Clement Freud
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| Clement Freud | |
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| Born | Clement Raphael Freud 24 April 1924 Berlin |
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| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Writer, politician, broadcaster, chef |
| Known for | Just a Minute |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | June Flewett (1950- ) |
| Children | 5 children |
Sir Clement Raphael Freud (born 24 April 1924) is a British writer, broadcaster, and former politician.
Freud was born in Berlin, the son of Jewish parents Ernst Ludwig Freud, an architect, and Lucie née Brasch. He is the grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and brother of artist Lucian Freud. His family fled to Britain from Nazi Germany. He attended St Paul's School, an independent school in London. During the Second World War Freud served as an aide to Field Marshal Montgomery. He married June Flewett (the inspiration for Lucy Pevensie in CS Lewis' children's series the Chronicles of Narnia)[1] in 1950, and the couple have five children.
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[edit] Life in politics
Clement Freud was Liberal Member of Parliament for the Isle of Ely (later North East Cambridgeshire) from 1973 to 1987. On his election, he was hailed as the first Jewish Liberal MP for decades. His departure from Parliament was marked by his being awarded a knighthood.
During his time as a Member of Parliament, he visited China with a delegation of other MPs, including Winston S. Churchill, a grandson of the wartime leader of the same name. Freud noticed that the Communist Chinese hosts regularly gave Churchill larger, or higher status, accommodation than him. Tactfully he enquired why and was told it was because of the status of Churchill's namesake. Freud observed that this was the first time ever that he had been 'out-grandfathered'.[citation needed]
[edit] Chef, Writer, Television, Fame
Before he entered politics, Freud was already a well-known figure. He was one of Britain's first 'celebrity chefs', having worked at the Dorchester Hotel, and went on to run his own restaurant in Sloane Square at a relatively young age. As well as this, he had various newspaper and magazine columns, and was also a familiar face on television due to his appearance in a series of dog food adverts (for Minced Morsels) in which he co-starred with a bloodhound called Henry (played by a number of dogs) which shared his trademark "hangdog" expression.
However, despite his general fame, Freud longed for (given his background and ancestry) a distinct occupation by which he could be acclaimed, rather than just being "the man off the telly"; his chance came in the 1973 Isle of Ely Parliamentary by-election, which he won. His autobiography, Freud Ego, recalls his election win, and shortly after, when asked by his wife June, "Why aren't you looking happier?", he wrote "It suddenly occurred to me that after nine years of fame I now had something solid about which to be famous... and cheered up no end."
In 1968 he wrote a children's book, Grimble. Six years later he wrote a sequel: Grimble at Christmas.
[edit] Music, Radio, Academia
Freud also performed a small monologue for the Wings album Band on the Run, and appears on the album's cover. He is now perhaps best known as a panelist on the popular Radio 4 quiz programmes Just a Minute and The News Quiz, where his deadpan delivery is popular with audiences. He was a contestant on the very first episode of Just a Minute in 1967; has taken part in every series since; and is the only surviving original panelist. In 1974, he was elected Rector of the University of Dundee and served two three-year terms. A generation later, in 2002, he was elected Rector of the University of St Andrews, beating feminist and academic Germaine Greer and local challenger Barry Joss, holding the position for one term.
[edit] Family and other animals
His son Matthew Freud, co-owner of the now defunct Press Gazette with Piers Morgan, was formerly married to Caroline Hutton, who was the second wife of Earl Spencer. He is now married to media magnate Rupert Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth. Sir Clement Freud's daughter Emma Freud, a broadcaster, is married to Richard Curtis, scriptwriter of Blackadder and Four Weddings and a Funeral. His nieces (by his painter brother Lucian) are fashion designer Bella Freud and writer Esther Freud. The Freud family live in Walberswick in Suffolk.
Freud is a horse racing enthusiast, and is a columnist for the Racing Post newspaper. In his column in the paper, issue of 23 August 2006, he wrote about his election to Parliament in a by-election: "Politically, I was an anti-Conservative unable to join a Labour party hell-bent on nationalising everything that moved, so when a by-election occurred in East Anglia, where I lived and live, I stood as a Liberal and was fortunate in getting in. Ladbrokes quoted me at 33-1 in this three-horse contest, so Ladbrokes paid for me to have rather more secretarial and research staff than other MPs, which helped to keep me in for five parliaments."
Freud has also written articles reviewing facilities for spectators at racecourses in Britain, especially catering. This has led him to receive the nickname "Sir Clement Food." He is an Anglican[2]
[edit] References
- ^ The Daily Telegraph, 11 December 2005
- ^ Association of Jewish Refugees, 2001
- Who's Who 2006
- “One of Nature’s Liberals:” the career of Sir Clement Freud, artist, journalist, chef, bon-viveur – and Liberal MP, 1973-87 by Daniel Crewe; Journal of Liberal History, Issue 43, Summer 2004
[edit] External links
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Harry Legge-Bourke |
Member of Parliament for Isle of Ely 1973–1983 |
Succeeded by (Constituency abolished) |
| Preceded by (Constituency created) |
Member of Parliament for North East Cambridgeshire 1983–1987 |
Succeeded by Malcolm Moss |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by Peter Ustinov |
Rector of the University of Dundee 1974–1980 |
Succeeded by Baron Mackie of Benshie |
| Preceded by Andrew Neil |
Rector of the University of St Andrews 2002–2005 |
Succeeded by Simon Pepper |
