Gilbert, a television weather presenter, and they had one son together, but later divorced, with Faber citing

James Hewitt James Lifford Hewitt (born 30 April 1958) is a retired cavalry officer in the British Army. He came to public attention in the mid-1990s after he disclosed an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales, while she was still married to then- Prince C ...

co-respondent In English law, a co-respondent is, in general, a respondent to a petition, or other legal proceeding, along with another or others, or a person called upon to answer in some other way. 7.4.19 Divorce More particularly, since the Matrimonial Cau ...

. He married secondly Sophie Amanda Hedley, and they have two daughters. He is a past committee member of the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

, the governing body of the game of

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, managing an MCC tour of Canada in 2001. He is also a member of

White's White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is London's oldest club and therefore the oldest private members' club in the world. It moved to its current premises on St James's St ...

Books

*David Faber, ''Munich'' (Simon & Schuster) – about the events of 1937–1938 and the

Munich Conference The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

*David Faber, ''Speaking for England: Leo, Julian and John Amery'' (Simon & Schuster, 2005) – the Amery family and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

External links

David Faber at PFDDavid Faber at theyworkforyou.comDavid Faber at publicwhip.org.ukImage, Faber with Sally Gilbert, 1982
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faber, David 1961 births Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Living people People educated at Summer Fields School Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 English people of American descent English people of Scottish descent Heads of schools in England David Faber People educated at Eton College