Summary
One of four sons born to Spaniard Luis Portillo and Scot Cora Blyth, Michael Portillo grew up in London and studied history at Cambridge; he left with a firstclass honours degree. He started his political career in the research department of the Conservative Party, and after a brief stint with an energy company returned to politics aiming to becoming an MP. He failed at the first attempt in 1983 but succeeded the following year, entering government when Margaret Thatcher was still in power. The pinnacle of his House of Commons career was between 1992 and 1997, when he served as Treasury Secretary and Defence Secretary. He famously lost his seat at the 1997 election, but was re-elected in 1999 and remained in politics until 2005. Now 57, he lives with Carolyn Eadie, his wife since 1982.
Never have just one trick up your sleeve. When I was faced with the option of working for the Foreign Office or going to work for the Conservative Party's research department, my tutor at Cambridge, the eminent historian Maurice Cowley, told me to choose the Foreign Office because it was a job for life. He drove me to do the complete opposite, because I couldn't think of anything worse - setting your career path in stone, not being able to get off, like on a speeding treadmill.See the full content of this document
Extract
The Secrets of My Success
Don't be seduced by delusions of grandeur - it'll be the end of you. My annus horribilis was 1995, and the beginning of my downfall. John Major's leadership was being called into question and h...
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