Contributor(s): Lord Patten | Lord Patten served as a minister in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1983 to 1992, holding the position of chairman of the Conservative party from 1990 to 1992. From 1992 to 1997 he was governor of Hong Kong and from 1998 to 1999 he was chairman of the Independent Commission on Policing in Northern Ireland. He became a European commissioner in 1999, responsible for external affairs until 2004.