Sybil Judith Chaplin , known as Judith Chaplin (née Schofield; 19 August 193919 February 1993), was a British Conservative Party politician.

Career

Chaplin was elected a councillor on

Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for Norfolk, England. Below it there are seven second-tier district councils: Breckland District, Breckland, Broadland, Borough of Great Yarmouth, Great Yarmo ...

in 1975, following her husband into the role; on the council she became chairman of the education committee. She took on a role in 1986 with the

Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and inco ...

, becoming head of policy for the group. In 1988 she became special advisor to

Nigel Lawson Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, (11 March 1932 – 3 April 2023) was a British politician and journalist. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament for Blaby in Leicestershire from 1974 to 1992, and served ...

, the then

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

, and remained in the role when

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

took over the following year. When Major became

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, she acted as his Private Secretary and political assistant. She was elected to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for Newbury at the 1992 election. That June she was appointed OBE, and she was considered likely to become chancellor of the exchequer herself in the future; however, these hopes were ended less than a year later by her sudden death.

Personal life

Sybil Judith Schofield was born in

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,674 in the 2021 census, while the population of the civil parish was 31,128. Harpe ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, on 19 August 1939. Her father, Theodore Thomas Schofield, was a dentist; her mother was Sybil Elsie, née Saunders. She was educated at

Wycombe Abbey Wycombe Abbey is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private girls' boarding and day school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The school was founded in 1896 by Dame Frances Dove (1847–1942), who was previously headmistress of ...

before studying economics at Girton College, Cambridge. She went on to gain a postgraduate degree in economics from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

. She married Robert Walpole, 10th Baron Walpole, in 1962. They had two sons and two daughters, including Alice Walpole, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Luxembourg. However, their marriage was ultimately dissolved in 1979, and she married Michael Chaplin in 1984. Judith Chaplin died of a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...

on 19 February 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaplin, Judith 1939 births 1993 deaths 20th-century British women politicians Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of East Anglia Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) councillors Deaths from pulmonary embolism Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of Norfolk County Council Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Berkshire Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Wycombe Abbey People from Harpenden UK MPs 1992–1997

Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...

20th-century English women 20th-century English politicians Women councillors in England

Career

Personal life

See also

References