{{Short description|British businessman and politician}} {{BLP more footnotes needed|date=January 2016}} {{Use Oxford spelling|date=May 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]] | name = Tim Eggar | honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}} | image = | alt = | caption = | office = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Enfield North]] | term_start = 3 May 1979 | term_end = 8 April 1997 | predecessor = [[Bryan Davies, Baron Davies of Oldham|Bryan Davies]] | successor = [[Joan Ryan (politician)|Joan Ryan]] | office2 = | prior_term = | birth_name = Timothy John Crommelin Eggar | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1951|12|19}} | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | death_place = | party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] | spouse = | children = }}
'''Timothy John Crommelin Eggar''' (born 19 December 1951) is a British businessman and former politician. He holds positions on the [[board of directors|boards]] of multiple organisations including [[Shiplake College]] and [[Cape plc]], and was the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] for [[Enfield North]] between 1979 and 1997.
== Personal life == {{BLP unreferenced section|date=July 2023}} Timothy Eggar is the son of [[John Eggar]] and Pamela Crommelin-Brown. He was educated at [[Abberley Hall School]] and [[Winchester College]]. He has degrees from [[Magdalene College, Cambridge]] and [[University of Law|The College of Law]]. He has two children with his wife, Charmian Minoprio, whom he married in 1977.
== Politics == Eggar was elected to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|Commons]] in 1979, aged 27, by winning the previously-[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] seat of [[Enfield North]]. As a backbencher he served on the Treasury and Civil Service Committee and took a special interest in energy, economic, financial and civil service issues. He was an early advocate of [[privatization]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Eggar|first1=Tim|title=Reversing Clause IV: a Policy for Denationalisation|date=1984|publisher=Conservative Political Centre|isbn=0850707072|issue=714|display-authors=etal}}</ref> From 1981 he served as [[Parliamentary Private Secretary]] at the [[Overseas Development Administration]] before being appointed as the [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs]] in 1985.
Eggar was Minister for Employment from 1989 to 1990, and in that capacity he was Minister for Small Business. He took the 1990 Employment Act through Parliament which effectively made [[pre-entry closed shops]] and [[secondary action]] unlawful.
In 1989, a judge said Eggar had acted "stupidly, idiotically and provocatively". Eggar had witnessed a six-year-old girl taking flowers from his front garden, and had taken the girl inside his home in order to reprimand her. The girl's father later assaulted Eggar, for which the man received a suspended prison sentence. Eggar was not asked to give evidence and did not comment on the judge's remarks.<ref>{{cite news|title=Judge rebukes 'idiotic' Minister|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19900208&id=0zhAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LVkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3295,2287084&hl=en|newspaper=[[Glasgow Herald]]|date=8 February 1990|accessdate=5 January 2016|via=[[Google News Archive]]}}</ref>
In July 1990, Eggar was appointed to the [[Department of Education and Science (UK)|Department of Education and Science]]. He was responsible for the Further and Higher Education Act which established the [[Further Education Funding Council for England|Further Education Funding Council]] and removed [[Further Education]] and [[sixth form college]]s from [[Local Education Authority]] control. He also introduced [[GNVQ]]s and the Technology Schools initiative in 1991.
After the 1992 election, Eggar was appointed as Minister for Energy at the [[Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)|Department of Trade and Industry]]. Responsibility for Industry was added in 1994. Among other issues he had responsibility for the Government's sale of [[British Coal]] and the non-[[magnox]] [[nuclear power station]]s. He introduced the Gas Act which led to the restructuring of [[British Gas]] and the introduction of household gas supply competition.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Helm|first1=Dieter|title=Energy, The State, and the Market: British Energy Policy since 1979|date=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0199270740}}</ref>
In January 1996, Eggar announced he would not contest the next election as he wanted to pursue a business career. He stood down as a minister in July 1996. Labour won his Enfield North seat from the Conservatives in their election victory the following year.
In March 2019, Eggar was announced as the new Chairman of the [[Oil and Gas Authority]] (OGA). As Chairman of the OGA he will decide on the future development of the 800 million barrel oil equivalent [[Cambo oil field]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cambo-phase-1-field-development|title = Cambo Phase 1 Field Development}}</ref> Ref D/4261/2021. His decision can be agreed or vetoed by the Head of the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), currently Wendy Kennedy O.B.E., who holds power devolved from the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Investment Strategy (BEIS). Eggar says he is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/news-publications/news/2020/oga-chairman-challenges-the-sector-to-respond-to-the-energy-transition-challenge/|title = OGA Chairman challenges the sector to respond to the energy transition challenge}}</ref> In September 2021, despite being the head of the regulatory body for the industry, it was revealed that he owns £57,600 worth of shares in the oil services company MyCelx, and his wife also has shares in BP and Shell.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-09-17|title=Environmentalists warn of close ties between oil and gas sector and UK's North Sea regulator|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/17/environmentalists-ties-oil-gas-sector-uk-north-sea-regulator-fossil-fuel|access-date=2022-02-15|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref>
== Business == After leaving Cambridge in 1973, Eggar qualified as a [[barrister]] before becoming an [[investment banker]] specialising in natural resource financing.
After leaving Parliament Eggar became [[chairman]] of [[Agip]] UK and [[M. W. Kellogg Limited]]. In 1998, he was appointed as [[CEO]] Of Monument Oil and Gas until its acquisition by [[Lasmo]]. From 2000 to 2005 he was vice-chairman of [[ABN AMRO]]. From 2004 he held a number of non-executive roles including chairman of Harrison Lovegrove & Co, Indago Petroleum, and 3legs Resources, as well as being a [[non-executive director]] of [[Expro]], Anglo Asian Mining.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qualityoflifechallenge.com/About_Eggar.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828060309/http://www.qualityoflifechallenge.com/About_Eggar.htm|archivedate=28 August 2008|title=Tim Eggar|website=Quality of Life Challenge}}</ref>
He was president of the [[Russo-British Chamber of Commerce]] from 2004 to 2012. He is chairman of [[school governor|governor]]s at [[Shiplake College]].,<ref name="Governors">{{cite web|url=https://www.shiplake.org.uk/387/about-shiplake/governors|title=Governors|website=Shiplake College|accessdate=26 May 2015}}</ref> chairman of [[Cape plc]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.capeplc.com/corporate-responsibility/corporate-governance/our-board.aspx|title=Our Board|website=Cape|accessdate=25 May 2015}}</ref> chairman of Mycelx Technologies Corp,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mycelx.com/who_we_are/board_profiles|title=Board of Directors|website=Myclex|accessdate=25 May 2015|archive-date=26 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526201218/http://www.mycelx.com/who_we_are/board_profiles|url-status=dead}}</ref> chairman of Haulfryn Group,<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://campaign.haulfrynholidayhomes.co.uk/media-centre/90/bobby-mcghee-joins-haulfryn-group-as-new-chief-executive|title=Bobby McGhee joins Haulfryn Group as new chief executive|date=16 October 2013|accessdate=5 January 2016|publisher=Haulfryn Group}}</ref> and is also an advisory board member of Braemar Energy Ventures<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.braemarenergy.com/team/board/eggar.html|title=The Rt. Honorable Tim Eggar|website=Braemar Energy Ventures|accessdate=25 May 2015|archive-date=26 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526195046/http://www.braemarenergy.com/team/board/eggar.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Notes== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Sources== {{refbegin|30em}} * {{cite book|work=[[The Times|Times Books]]|title=The Times Guide to the House of Commons|date=11 June 1992|edition=April 1992|editor-last=Wood|editor-first=Alan H.|isbn=0723004978}} * {{cite book|work=[[The Times|Times Books]]|title=The Times Guide to the House of Commons|date=5 May 1998|edition=May 1997|editor-last=Austin|editor-first=Tim|isbn=0723009562}} {{refend}}
== External links == * {{Hansard-contribs | mr-timothy-eggar | Timothy Eggar }}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{succession box | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Enfield North (UK Parliament constituency)|Enfield North]] | years = [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979]]–[[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]] | before = [[Bryan Davies, Baron Davies of Oldham|Bryan Davies]] | after = [[Joan Ryan (politician)|Joan Ryan]] }} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eggar, Timothy}} [[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]] [[Category:1951 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:UK MPs 1979–1983]] [[Category:UK MPs 1983–1987]] [[Category:UK MPs 1987–1992]] [[Category:UK MPs 1992–1997]] [[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge]] [[Category:People educated at Winchester College]] [[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]