Geoffrey Finsberg

Geoffrey Finsberg, Baron Finsberg, (13 June 1926 – 8 October 1996) was a British Conservative politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead from 1970 to 1983, and for its successor constituency, Hampstead and Highgate, from 1983 to 1992.

Early life Finsberg was born in Hampstead in 1926 into a devout Jewish family, who were politically inclined towards the Conservatives. The only son of the late Montefiore Finsberg, MC, and May Finsberg (née Grossman), Finsberg was educated at Hendon County Grammar School and the City of London School. From 1944 to 1947, he worked in coal pits as a Bevin Boy, this period spanning the latter part of the Second World War. Finsberg served at Glapwell colliery in Derbyshire; in 1993, he was elected as the first president of the Bevin Boys Association.

Political career

Local government From a young age, Finsberg was active in the Conservative Party, and was founder chairman of Mansfield Young Conservatives from 1946 to 1947; this was the area where he was working as a Bevin Boy. He subsequently became chairman of the Hampstead Young Conservatives, aged 22, at a time when the constituency had nearly 1,000 party members. Before he turned 23, Finsberg was elected as a councillor for the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead at the 1949 local elections, representing the West End ward. The same year, he became a member of the Executive Committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, a role he would hold until 1979. Finsberg served as National Chairman of the Young Conservatives from 1954 to 1957.

Following the Conservatives' election victory, he served in two junior ministerial roles, as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of the Environment (1979–81), and the Department of Health and Social Security (1981–83). The Times later suggested that his inability to progress further "could have been because he lacked excitement. His public persona was dull; in private, he could be an amusing companion." That year, Finsberg again became a Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party Organisation, holding this role until 1987. From 1986 to 1989, he was President of the Greater London Area Executive Committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations.

Outside Parliament Outside of politics, Finsberg was active in business and charities. From 1968 to 1979, he was Controller of Personnel and Chief Industrial Relations Adviser at Great Universal Stores. Finsberg served as a member (from 1983 to 1986) and Deputy Chairman (from 1986 to 1989) of the South East Regional Board at Trustee Savings Bank (TSB). He was also a member of the Post Office Users National Council from 1970 to 1977, and a member of the Council of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) from 1968 to 1979, where he was Chairman of the Post Office Panel. Outside the UK, Finsberg was awarded Austria's Order of Merit in 1989, and the following year, became a Commander of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in Spain.

Personal life and death In 1969, Finsberg married Pamela Benbow Hill; she died in 1989, and the following year, he married Yvonne Elizabeth Sarch (née Wright), who was an old friend of his. He had no children. Finsberg listed bridge and reading as his recreations. He was a member of the Carlton Club and the Marylebone Cricket Club. Finsberg lived in South Hampstead, part of his former constituency.

Finsberg died on 8 October 1996, aged 70, in Stockholm. He was survived by his second wife, Lady Finsberg.

Arms