Nick Harvey

Harvey was born in Chandler's Ford, Hampshire, and was educated at Queen's College, an independent school in the county town of Taunton in Somerset. He then attended the Middlesex Polytechnic at Enfield where he was awarded a BA degree in business studies in 1983. He was the president of the students' union from 1981 to 1982.

He joined Profil PR Ltd in 1984 as a communications and marketing executive, before being appointed by the public relations firm Dewe Rogerson (now known as Citigate Dewe Rogerson){{cite web|url=http://www.citigatedewerogerson.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991128064742/http://www.citigatedewerogerson.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 November 1999 |title=Citigate Dewe Rogerson |publisher=Citigate Dewe Rogerson |date= |accessdate=12 July 2010}} as a marketing executive in 1986. He worked as a communications consultant from 1991 until his election to parliament.

He was elected as the vice-chairman of the Union of Liberal Students for a year in 1981. He unsuccessfully contested the London Borough of Enfield seat of Enfield Southgate at the 1987 general election. He finished in second place some 18,345 votes behind the then government whip Michael Portillo. He was elected to the House of Commons for North Devon at the 1992 general election by defeating the Conservative MP, Antony Speller, who had ended the parliamentary career of former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe in the same seat at the 1979 general election. Harvey won the seat with a majority of just 794, but remained the MP there until 2015. He made his maiden speech on 11 May 1992.{{cite web|work=Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199293/cmhansrd/1992-05-11/Debate-3.html |title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 11 May 1992 |publisher=HM Parliament |date= |accessdate=12 July 2010}}

He was made a spokesman on transport in 1992 by Paddy Ashdown, before being moved to speak on trade and industry in 1994. He became the spokesman on constitutional affairs following the 1997 general election. He became a member the front bench team under Charles Kennedy in 1999 when he became the party's health spokesperson. After the 2001 general election, he became the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for culture, media and sport until he stood down in 2003 to spend more time with his young family. He was a member of both the home affairs select committee and the standards and privileges committee since the 2005 general election. He was the vice-chairman of the all party group on beer. Until 2009, in addition to his career as an MP, he devoted time to advising a commercial public relations agency, Harrison Cowley, for which he declared an annual income of up to £10,000.

After the 2010 general election, as part of the Liberal Democrat – Conservative coalition, he was made Minister of State for the Armed Forces.{{cite web | title=Nick Harvey confirmed as Armed Forces Minister | website=GOV.UK | date=2010-05-14 | url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nick-harvey-confirmed-as-armed-forces-minister | access-date=2025-02-22}} In January 2012, he answered questions in Parliament on the historical sinking of the submarine HMS Affray.{{cite web | title=UK Parliament | website=Hansard | date=2012-01-24 | url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2012-01-24/debates/12012442000002/HMSAffray | access-date=2025-02-22}} While Minister, Harvey was responsible for monitoring the progress of a report on possible replacements for the Trident nuclear submarines, part of the 2010 coalition agreement.{{cite web | last=Norton-Taylor | first=Richard | title=Trident review concerns voiced after Nick Harvey loses MoD job in reshuffle | website=the Guardian | date=2012-09-05 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/sep/05/trident-review-concerns-cabinet-reshuffle | access-date=2025-02-22}} He served as minister until September 2012.

After the September 2012 reshuffle, he was knighted as a Knight Bachelor.{{cite web|title=Knighthood conferred upon the Rt Hon Nick Harvey MP|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/knighthood-conferred-upon-the-rt-hon-nick-harvey-mp|publisher=Prime Minister's Office|accessdate=11 November 2015|date=20 September 2012}}

He was also a member of the public bill committee for the Defence Reform Act 2014.{{cite web|url=http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2013-14/defencereform/committees/houseofcommonspublicbillcommitteeonthedefencereformbill201314.html|title=House of Commons Public Bill Committee on the Defence Reform Bill 2013–14 |publisher=HM Parliament |date= |accessdate=17 September 2013}}

He lost his seat in the General Election 2015 by 6,936 votes. He contested the seat unsuccessfully in the General Election 2017, increasing his vote by 8.6%, but falling 4,332 votes short.

After leaving Parliament, he was chair of the trustees of the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust and worked for Global Partners, where he was an adviser on Egypt and Jordan.{{Cite web | url=http://www.libdemvoice.org/nick-harvey-appointed-as-lib-dems-interim-chief-executive-55130.html |title = Nick Harvey appointed as Lib Dems' interim Chief Executive |publisher=Liberal Democrats|work=Liberal Democrat Voice|date=30 August 2017 |accessdate=9 October 2022}}

In August 2017, he was appointed interim chief executive of the Liberal Democrats, following the resignation of Tim Gordon.{{Cite web | url=https://www.markpack.org.uk/151255/nick-harvey-appointed-interim-lib-dem-chief-exec/ | title=Nick Harvey appointed interim Lib dem Chief Exec|author=Mark Pack|date=30 August 2017|accessdate=8 October 2022}} He was appointed as permanent Chief Executive on 28 November 2018,{{Cite web|url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/nick-harvey-appointed-lib-dem-chief-exec|title=Nick Harvey appointed Lib Dem chief exec|work=Liberal Democrats |date=28 November 2017|accessdate=8 October 2022}} but stood down less than a year later.{{Cite web |date=2019-09-04|title=Nick Harvey stepping down as Lib Dem Chief Executive|url=https://www.markpack.org.uk/159662/lib-dem-chief-executive-job-advert/|access-date=2020-12-23|author=Mark Pack}}

In July 2023, Nick became the Chief Executive of European Movement UK, an independent all-party pressure group in the United Kingdom which campaigns for a close relationship with the European Union, and to ensure that European values, standards, and rights are upheld in British law post-Brexit.{{Cite web | url=https://www.libdemvoice.org/nick-harvey-to-head-up-european-movement-73519.html |title = Nick Harvey to head up European Movement |publisher=Liberal Democrats|work=Liberal Democrat Voice|date=18 July 2023 |accessdate=16 April 2024}}{{Cite web | url=https://www.europeanmovement.co.uk/a_statement_from_the_new_european_movement_ceo_sir_nick_harvey |title = Sir Nick Harvey becomes CEO of the European Movement |work=European Movement UK|date=4 July 2023 |accessdate=16 April 2024}}{{Cite news| url=https://www.ft.com/content/02aecb74-df48-4b3a-a966-542f8f70866b |title = Why the Lib Dem's Ed Davey doesn't use the B-word |publisher=Financial Times|work=Financial Times|date=28 September 2023 |accessdate=16 April 2024}}

He was the only Liberal Democrat MP to vote against the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and was a critic of Liberal Democratic leader Charles Kennedy, having called into question his "political direction" and "leadership skills".{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4586434.stm |title=Kennedy faces fresh calls to quit |work=BBC News |date=6 January 2006 |accessdate=12 July 2010}} He returned to the front bench as defence spokesperson under Kennedy's successor, Sir Menzies Campbell. He voted against the Iraq War and called repeatedly for troops to be withdrawn under a phased timetable. He also voted against the government's decision to renew Britain's nuclear deterrent, Trident.

Harvey married Kate Harvey in May 2003 in North Devon. They have a daughter born in 2002 and a son born in 2004.{{cite web|url=http://www.nickharveymp.com/pages/aboutnickharvey.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090702104629/http://www.nickharveymp.com/pages/aboutnickharvey.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 July 2009 |title=About Nick Harvey |publisher=Nick Harvey |date= |accessdate=12 July 2010}}

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• {{cite web|url=http://www.libdems.org.uk/people/nick-harvey|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929210947/http://www.libdems.org.uk/people/nick-harvey |title= Nick Harvey |publisher=Liberal Democrats|archivedate=29 September 2008}}
• {{UK MP links | parliament = nick-harvey/231 | hansard = mr-nick-harvey | hansardcurr = 870 | guardian = 2281/nick-harvey | publicwhip = Nick_Harvey | theywork = nick_harvey | record = Nick-Harvey/North-Devon/1096 | bbc = 25569.stm | journalisted = }}

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Category:1961 births

Category:Alumni of Middlesex University

Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies

Category:Living people

Category:People educated at Queen's College, Taunton

Category:People from Chandler's Ford

Category:UK MPs 1992–1997

Category:UK MPs 1997–2001

Category:UK MPs 2001–2005

Category:UK MPs 2005–2010

Category:UK MPs 2010–2015

Category:Knights Bachelor