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Chris Patten |
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Chris Patten is one of Britain’s most respected political figures. After reading Modern History at Balliol College, Oxford, he began his career in politics when he joined the Conservative Research Department in 1966. He was elected as MP for Bath in 1979, a seat he held until April 1992. After ministerial posts at the departments of Education, Environment and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, he was appointed Chairman of the Conservative Party in 1990.
He was made Governor of Hong Kong in 1992, a position he held until 1997 when he oversaw the return of Hong Kong to China. In September 1999 he was appointed European Commissioner for External Relations, and on leaving office in Brussels in 2004 was made a life peer. His biography Not Quite the Diplomat is published by Penguin.
Chris Patten reveals his favourite places in the world
1. Oxford - I first visited Oxford as a 16 year old sitting my scholarship exam. Three years ago I was elected Chancellor for life. So I guess I'll finish up here too. Oxford has some of the greatest architecture in Europe and my wife and I keep on discovering new walks. We are particularly keen at the moment on Port Meadow.
2. New York - I got involved in politics when I was 21 working one autumn in a mayoral campaign. It is impossible to be bored in New York - great museums, music and food.
3. Venice - I guess I have been to Venice a dozen times, mostly in the winter when it's not very crowded. We have spent three Christmases or New Years there when the weather seems to change between cold Alpine blue skies and Thomas Mann romantic mists. The fish market is one of my favourite markets in the world and I adore the Carpaccio paintings.
4. Hong Kong - We had five hugely happy years as a family in Hong Kong in the 1990s. I was lucky to be able to work in Asia and particularly in this energetic city which stands at the crossroads between east and west. As well as the tumultuous bustle there is very good walking in the hills in the New Territories.
5. Najac - We first went to this pretty French village skirted by the Aveyron river shortly after we were married, when my wife was pregnant with our eldest daughter. We came back for several family holidays when our children were growing up and bought a house quite nearby where we now spend our holidays. This is a glorious part of France, the hills rising towards the Auvergne and the rivers cutting gorges through the limestone.
