Who was the last foreign secretary to serve in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet, an MP who also contested the leadership after her resignation?
1990 Conservative Party (UK) leadership election November 1990. Following Thatcher's formal resignation as Prime Minister, Queen Elizabeth II invited Major to form a government the next day. Douglas Hurd was re-appointed as Foreign Secretary and Michael Heseltine returned to the Cabinet as Environment Secretary, a post he had held in the early 1980s. Both Hurd and Heseltine remained key figures during the Major government, Heseltine eventually rising to become Deputy Prime Minister in 1995. Major's premiership began well, and he was credited with restoring a consensual style of Cabinet government after the years of forceful leadership under Thatcher. The success of the First Gulf War in
Shadow Cabinet of Margaret Thatcher part of the Environment team). On 19 November 1976, Thatcher reshuffled again. Maudling was dropped as Shadow Foreign Secretary and replaced by John Davies. Raison dropped, being replaced at Environment by Heseltine, who was replaced at the Industry portfolio by Biffen. He was in turn replaced as Shadow Energy Secretary by Tom King. Peyton and Pym switch roles (Shadow Leader of the House for Agriculture), with Pym also taking Devolution from Whitelaw. Shadow Cabinet of Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher became the first female Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition after winning the 1975 leadership election, the