Profumo affair Party was marked by the scandal, which may have contributed to its defeat by the Labour Party in the 1964 general election. When the Profumo–Keeler affair was first revealed, public interest was heightened by reports that Keeler may have been simultaneously involved with Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet naval attaché, thereby creating a possible security risk. Keeler knew both Profumo and Ivanov through her friendship with Stephen Ward, an osteopath and socialite who had taken her under his wing. The exposure of the affair generated rumours of other scandals, and drew official attention to the activities of Ward, who was
Francesco Profumo Francesco Profumo Francesco Profumo (born 3 May 1953) is an Italian engineer and academic who was Italy's Minister of Education from 16 November 2011 to 28 April 2013. He has been President of the National Research Council (CNR) since August 2011 and had previously served as Chancellor of the Politecnico di Torino from 2005 to 2011. Profumo was born in Savona on 3 May 1953. He studied electronic engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin and graduated in 1977. Profumo started his professional career in research and development at Ansaldo in Genova in 1978 and served there until 1984. In