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MICHAEL PORTILLO was born in North London in 1953. His father, Luis, had come to Britain as a refugee at the end of the Spanish Civil War, and his mother, Cora, was brought up in Fife. She met Luis while she was an undergraduate at Oxford.
Michael attended a grammar school, Harrow County, and went to Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he gained a first class degree in History.
He left Cambridge in 1975, and for a year worked for a shipping company. He moved to the Conservative Research Department in 1976, where he spent three years. At the General Election in 1979 he was responsible for briefing Margaret Thatcher before her press conferences. For the next two years he was special adviser to the Secretary of State for Energy.
He worked for Kerr McGee Oil (UK) Ltd from 1981 - 1983. He contested the Birmingham Perry Bar seat at the 1983 Election.
In 1982 Michael and Carolyn married. They had first met when they were at school. Carolyn had become a chartered accountant and for the last fifteen years has been a ‘headhunter’ with Spencer Stuart Associates.
Michael returned to politics as a special adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Nigel Lawson) and in December 1984 won the by-election in Enfield Southgate, caused by the murder of Sir Anthony Berry MP in the Brighton bombing. Michael represented the seat for thirteen years but was defeated in the 1997 Election.
He joined the Government in 1986, and remained a member until 1997. He was a whip, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Social Security, Minister of State for Transport, Minister of State for Local Government and Inner Cities; and as a Cabinet Minister was Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Secretary of State for Employment, and Secretary of State for Defence. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1992.
After his 1997 electoral defeat, Michael returned to Kerr McGee as an adviser. He also turned to journalism. He wrote about walking as a pilgrim on the Santiago Way, and working as a hospital porter. He had a weekly column in The Scotsman. He had a three part series for Channel 4 about politics Portillo’s Progress, and a programme in BBC2’s Great Railway Journeys series, which was partly a biography of his late father, and radio programmes on Wagner and the Spanish Civil War.
Michael was re-elected to Parliament in a by-election in Kensington and Chelsea in November 1999 and was Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer February 2000 - September 2001.
Following the Conservatives’ election defeat in 2001, Michael contested the leadership of the party. He was unsuccessful, and decided to return to the backbenches. He has made a number of television programmes for BBC2 including Art that shook the world: Richard Wagner’s Ring, Portillo in Euroland, Elizabeth I in the series Great Britons and When Michael Portillo became a single mum.
Michael is a member of the International Commission on Missing Persons in the former Yugoslavia (which organises the identification of massacre victims) under the chairmanship of Jim Kimsey.
Michael is a member of the Board of BAE Systems plc.
In 2005, Michael retired from politics to pursue a career in the media.
Outside of appearing and speaking at live corporate and private events Michael Portillo has a number of retail products available that can be purchased through Speakers Corner. For upcoming new book and product launches related to Michael Portillo then please contact one of the Speakers Corner booking agents on +44 (0) 208 365 3200 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk




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Michael Portillo has spoken and appeared at a number of recent corporate events. Please find some client speaker testimonials and reviews for Michael Portillo for a number of these events and conferences. If you would like some additional information as to how to book Michael Portillo for your corporate event, then please contact one of the Speakers Corner booking agents on +44 (0) 208 365 3200 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
"We were particularly impressed by Michael effort and energy. He mixed and worked the entire room everyone said that they had spoken to him! His speech was great and very good value for money as he went that extra yard."
"Michael Portillo was an excellent choice as keynote speaker at our Annual Conference. He was very flexible and professional, the content was superb and he delivered a brilliant and relaxed performance. The delegates even those who didnt share his political views were impressed."
"Michael did not disappoint, he was courteous and open to all he met and his ability to work the room made everyone feel included in his speech - which was pitched perfectly with the right balance of humour and insight. Thank you."
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"Charm personified. Deeply knowledgeable, very personable, and not afraid to speak his mind."
Ben Ami was the chief Israeli negotiator at the Camp David summit in 2000. He applies his expertise on conflict resolution to managerial situations as well as international politics.
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Call us on +44 (0) 20 8365 3200 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
Ex-Governor of Hong Kong in charge of the handover to China in 1999, Chris was a former minister in a Conservative Government and was made a life peer in 2005
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