Tory fixer prized by Thatcher
He was described by many in Whitehall as Lord Fixit - the behind-the-scenes arranger who could smooth the way for tricky legislation or pacify clashing ministers. The Enron scandal, however, was one problem he was unable to fix for himself.
Born in 1932, John Wakeham was the first of three children. His father, Walter, scraped enough together to send the boy to Charterhouse.
Wakeham went on to the City, where he turned his accountancy skills to profitable use and, before he was out of his twenties, had made his first million.
He set himself for a life in politics around the time he met his first wife, Roberta. It took him nearly 10 years to find and win a safe seat, Maldon in Essex, in 1974.
In 1984, Wakeham's life was shattered when Roberta was killed in the IRA Grand Hotel bombing in Brighton. Wakeham himself was lucky to emerge alive.
His secretary Alison Ward helped him recover and they married in 1985.
It was as Thatcher's energy secretary that Wakeham first established contacts with Enron. Under John Major, Wakeham's influence waned sharply. He went to the Lords from where he persuaded Major to let him set up the Press Complaints Commission.
Lord Wakeham's directorships include Azurix Corporation, Enron subsidiary; Alexandra Rose Day; Bristol & West; Carlton Club; Carlton Trustees; Cothill House School.
At Enron, he was paid £80,000 a year plus consultancy fees and owned shares worth £130,000 at their peak.
