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Kenneth Baker
Kenneth Baker was born in 1934 and was educated at Hampton Grammar School and Oxford University. Following a period of national service he worked at Shell before being elected at a by-election in 1968 for the constituency of Acton. He lost this seat at the 1970 General Election but won the by-election of St. Marylebone in October 1970, a constituency he held until 1983. After 1983 he represented the constituency of Mole Valley, which he held until his retirement from the House of Commons in 1997.
Baker had been made the Minister for Information Technology in 1981 before being promoted to the Cabinet in 1985 as Secretary of State for Environment. In 1986 he became the Secretary of State for Education and Science until 1989 when he became the Chairman of the Conservative Party. Following John Major's victory in the Conservative leadership contest in November 1990 he became Home Secretary until the 1992 General Election. Following the reshuffle after the General Election Major offered Kenneth Baker an alternative position, which he refused and instead resigned from the Cabinet. He was elevated to the Peerage in 1997 as Baron Baker of Dorking.