Sir Geoffrey Edwin Pattie (17 January 1936 – 8 October 2024) was a British

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 ...

politician and Member of Parliament. Pattie was also chairman of the controversial company

SCL Group SCL Group (formerly Strategic Communication Laboratories) was a private British behavioural research and strategic communication company that came to prominence through the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal involving its subsidiaries ...

, the parent company of

Cambridge Analytica Cambridge Analytica Ltd. (CA), previously known as SCL USA, was a British political consulting firm that came to prominence through the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal. It was started in 2013, as a subsidiary of the private intell ...

, and that offered "psychological warfare" services aimed at influencing elections.

Early life, education and military service

Pattie was born in

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

on 17 January 1936. He was educated at

Durham School Durham School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding and day school in the English Public school (UK), public school tradition located in Durham, England, Durham, North East England. Since 2021 it has been part of th ...

, and St Catharine's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

where he obtained an MA Honours Degree in Law and was later made an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, president, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as ...

of the College. After Cambridge, he joined the army, becoming a captain in the

Royal Green Jackets The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division (the other being The Light Infantry). History The Royal Green Jackets was formed on 1 January 1966 by the amalgam ...

.Who's Who 1987 From 1959 through 1966, he served with the Queen's Royal Rifles and achieved the rank of captain. He served as honorary colonel of the 4th Battalion,

from January 1996.

Business

Pattie was a director at advertising agency

Collett Dickenson Pearce Collett Dickenson Pearce & Partners (CDP) was a British advertising agency which operated from 1960 till 2000. It was founded by John Pearce and Ronnie Dickenson who bought an existing agency owned by John Collett. The agency played a pivotal ro ...

from 1966 until 1979, as managing director from 1969 to 1973. During the 1990s he held several senior marketing positions in companies belonging to

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering. It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...

, including Marconi Defence Systems and was Marketing Director of the group itself from 1997 to 1999. Pattie was the founding Chairman of Strategic Communications Laboratories where he was also Director until he resigned from that position in 2008; the company offered "psychological warfare" services aimed at influencing elections, and later became known to a wider audience as a result of the

Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal In the 2010s, personal data belonging to millions of Facebook users was collected by British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica for Campaign advertising, political advertising without informed consent. The data was collected through an app call ...

involving its subsidiary. He was senior partner at Terrington Management retiring in December 2015.

Public and political service

Greater London Council

In 1967 Pattie was elected to the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

as one of four councillors representing the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...

. He served a single three-year term, stepping down in 1970.

Member of Parliament

After being beaten by Labour's

Tom Driberg Thomas Edward Neil Driberg, Baron Bradwell (22 May 1905 – 12 August 1976) was a British journalist, politician, High Anglican churchman and possible Soviet spy, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1942 to 1955, and again from 1 ...

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking, 1965–1980 ** Municipal Borough of Barking, 1931–1965 ** Barking (UK Parliament constituency) ** Barking (electoral division), Greater ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and

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 ...

, Pattie was elected as Member of Parliament for

Chertsey and Walton Chertsey and Walton was a late 20th century parliamentary constituency in Surrey which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system. His ...

in February 1974 – a seat he held until his retirement in May 1997.

Ministerial office

In May 1979, he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence (RAF). From January 1983 until September 1984 he was then appointed to Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence Procurement and then served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement. He continued his public service as Minister of State for Industry until 1987, with responsibility for Science, Civil Aviation, Space and Technology. During his time in office he was actively involved in the initiation of a number of national and international technology projects. These included the Alvey Programme, which ceased when he left office after the 1987 General Election, and several projects of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, such as

Eureka Eureka often refers to: * Eureka (word), a famous exclamation attributed to Archimedes * Eureka effect, the sudden, unexpected realization of the solution to a problem Eureka or Ureka may also refer to: History * Eureka Rebellion, an 1854 g ...

and ESPRIT. He was appointed to the Privy Council in the

1987 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1987 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

. Immediately after he left ministerial office he was created

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the 1987

Birthday Honours List The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are p ...

. He was vice-chairman of the Conservative Party in 1990.

Voluntary roles

Pattie served as Chairman of the Intellectual Property Institute from 1994 to 1999, and served on the Board of Governors of the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

while serving as an MP.

Personal life and death

Pattie was a practising

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and was a member of the General Synod of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

from 1970 to 1975. Pattie married Tuëma Eyre-Maunsell in 1960, and together they had two children. He died at home in

Duncton Duncton is a village and civil parish in the Chichester (district), District of Chichester in West Sussex, England. The village is in the South Downs south of Petworth on the A285 road. The civil parish is about long north – south and less ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, on 8 October 2024, at the age of 88.

Awards

* In 1987, Pattie was appointed

. * Pattie was awarded the Silver Star Award by the

International Strategic Studies Association The International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA) describes itself as Washington, D.C.–based non-governmental organization (NGO) with a worldwide membership of professionals involved in national management, particularly in national and int ...

for Outstanding Contributions to Strategic Progress. * He was elected an

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

in 2007.

References

External links

Sir Geoffrey Pattie was awarded the Silver Star Award from by the International Strategic Studies Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pattie, Geoffrey 1936 births 2024 deaths Knights Bachelor Members of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Royal Green Jackets officers UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge People educated at Durham School Members of the Greater London Council Governors of the British Film Institute People from Stockton-on-Tees