University News Last updated 16 February 2011
The Right Honourable Lord Fowler will receive an honorary doctoral degree from Birmingham City University later this week.
The award will be conferred inrecognition of Lord Fowler’s distinguished achievements in his public life and his past service to the people of the West Midlands as a Member of Parliament for Sutton Coldfield.
Norman Fowler has been a leading political figure since he entered the political arena in 1970, after working as a journalist for the Times.
He became Conservative candidate for Sutton Coldfield in 1972, and was elected to Parliament in 1974. He remained MP for Sutton for more than thirty years, defending the interests of his constituents there until 2001.
In 1975, he became shadow minister for the Home Office before being appointed to the Shadow Cabinet under Margaret Thatcher’s leadership.
In 1979, Lord Fowler served as Secretary of State for Transport in Mrs Thatcher’s first Cabinet, remaining in post until 1981. One of his most notable achievements was his reform of road safety, when he introduced compulsory seat belts.
During the mid-1980s, as Secretary of State for Health and Social Security, Lord Fowler was responsible for spear heading a public awareness campaign about AIDS. He remained Secretary of State for six years; longer than any other minister. Lord Fowler currently chairs a special select committee on HIV and AIDS.
As Employment Secretary from 1987 to 1990, he abolished the dockwork regulation scheme. In 1992, he became Conservative Party chairman under John Major and, in 1997, he joined William Hague's shadow cabinet as shadow Home Secretary.
He joined the House of Lords in 2001, chairing the Lords' Select Committee on Communications between 2005 and 2010 looking at all media and broadcasting issues.
In addition to his political career, Lord Fowler acted as chairman of the Birmingham Post newspapers for five years, and later of the Yorkshire Post. He currently chairs the Thomson Foundation, which trains journalists particularly in developing countries.
Lord Fowler’s award is due to be conferred at 10.45am on Thursday 17th February at the Awards Congregation ceremony which will celebrate the work and achievements of students graduating from the Faculty of Education, Law and Social Sciences.