Howard, Michael (1941-…), served as the leader of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom from 2003 to 2005. Howard’s main goal as leader was to help the Conservatives win control of the British government from the Labour Party, which took power in 1997. When the Conservatives lost to Labour in elections in 2005, Howard announced that he would not seek reelection as party leader. Later that year, members of the Conservative Party elected David Cameron to be their new leader.
Howard was born Michael Hecht on July 7, 1941, in Gorseinon, Wales. His father, a Romanian immigrant, later changed the family name to Howard. Michael Howard was educated at Cambridge University. In 1964, he became a barrister (lawyer qualified to argue cases in the highest British courts). Howard ran for Parliament in 1966 and 1970 but failed to win a seat. He became a queen’s counsel (senior barrister) in 1982. The title changed to king’s counsel after Charles III succeeded Elizabeth II as the British monarch in 2022.
In 1983, Howard was elected as the member of Parliament representing Folkestone and Hythe. From 1985 to 1990, he held a variety of midlevel positions in Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s government. Under Prime Minister John Major, Howard served as employment minister from 1990 to 1992 and as environment minister from 1992 to 1993. From 1993 to 1997, Howard was home secretary, the nation’s top law-enforcement official.
After the Conservatives lost the 1997 election and Major resigned, Howard made an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the party. He did not try again when the position came open in 2001. But after Iain Duncan Smith resigned in 2003, Howard won the position without opposition.
