George Walden

the American chemist
the American baseball player
Former English politician (born 1939)

George Gordon Harvey Walden (born 15 September 1939) is an English journalist, former diplomat and former politician for the Conservative Party, who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham from 1983 to 1997 and Minister for Higher Education under Margaret Thatcher.

Walden was educated at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, London, at Jesus College, Cambridge, and for post graduate studies at Moscow University. During his time in the diplomatic service, he studied Chinese at the University of Hong Kong (1965–67), spent a year at the École nationale d'administration (ÉNA, then located in Paris), from 1973 to 1974, and a sabbatical year at Harvard (1981–82).

Walden joined the Foreign Office in 1962 and worked there as a researcher until 1965, when he went to Hong Kong to study Chinese. After that, he was posted as Second Secretary in the office of the British Chargé d'Affaires in Peking, from 1967 to 1970 (there was no ambassador at that time). As First Secretary, he was at the Soviet Desk in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), 1970–1973 (during which time he was formally appointed an Officer in the Diplomatic Service) and, after his year at ÉNA, at the British Embassy in Paris 1974–78. He was then appointed Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, serving David Owen and Lord Carrington, for which he was decorated CMG in the New Year Honours of 1981. After his sabbatical at Harvard, he was head of the planning staff at the FCO (1982–83), and then left the Diplomatic Service to stand for Parliament.

Walden was elected as the MP for Buckingham at the 1983 general election. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the then Secretary of State for Education and Science, Sir Keith Joseph, 1984–85 and Minister for Higher Education 1985–1987. He was re elected in 1987 and 1992 and retired from parliament at the 1997 general election. His successor was future Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow.

Walden wrote a column for the Evening Standard 1991–2002 and now writes for various papers as a guest columnist.

In 1970, George Walden married the art historian Sarah Hunt, daughter of Dr Thomas Hunt, physician to Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee and Anthony Eden. They have two sons and a daughter, the journalist, novelist and critic Celia Pughe Morgan. Pughe Morgan is married to journalist Piers Morgan.