Political anomalies for fun and...
Oct. 13th, 2010 09:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tree_and_leafI don't know how I missed this at the time, but: the new Trade Secretary is Stephen Green*, who was chairman of HSBC (no, he's not an MP, but that's not the peculiar bit).
The peculiar bit is that he is also the Rev'd Stephen Green, and an Anglican priest. I'm not sure who the last minister in holy orders was, though I have a feeling it was William Juxon, who combined being Bishop of London with First Lord of the Admiralty and Chancellor of the Exchequer under Charles I (and later gave Charles the last rites). Not, I fear, the most auspicious immediate predecessor, though his grace had a fairly peacable Civil War; he retired to the country to hunt, and was briefly Archbishop of Canterbury before his death under Charles II, so I suppose it could have been worse...
Still, I find the thought of a priest in government rather odd. (I also have a terrible urge to write Yes, Minister-esque dialogue: "Ought we to call you Father, Minister?")
ETA: I was wrong about Juxon; see the estimablesir_guingulan's remarks.
*Definitely not to be confused with the Stephen Green of the truly dreadful Christian Voice conservative Christian pressure group who rather charmingly bullied a group of hospices into turning down a substantial donation from the makers of "Jerry Springer the Opera".
The peculiar bit is that he is also the Rev'd Stephen Green, and an Anglican priest. I'm not sure who the last minister in holy orders was, though I have a feeling it was William Juxon, who combined being Bishop of London with First Lord of the Admiralty and Chancellor of the Exchequer under Charles I (and later gave Charles the last rites). Not, I fear, the most auspicious immediate predecessor, though his grace had a fairly peacable Civil War; he retired to the country to hunt, and was briefly Archbishop of Canterbury before his death under Charles II, so I suppose it could have been worse...
Still, I find the thought of a priest in government rather odd. (I also have a terrible urge to write Yes, Minister-esque dialogue: "Ought we to call you Father, Minister?")
ETA: I was wrong about Juxon; see the estimable
sir_guingulan's remarks.*Definitely not to be confused with the Stephen Green of the truly dreadful Christian Voice conservative Christian pressure group who rather charmingly bullied a group of hospices into turning down a substantial donation from the makers of "Jerry Springer the Opera".