Edwina Currie
Former British politician, broadcaster and writer / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Edwina Currie (née Cohen; born 13 October 1946) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician, serving as Conservative Party Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire from 1983 until 1997. She was a Junior Health Minister for two years, resigning in 1988 during the salmonella-in-eggs controversy.
Edwina Currie | |
---|---|
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health | |
In office 10 September 1986 – 16 December 1988 | |
Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
Preceded by | John Major |
Succeeded by | Roger Freeman |
Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire | |
In office 9 June 1983 – 8 April 1997 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Mark Todd |
Personal details | |
Born | Edwina Cohen (1946-10-13) 13 October 1946 (age 77) Liverpool, England |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouses |
|
Domestic partner | John Major (1984–1988) |
Children | 2, including Debbie |
Residence(s) | Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, England |
Alma mater | |
By the time Currie lost her seat as an MP in 1997, she had begun a new career as a novelist and broadcaster. She is the author of six novels, and has also written four works of non-fiction. In September 2002, the publication of Currie's Diaries (1987–92) caused a sensation, as they revealed a four-year affair with colleague (and later Prime Minister) John Major between 1984 and 1988. Currie's record as Junior Health Minister was heavily scrutinised in the 2010s, and to a lesser extent at the time, for her close relationship with Jimmy Savile; she hired Savile as chairman of Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital, where it is now known he molested and raped mentally unstable patients. Currie previously expressed her "full confidence" in him.[1][2][3]
Currie remains an outspoken public figure, with a reputation for being "highly opinionated,"[4] and currently earns her living as an author and media personality.