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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| Adviser to the UK Board of Trade | |
| Assumed office 4 September 2020 |
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| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson Liz Truss Rishi Sunak |
| President | Liz Truss Anne-Marie Trevelyan Kemi Badenoch |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
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| Assumed office 1 February 2021 Life peerage |
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| 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.
From 1999 to 2020, he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England. He is now a member of the House of Lords, which is part of the UK Parliament. Since 2020, he has also advised the Board of Trade. He helped start the Initiative for Free Trade.
Hannan was the first leader of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) from 2009 to 2018. He also helped create Vote Leave. This group campaigned for the UK to leave the European Union (EU) in 2016. He was a key speaker during the campaign. He left the European Parliament when the UK left the EU in 2020.
Lord Hannan has written for many newspapers and magazines. These include The Sunday Telegraph, International Business Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He is also the editor of The Conservative, a political magazine. He has written several books.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Daniel Hannan was born on 1 September 1971 in Lima, Peru. His mother worked at the British Embassy in Lima. His father served in the British Army during the Second World War. Hannan grew up on his parents' farm in Peru.
He later went to school and university in Britain. He studied Modern History at Oriel College, Oxford. While at Oxford, he became the President of the Oxford University Conservative Association in 1992. He also started a group called the Oxford Campaign for an Independent Britain. This group was against closer ties with the EU.
In 1992, he protested against the UK joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. Soon after, the pound left the system. This event is known as Black Wednesday.
Starting His Political Career
After university in 1993, Hannan became the first director of the European Research Group. This group was for Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) who were sceptical of the EU. From 1994 to 1995, he led the National Association of Conservative Graduates.
In 1996, he started writing for The Daily Telegraph newspaper. He also advised and wrote speeches for Michael Howard, a leading Conservative politician. In 2001, he wrote speeches for William Hague, who was the Conservative leader at the time.
Serving in the European Parliament
Hannan was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999. One of his first actions was to write about the expenses of MEPs. This caused a lot of discussion.
In 2000, he supported the "No" campaign in Denmark's vote on joining the euro. Denmark eventually voted against joining. He was re-elected as an MEP in 2004, 2009, and 2014.
Campaign for a Referendum
Hannan strongly campaigned for a public vote on the Lisbon Treaty. This treaty aimed to change how the EU worked. He would end his speeches by saying, "Pactio Olisipiensis censenda est" (The Lisbon Treaty must be put to a vote). This was like an ancient Roman senator who always called for Carthage to be destroyed.
When no vote was planned, Hannan and other MEPs used a special rule. They would speak for 60 seconds after every vote, always asking for a referendum. This slowed down the Parliament's work. The President of the European Parliament tried to stop these speeches.
Hannan was later interrupted and had his microphone turned off during a speech. Because of this, he left his political group in the Parliament in 2008. In 2009, he joined a new group called the ECR Group. He became the first Secretary-General of its political party, ACRE.
Speech About Gordon Brown
On 24 March 2009, Hannan gave a speech in the European Parliament. He strongly criticised the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, during the global financial crisis. He ended his speech by calling Brown "the devalued Prime Minister of a devalued government."
A video of this speech became very popular online, getting millions of views on YouTube. This made Hannan well-known in the UK and other countries, especially the United States. He often appeared on US TV shows. He sometimes criticised the British National Health Service (NHS) in these appearances.
Hannan was surprised by the speech's popularity. He felt it showed that the internet was changing how political news spread.
Campaign to Leave the EU
Hannan was a key figure in the Vote Leave campaign. This group pushed for the UK to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum. Some people called him "the man who brought you Brexit."
He had been campaigning against closer EU ties since his university days. He helped create the European Research Group, which worked against the single currency and the European Court of Justice.
Hannan said that "absolutely nobody is talking about threatening our place in the single market" before the referendum. Later, he explained that he meant the UK should join the European Free Trade Association after leaving the EU. This would allow the UK to keep some benefits of the single market.
He believed that a quick agreement on leaving the EU would have been better. He felt that delays and disagreements made the process harder.
After the European Parliament
In September 2020, Hannan became an adviser to the British Board of Trade. In December 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson nominated him for a life peerage. This means he became a member of the House of Lords for life. On 25 January 2021, he officially became Baron Hannan of Kingsclere.
Political Ideas
Local Control
Hannan believes in localism. This means giving more power to local governments. He thinks local councils should have more control over their own money. He has suggested replacing national sales tax with a local sales tax.
He also supports the idea of direct democracy. This means giving citizens more direct power, like through ballot initiatives (where people can vote directly on laws) and recall elections (where people can vote to remove an elected official).
National Identity
Hannan supports the idea of national sovereignty. This means a country having full power over itself. He believes that being a nation means protecting freedoms for future generations. He also supports strong ties between "English-speaking nations."
Economic Views
Hannan supports free trade. He believes that the UK should trade freely with countries around the world after leaving the EU. In 2017, he became the first president of the Initiative for Free Trade (IFT). This group researches and promotes free trade policies.
He has suggested that the UK could join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement with countries around the Pacific Ocean. He is also on the board of Students for Liberty, a group that promotes economic freedom.
Foreign Policy
Hannan greatly admires the United States and believes in strong ties between the UK and the US. He also supports closer relationships with countries in the Commonwealth.
He was against the 2003 invasion of Iraq and British involvement in Libya. In the 2008 US presidential election, he supported Barack Obama. However, he later changed his mind and supported Mitt Romney in 2012. In 2016, he suggested voting for the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson.
Healthcare Views
Hannan has often criticised the National Health Service (NHS) in England. He has said that the NHS has problems with patient survival rates and waiting lists. He once said on American television that he "wouldn't wish it [the NHS] on anyone."
Personal Life
Hannan can speak English, French, and Spanish. He supports bullfighting and has written articles promoting it.
Awards and Recognition
In 2009, Hannan won the Bastiat Prize for Online Journalism. He also won the Speech of the Year award for his speech about Gordon Brown. In 2014, he won an award for his book How We Invented Freedom and Why It Matters.
Images for kids
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Daniel Hannan at the Conservative Political Action Conference, 2012.
See also
In Spanish: Daniel Hannan para niños
