Daniel Hannan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Lord Hannan of Kingsclere
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Dan Hannan in 2012
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| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
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| Assumed office 1 February 2021 Life peerage |
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| Adviser to the UK Board of Trade | |
| In office 4 September 2020 – 31 August 2024 |
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| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson Liz Truss Rishi Sunak |
| President | Liz Truss Anne-Marie Trevelyan Kemi Badenoch |
| Member of the European Parliament for South East England |
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| In office 14 July 1999 – 31 January 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 September 1971 Lima, Peru |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse |
Sara Maynard
(m. 2000) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Oriel College, Oxford |
| Profession | Writer, journalist, politician |
| Awards |  Life peer |
Daniel John Hannan, Baron Hannan of Kingsclere (born 1 September 1971) is a British writer, journalist, and politician. He is a member of the Conservative Party. For many years, he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), representing South East England from 1999 to 2020.
Hannan is well-known for his strong support for Brexit, the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union (EU). He was a founder of the Vote Leave campaign, which successfully argued for leaving the EU in the 2016 referendum.
After the UK left the EU in 2020, Hannan became an adviser to the UK Board of Trade. In 2021, he was appointed to the House of Lords, which is the second chamber of the UK Parliament. He has written for many newspapers, including The Sunday Telegraph and the Washington Examiner, and has published several books.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Daniel Hannan was born on 1 September 1971, in Lima, Peru. His mother was Scottish and his father's family was from Ulster in Ireland. Hannan grew up on his parents' farm near Lima but went to school and university in Britain.
He studied modern history at Oriel College, part of the University of Oxford. While at university, he became very involved in politics. In 1990, he started a group called the Oxford Campaign for an Independent Britain. This group argued against the UK becoming more closely tied to the European Union, a theme that would define his political career.
In 1992, he organized a protest against the UK's membership in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, a system designed to keep European currencies stable. A few days later, the British pound was forced to leave the system in an event known as Black Wednesday.
Political Career
After graduating from Oxford, Hannan worked for a group of Conservative politicians who were skeptical of the European Union. He also became a writer for The Daily Telegraph newspaper. In 1997, he worked as a speechwriter for Michael Howard, who was a senior politician in the Conservative Party.
Member of the European Parliament
In 1999, Hannan was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England. The European Parliament is a group of politicians elected from all member countries of the EU to make laws. He was re-elected three times, serving for over 20 years until the UK left the EU in 2020.
One of his first actions as an MEP was to write an article about the expenses and allowances available to MEPs, which caused a lot of discussion.
Campaign Against the Lisbon Treaty
Hannan was a strong opponent of the Lisbon Treaty, a document that gave the EU more power. He believed the British people should have a referendum (a public vote) on it. To make his point, he would end every speech in the European Parliament with the Latin phrase, "Pactio Olisipiensis censenda est", which means "The Lisbon Treaty must be put to the vote."
This was inspired by the ancient Roman senator Cato the Elder, who ended all his speeches by saying Carthage (an enemy city) must be destroyed. When a referendum didn't happen, Hannan and other like-minded MEPs used parliamentary rules to delay proceedings and draw attention to their cause.
The "Devalued Prime Minister" Speech
On 24 March 2009, Hannan gave a three-minute speech in the European Parliament criticizing the British Prime Minister at the time, Gordon Brown. He accused Brown of mishandling the economy during the 2008 financial crisis. He ended by calling him "the devalued Prime Minister of a devalued government."
A video of the speech was posted on YouTube and quickly went viral, receiving millions of views. This made Hannan famous in the UK and in other countries, especially the United States. He was often invited to speak on American news shows.
The Brexit Campaign
Hannan was one of the most important figures in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union, known as Brexit. He was a founder of Vote Leave, the main organization that campaigned to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.
He argued that leaving the EU would allow Britain to make its own laws, control its own trade, and be more successful on the world stage. He believed that Britain's future was as an independent nation trading freely with the whole world, not just Europe.
In 2015, Hannan said that "absolutely nobody is talking about threatening our place in the single market." The single market allows EU countries to trade with each other easily. After the UK left the EU and the single market, some people criticized him for this earlier statement. Hannan later explained that he had hoped the UK would stay in a different free trade area, the European Free Trade Association, which would have kept some benefits of the single market.
Life After the European Parliament
After the UK officially left the EU on 31 January 2020, Hannan's role as an MEP ended. In September 2020, he became an adviser to the British Board of Trade, a government department that deals with commerce.
In December 2020, it was announced that he would be made a life peer. This is a special honor that allows someone to become a member of the House of Lords for life. On 25 January 2021, he officially became Baron Hannan of Kingsclere.
Political Views
Localism
Hannan supports localism, which is the idea that power should be held by local communities rather than the central government. He believes local councils should have more control over the money they raise and spend.
Nationalism
Hannan is a strong believer in national sovereignty, which means a country should be independent and able to make its own decisions. He has been called a "British nationalist" and supports close ties between English-speaking nations, sometimes called the Anglosphere.
Health Care
Hannan has often criticized the UK's National Health Service (NHS). He has argued that Britain would be better off with a different system, such as the one used in Singapore, where people have personal health-care savings accounts. His comments have sometimes caused controversy, especially when he suggested on American television that he "wouldn't wish" the NHS on anyone.
Personal Life
Hannan speaks English, French, and Spanish. He is married to Sara Maynard, and they have three children.
See also
In Spanish: Daniel Hannan para niños
