Nicholas Baker (politician)
Sir Nicholas Brian Baker was a British Conservative Member of Parliament and government minister.
Background
Baker was born in Hampshire, the son of a military officer. He was educated at Clifton College and Oxford University, and became a solicitor.Career
After unsuccessfully contesting the safe Labour seat of Peckham in February and October 1974, he represented the parliamentary constituency of North Dorset from 1979 until 1997.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 widely publicized 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 was knighted during the final weeks of his life.