Dominic Grieve Biography

Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve was born on May 24, 1956, in Lambeth, London, England. His father, Percy Grieve, QC, was a barrister and an MP from Solihull (1964–1983). His mother, Evelyn Raymonde Louise Mijouain, was an Anglo–French lady and the granddaughter of Sir George Roberts, 1st and last baronet.

In childhood, Dominic would spend his holidays either in Brittany or at his maternal grandparents’ house in Paris. He had an older sister, but she died of anorexia later.

Dominic was initially educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in South Kensington and at a boys’ preparatory school named Colet Court in Barnes.

Dominic then joined the Westminster School. Following this, he graduated with a BA degree in modern history from Magdalen College, Oxford.

He eventually obtained a diploma of law from the Polytechnic of Central London (now known as the Westminster University) in 1979. In 1977, he became president of the Oxford University Conservative Association.

In 1980, he joined the Bar at the Middle Temple. For the next 17 years, he served as a barrister. He later specialized in occupational safety and health law. In 2005, he was declared a “Bencher” of the Middle Temple. In 2008, he became a “Queen’s Counsel.”

From 1982 to 1986, Dominic was a Conservative councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham (for the Avonmore ward), London. In the 1987 election, he contested for the MP’s seat from Norwood, Lambeth. However, he lost the election to Labour Party MP John Fraser.

In 1997, he became an MP from Beaconsfield, with 49.2% votes, and continued to serve in the position till 2019, winning with greater margins each successive term.

From 1997 to 1999, he was part of the select committees of environmental audit and statutory instruments.

In 1999, William Hague promoted Dominic to the front bench, to speak on Scottish affairs. In 2001, Iain Duncan Smith transferred Dominic to criminal justice.

He was made the shadow attorney general by Michael Howard in 2003. In 2006, Dominic played a crucial role in preventing the government from introducing the power to detain terror suspects without charge till 90 days.

In 2008, Dominic was made the shadow home secretary by David Cameron and remained in the position till 2009, when he became the shadow justice secretary.

From 2010 to 2014, he served as the attorney general for England and Wales and the advocate general for Northern Ireland. He, along with three other cabinet members, remained away from the same-sex marriage vote in May 2013.

In November 2013, Dominic made controversial comments regarding the Pakistani community in Britain, saying there was corruption in the community. Though he apologized later, In October 2016, he spoke about communities that engage in electoral corruption, later stating that he had not spoken about any particular community.

In 2015, he became the chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee and remained in the position till 2019.

Prime Minister David Cameron dismissed Dominic as the attorney general after a cabinet reshuffle on July 14, 2014. Dominic was replaced by Jeremy Wright. It is believed he was removed for advising the PM against withdrawing Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights, though no official reason was provided.

In the 2016 referendum, Dominic supported the “Remain” side of the Brexit debate. In December 2017, he suggested an amendment to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, which stated that all Brexit deals should be implemented by statute and not by government order.

He proposed another amendment (Amendment 19) on June 12, 2018 and again on June 20, to make the government follow the instructions of the parliamentary motion in case parliament did not pass the withdrawal agreement suggested by the government. Though Dominic threatened to rebel, the then-prime minister, Theresa May, convinced him to vote against the amendment, with the government.

In December 2018, Dominic Grieve suggested his third amendment, which recommended that the parliament should replace the government in determining the outcome of Brexit.

The same month, he was part of a group of senior Conservatives to demand a second referendum over Brexit. On January 11, 2019, Dominic stated that Brexit was “national suicide.”

Dominic then co-established a group named Right to Vote. He stated that he would give up the whip if the Conservative Party elected Boris Johnson as the next prime minister or if the government made Britain exit the EU without a deal.

On January 9, 2019, Dominic successfully amended a government business motion, which stated that if the PM lost, the Commons will have an opportunity to vote on alternative policies.

Eventually, after the rejection of May's withdrawal deal, on January 29, 2019, Dominic’s amendment was defeated. The amendment, if passed, could have helped MPs discuss various alternative options to Brexit, such as a second referendum, in the Commons.

In March 2019, Dominic’s local party passed a motion of no confidence against him. Theresa May criticized Dominic’s proposal to block government funding toward schools and pensions, to make MPs able to have a say on a no-deal Brexit. Dominic’s proposal was, however, rejected by John Bercow, the speaker of the House of Commons.

Dominic Grieve also supported a Labour Party motion to stop a no-deal Brexit. The motion was eventually defeated. Dominic then threatened to demolish the Conservative government with a vote of no confidence in future, if that was needed to block Brexit.

In June 2019, Dominic passed amendments to prevent a no-deal Brexit. The first of them was made to the 2019 Northern Ireland Bill.

On September 3, 2019, Dominic and 20 other rebel Conservative MPs joined hands with the opposition and decided to vote against Boris Johnson and his government.

Following this, all 21 rebel MPs were expelled. They had thus lost the Conservative "whip." Thus, they could only contest as independent candidates in all future elections.

In October 2019, Dominic Grieve declared he would contest the election as an independent candidate. The Liberal Democrats refrained from contesting for the Beaconsfield seat, so that Dominic could easily defeat his Conservative competitor, Joy Morrissey. However, Dominic won only 29% of the seats and lost to Joy Morrisey, who won a majority (56%) of the total votes.

From 1990 to 1996, Dominic Grieve was a police-station lay visitor. He worked as part of various groups in Brixton that were geared toward bringing about peace between communities after riots.

Dominic is a staunch Anglican. In 1994, he became a member of the Church of England’s London diocesan synod and continued for 6 years.

Dominic Grieve also serves as the president of the Franco-British Society. He also airs French-language shows on French radio and TV stations.

In 2020, Dominic joined Goldsmiths, University of London, as a visiting professor of law. He also works at the Temple Garden Chambers, as a public law specialist.

In October 1990, Dominic Grieve got married to Caroline Hutton in London. The couple have two sons.

Caroline is from Beverley, East Yorkshire. She is a barrister and property law specialist. She also runs a Sunday school.

Some of Dominic’s hobbies are canoeing, skiing, boating on the Thames, and climbing mountains. He is fond of art and architecture. He loves to travel, too.

On June 9, 2010, Dominic Grieve was appointed to the Privy Council of the U.K., thus granting him the honorific "The Right Honourable" for his entire life.

In 2016, Dominic was awarded the Legion of Honour of the French Republic.