Jeffrey archer short biography

English author and politician (born )

For other people named Jeffrey Archer, see Geoffrey Archer (disambiguation).

Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April ) is an English novelist and former politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Louth (Lincolnshire) from to , but did not seek re-election after a financial scandal that left him almost bankrupt.

Archer revived his fortunes as a novelist. His novel Kane and Abel () remains one of the best-selling books in the world, with an estimated 34 million copies sold worldwide. Overall his books have sold more than million copies worldwide.

Archer was the deputy chairman of the Conservative Party from to ; he resigned after a newspaper accused him of paying money to a prostitute. In he won a civil case and was awarded large damages because of this claim. He was made a life peer in and subsequently became the first Conservative candidate to be selected as a candidate for mayor of London. He ended his candidacy in after it emerged that he had lied in the case in In he was sentenced to four years of imprisonment for perjury and perverting the course of justice, ending his active political career. He was released early in

Early life and education

Jeffrey Howard Archer was born in the City of London Maternity Hospital in Holloway, London on 15 April He was two weeks old when his family moved to Somerset, eventually settling in the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare, where Archer spent most of his early life.

His father, William (died ), was 64 years old when Jeffrey Archer was born. Early in his career, Archer gave conflicting accounts to the press of his father's supposed, but non-existent, military career. William Archer was, in fact, a bigamist, fraudster, and conman, who impersonated a

Jeffrey Archer once said that when he was three years old he wanted to be four. And when he was four he wanted to be prime minister. At Oxford, he earned a reputation for his intense drive. "Almost his first statement to me was: 'I want to be Minister of Sport. What's your ambition?'," says a former school friend.

Although he is phenomenally successful in the fields of politics and publishing, a series of mishaps and misjudgments may ultimately keep Lord Archer from achieving his larger goals. His life has always been something of a roller-coaster, however, and yet another upswing could be just around the corner. 

Jeffrey Archer's early life

Jeffrey Howard Archer was born on April 15, , in the City of London maternity hospital to William Archer and his wife Lola, a journalist. Despite being dubbed "the Pune," in reference to his skin-and-bones appearance, the young Jeffrey became a star athlete and eventually reached the national schools championship for track.

After dropping out of the army, tending bar and spending some time in San Francisco, Jeffrey found himself back at school. Though never before a scholar, he gained admittance to Brasenose College, Oxford, to pursue a graduate diploma in education. Once there he thrived, even managing to persuade The Beatles to play a charity concert on campus.

In the summer of he married Mary Weeden, a fellow student at the university who was studying chemistry.

Jeffrey Archer in politics

After Oxford he landed a position as a professional fundraiser, and set out to become prime minister. At age 29, he became one of the youngest MPs in the history of the House of Commons, but his plans derailed in after a shady Canadian firm he'd invested heavily in went belly up. Penniless, he resigned from the House of Commons in the face of seemingly insurmountable recoup his losses, he decided to become a best-selling novelist. "All I need to do that i

Jeffrey Archer Biography

Jeffrey Archer was born in London and brought up in Somerset. He was educated at Wellington School, and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he was President of the University Athletics Club, and went on to run the yards in seconds for Great Britain in

After leaving Oxford he was elected to the Greater London Council, and three years later at the age of 29, he became Member of Parliament for Louth. After five years in the Commons and a promising political career ahead of him, he invested heavily in a Canadian company called Aquablast, on the advice of the Bank of Boston. The company went into liquidation, and three directors were later sent to jail for fraud. Left with debts of &#;,, and on the brink of bankruptcy, he resigned from the House of Commons.

Aged 34, determined to repay his creditors in full, he sat down to write his first novel Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less. It was taken up by the Literary Agent, Debbie Owen, and sold to 17 countries within a year. It was also made into a successful serial for BBC Radio 4, and was later televised in by the BBC.

He has written numerous other works, including short stories and nonfiction. Jeffrey is also a playwright, and after the General Election in , he wrote his first play Beyond Reasonable Doubt, which ran at the Queen's Theatre in London's West End for over performances, and starred Frank Finlay and Wendy Craig.

Jeffrey Archer was Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party from September until November In , he was co-coordinator for the Campaign for Kurdish Relief, and he is also an amateur auctioneer, having raised more than &#;12 million in the last 10 years. Jeffrey Archer was made a Life Peer in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of

Having run a successful campaign for Mayor of London for two-and-a-half years, from , Jeffrey Archer was selected as the official Conservative Party Candidate for London's Mayor in Octo

Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April ) is a British author and politician. He was a member of Parliament, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party and since is a life peer. His political career ended after an indictment for perjury. He is married to Mary Archer, a prominent scientist in solar power.

Biography

Early life

Jeffrey Howard Archer was born in the City of London Maternity Hospital. When he was two weeks old he and his family moved to the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, where he spent most of his young life.

At Oxford he was successful in athletics, competing in sprinting and hurdling. He also made a name for himself in raising money for the then little-known charity Oxfam, famously claiming to have obtained the support of The Beatles in a charity fundraising drive (it was actually Pat Davidson of Oxfam). The band accepted the invitation to visit the Senior Common Room of his Brasenose College, where they were photographed with Archer and dons of the college, although they did not play there. It was during this period that he met his future wife, Mary. His parents were John and Mary Archer who gave birth to him in Jeffery Archer only had one sibling and that was his brother, Thomas Archer who is a renowned politician for the conservative party.

At the age of 29, he was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for a Lincolnshireconstituency, holding the seat for the Conservative Party in a by-election on 4 December

In Parliament, Archer was on the left of the Conservative Party, rebelling against some of his party's policies. He urged free TV licences for the elderly and was against museum charges. Archer voted against restoring the death penalty saying it was barbaric and obscene.

Archer had to resign because of a scandal in October when the Sunday newspaper The News of the World led on the story "Tory boss Archer pays vi