OBRIEN, Stephen

Member for Eddisbury since July 1999 by-election. Committees: Chairman, All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Malaria, Primary Headache Disorders, Tanzania; Vice- Chairman of the All-Party Aid Trade and Debt Group; Member, Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2001; Member, Select Committee on Education and Employment 1999-2001; Secretary, Conservative Backbench Committees on Trade and Industry and Northern Ireland 1999-2001; Associate Member, British-Irish Inter- Parliamentary Body; Parliamentary Advisor to Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and to the Manufacturing Technologies Association; Hon Vice-President, Chichester Conservative Association since 1999 (formerly Chair 1998-99). Political career: Shadow Minister for Health since 2005; Shadow Secretary of State for Industry 2003-05; Shadow Paymaster General to the Treasury 2002 -03; Shadow Financial Secretary to HM Treasury 2002; Opposition Whip (Frontbench) 2002; Opposition Whip 2001-05; Acting Director of Office of Leader of Conservative Party, The Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith 2001; Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Rt Hon Michael Ancram QC as Chairman of the Conservative Party 2000-01; PPS to the Rt Hon Francis Maude as Shadow Foreign Secretary 2000. Special political interests: Economic affairs; trade, industry and enterprise; education; international development; agriculture; housing/infrastructure; health; transport; regional development; countryside; the constitution; Northern Ireland; foreign affairs. Profession/Trade: Solicitor; manufacturing industrialist. Education: Sedbergh School, Cumbria (music scholar); Emmanuel College, Cambridge, MA (Hons) Law; College of Law, Chester, final professional qualification. Hobbies: Piano, golf. b. 1 April 1957, Mtwara, Tanzania. Married with three children.