Nicholas Baker

Who was Nicholas Baker?

Sir Nicholas Brian Baker was a British Conservative Member of Parliament and government minister.

He was educated at Clifton College and Oxford University. He represented the parliamentary constituency of North Dorset from 1979 until his death in 1997. He was married to Carol d'Abo, sister of singer/songwriter/broadcaster Mike d'Abo and they had a son and a daughter.

He was also a Home Office junior minister under Michael Howard. In this role he was involved in blocking Mohamed Al-Fayed's long-running attempts to attain British citizenship; and in the more trivial but widely-publicised reprieve of a dog called Dempsey which had been threatened with death under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Health problems caused Baker to resign his ministerial post, and he announced that he would not re-stand for his parliamentary seat at the 1997 general election. He died shortly before the election, having been knighted during the final weeks of his life.