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For other persons named Paul Murphy, see Paul Murphy (disambiguation).
Paul Peter Murphy PC (born 25 November 1948) is a British politician. He is Member of Parliament for Torfaen representing the Labour Party. He is currently the Secretary of State for Wales.
Education and backgroundMurphy attended St Francis Roman Catholic School in Abersychan, West Monmouth School in Pontypool and Oriel College, Oxford. His leisure interests include classical music and cooking. He was a management trainee with the CWS, before becoming a lecturer in Government and History at Ebbw Vale College of Further Education, now known as Coleg Gwent. He is a practising Roman Catholic[citation needed]. He was made a Knight Commander of Merit with Star of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George "for helping to promote peace in Northern Ireland". He is an Honorary Fellow of Oriel College in 2000. He is also a Visiting Parliamentary Fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford. Early political careerMurphy joined the Labour Party at the age of 15. He is also a member of the Transport and General Workers Union. He was Secretary of the Pontypool/Torfaen Constituency Labour Party from 1971 to 1987. Paul was a member of Torfaen Council from 1973 to 1987 and was Chair of its Finance Committee from 1976 to 1986. He contested Wells Constituency in Somerset in the 1979 General Election. Senior Cabinet postsHe has been MP for Torfaen, Wales since the 1987 election, and is Secretary of State for Wales. In opposition he served as a foreign affairs spokesperson and then in defence as navy spokesperson. He was appointed Secretary of State for Wales on 28 July 1999. He was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 24 October 2002 to 5 May 2005. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1999. He was succeeded by Peter Hain and left the government, becoming chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee in May 2005. He was also British Chair of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body and an Executive Committee member of the British-American Parliamentary Group. He was re-appointed Secretary of State for Wales on 24 January 2008, following the resignation of Peter Hain. He was also given the job of chairing a new Cabinet Committee on the sensitive issue of IT and information security, in the wake of a rash of scandals surrounding the loss of personal data by Government agencies. In April 2008 he was appointed as the Government's Minister for Digital Inclusion. Prior to joining the Cabinet he was Minister of State for political development in the Northern Ireland Office from 1997 to 1999 - acting as Mo Mowlam's deputy - and was largely responsible for negotiating the so-called strand two ('North-South' or 'Island of Ireland') arrangements agreed in the Good Friday Agreement. In 1999, he was named 'Minister to Watch' at the Spectator Parliamentary Awards. Voting RecordIn a free parliamentary vote on 20 May 2008, Paul Murphy voted for cutting the upper limit for abortions from 24 to 12 weeks, along with two other Catholic cabinet ministers Ruth Kelly and Des Browne. [1] ReferencesExternal links
Offices held
Categories: 1948 births | Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford | Wales Labour Party politicians | British Secretaries of State | Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford | Labour MPs (UK) | Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom | Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for Welsh constituencies | Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland | Secretaries of State for Wales | UK MPs 1987-1992 | UK MPs 1992-1997 | UK MPs 1997-2001 | UK MPs 2001-2005 | UK MPs 2005- | Welsh-speaking people | People from Monmouthshire | Welsh socialists | Welsh people of Irish descent | Knights Commander of Merit of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George CommentsNo comments have been added. |
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