Michael Howard was born in Gorseinon, a town in Swansea, Wales. He is of Jewish descent. He studied Law at the University of Cambridge and became a Queen's Counsel in 1982. He then became a Member of Parliament at the 1983 General Election. His cabinet jobs included Secretary of State for Employment (1990-1992), Secretary of State for the Environment (1992-1993) and Home Secretary (1993-1997). When the Conservative Party lost the 1997 General Election, Michael Howard became a member of the shadow cabinets of William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.