| Peter Walker, Baron Walker Of Worcester |
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Peter Walker, Baron Walker of Worcester, PC (born 1932), was Conservative MP for Worcester between March 1961 and April 1992, and the founder of the Tory Reform Group . He was a close ally of Edward Heath , and refused to serve in Margaret Thatcher 's Shadow Cabinet because he objected to her social and economic policies. He rose very quickly through the ranks of the Conservative Party, and entered the Shadow Cabinet in 1965, and served as Minister Of Housing And Local Government (1970), Secretary Of State For The Environment (1970-72), and Secretary Of State For Trade And Industry (1972-74). Although he had refused to serve under Mrs Thatcher in opposition, he accepted her offer to return to the Cabinet as Minister Of Agriculture, Fisheries And Food in 1979 later serving as Secretary Of State For Energy (1983-87) and Secretary Of State For Wales (1987-90). He stood down from the Cabinet shortly before Mrs Thatcher herself was ousted in 1990 . In common with the late Edward Heath , he is a Pro-European Conservative and is a Patron of the Tory Reform Group . Upon his retirement from Parliament in 1992, he was appointed a Life Peer , as Lord Walker of Worcester. During the 1960s he was the junior partner in Slater Walker , an Asset-stripping vehicle used by Jim Slater to generate immense paper profits until 1973. An ill-timed attempt to take over Hill Samuel resulted in the loss of city confidence in Slater Walker and Jim Slater became for a time a "minus millionaire". Peter Walker's political career survived and after retirement from politics he returned to The City as Chairman of Kleinwort Benson . He is now Chairman of Allianz Cornhill Insurance Plc , Vice Chairman of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and a Non-executive Director of ITM Power Plc .
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