Richard Saladin Hickmet (1 December 1947 – 10 September 2024) was a British Conservative Party politician and barrister who was the MP for Glanford and Scunthorpe from 1983 to 1987.

Early life

Hickmet was born in London in 1947. Of

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

origin, Hickmet's father, Ferid Hikmet, emigrated from Cyprus to the UK in the 1930s. His father and uncle, Nevvar Hikmet, were well known in the Turkish Cypriot community, and opened several restaurants in

Soho, London SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall (SoHo), and ha ...

in the 1940s, during

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 ...

. Hickmet went to

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding s ...

Street, Somerset Street is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, with a population of 12,709 in 2021. On a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, it is southwest of Glastonbury. There is evidence of Roman occupation. ...

, then the Sorbonne in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. From the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

he gained a BA. He was called to the Bar in 1974, and practised at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. He was a councillor on

Wandsworth Borough Council Wandsworth London Borough Council, also known as Wandsworth Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Wandsworth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour m ...

from 1978 to 1983.

Parliamentary career

Hickmet was Member of Parliament for Glanford and Scunthorpe, which he won in the Conservative landslide at the 1983 general election. However, he lost it to Labour candidate

Elliot Morley Elliot Anthony Morley (born 6 July 1952) is a British former Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glanford and Scunthorpe from 1987 to 1997 and then Scunthorpe from 1997 to 2010. In 2009, he was accused by ''The ...

at the 1987 election. Hickmet was later an unsuccessful candidate at the Eastbourne by-election in 1990 caused by the murder of

Ian Gow Ian Reginald Edward Gow (; 11 February 1937 – 30 July 1990) was a British politician and solicitor. As a member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastbourne from 1974, until he was assassinated in 1 ...

. His last recorded contribution in the House of Commons was during

Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention (political custom), constitutional convention in the United Kingd ...

on 5 May 1987, during which he said that "most parents are appalled by the promotion of gay rights" in schools, before suggesting that schools should be given more independence on such matters.

Later career

Hickmet was later a barrister at law specialising in family practice and planning cases. He was based in the West Country in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

but frequently traveled to London with his work, and had a practice spanning the whole of the West Country and the Midlands. He also worked for Wolfestans in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, Alletsons in

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

and was affiliated with Southernhay Chambers in

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. He was selected as

High Sheriff of Somerset The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government ...

for 2017–18.

Personal life and death

Hickmet lived in

, Somerset with his wife. He married Susan Ludwig in 1973, and together they had three daughters. He died at home on 10 September 2024, at the age of 76.

References

Sources

*''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'',

Times Newspapers Ltd News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp. It is the current publisher of ...

, 1987 & 1992 *''

Almanac of British Politics The ''Almanac of British Politics'' is a reference work which aims to provide a detailed look at the politics of the United Kingdom (UK) through an approach of profiling the social, economic and historical characteristics of each parliamentary cons ...

'' (1999) *

External links

Barristers Directory

Eastbourne 1990 by-election
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickmet, Richard 1947 births 2024 deaths 20th-century English lawyers 21st-century English lawyers Alumni of the University of Hull British people of Turkish Cypriot descent Conservative Party (UK) councillors Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in the London Borough of Wandsworth English barristers English people of Turkish descent High sheriffs of Somerset People educated at Millfield People from Bridgwater UK MPs 1983–1987