Eldon Griffiths

{{Infobox officeholder

| image = File:Sir_Eldon_Griffiths.jpeg

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Sir Eldon Griffiths

| honorific-suffix =

| office = Minister for Sport

| parliament =

| majority =

| predecessor = Denis Howell

| successor = Denis Howell

| term_start = 19 June 1970

| term_end = 4 March 1974

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|05|25|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Wigan, Lancashire, England

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2014|06|03|1925|05|25|df=yes}}

| death_place =

| nationality = English

| spouse = {{marriage|Sigrid Gante|1949|1985|reason=divorced}}
{{marriage|Betty Stannard|1985|2010|reason=died}}{{Who's Who | title = GRIFFITHS, Sir Eldon (Wylie) | id = U18239 | type = was | volume = 2024 | edition = online}}
{{marriage|Susan Donnell|2013}}

| party = Conservative

| relations =

| children = 2, including John Griffiths

| residence =

| alma_mater = Emmanuel College, Cambridge

| occupation =

| profession = Journalist and farmer

| termstart1 = 14 May 1964

| termend1 = 16 March 1992

| predecessor1 = William Traven Aitken

| successor1 = Richard Spring

| office1 = Member of Parliament
for Bury St Edmunds

| primeminister = Edward Heath

}}

Sir Eldon Wylie Griffiths (25 May 1925 – 3 June 2014) was a British Conservative politician and journalist.

Early life

Griffiths was born on 25 May 1925 in Wigan, Lancashire.{{cite news|last1=Langdon|first1=Julia|title=Sir Eldon Griffiths obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/04/sir-eldon-griffiths|accessdate=14 June 2014|work=The Guardian|date=4 June 2014}} His Welsh father was a police sergeant. He attended Ashton-under-Lyne Grammar School. Following the Second World War service in the Royal Air Force he gained a double first class degree in history from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and an MA from Yale University.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10872932/Sir-Eldon-Griffiths-obituary.html Eldon Griffiths Obituary in the Daily Telegraph]. Retrieved 4 June 2014

Career

=Journalism=

After university Griffiths worked in the Conservative Research Department and became a journalist and farmer. He was managing editor of Newsweek.

=Political career=

He became the MP for Bury St Edmunds after a by-election in 1964, and represented the seat until he retired in 1992. His Daily Telegraph obituary claimed he was "rangy, articulate, but dour... a political loner, and not over-popular on the Tory benches." However, it listed many achievements as MP and in other spheres.Daily Telegraph, London 4 June 2014 He served as Minister for Sport during the Edward Heath government of 1970 to 1974. He also served as parliamentary spokesman for the Police Federation. In 1985, he was made a Knight Bachelor for "political service".{{London Gazette |issue=50154 |date=15 June 1985 |page=1 |supp=y }}

=Academia=

For a brief period while an MP, Griffiths worked as a professor at the University of California, Irvine, a role in which The Times said led to him being called the member for Orange County.{{cite news |title=Times Diary |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/2f9473dc-41a3-11ec-96bf-de0821791f3f |work=The Times |access-date=17 November 2021|last1=Kidd |first1=Patrick }}

=Director appointments=

Griffiths was a director of one of Gerald Carroll's Carroll Group companies."SFO looks at 500m fall of Carroll empire", Dominic O'Connell, Sunday Business, 1 October 2000, p. 1.

Personal life

In June 2013, aged 88, he announced his third marriage, to Susan Donnell.[http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/latest-news/former-mp-of-bury-st-edmunds-to-marry-for-third-time-at-the-age-of-88-1-5183204 Former MP of Bury St Edmunds to marry for third time at the age of 88], Bury Free Press. Accessed 18 January 2023.