[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 130 (Thursday, September 19, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S10905]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE TO THE RT. HON. MICHAEL JOPLING, D.L., M.P.

  Mr. HEFLIN. Madam President, several of us in the U.S. Senate, as 
well as some in the House of Representatives, have had the pleasure 
over the years of knowing and working with the Right Honorable Michael 
Jopling, a British Member of Parliament and former Minister of 
Agriculture under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He has been a 
familiar and most welcome participant at both the North Atlantic 
Assembly sessions and at the British-American Interparliamentary Group 
meetings in which some of us have participated. He is well respected by 
his fellow Members of Parliament, both Conservative and Labour alike. 
Mr. Jopling, whose retirement from the House of Commons is imminent 
after close to 33 years in the Parliament, has served as secretary to 
this important and engaging interparliamentary group for the past 9 
years and served the previous 4 years as its vice chairman. The 
position of secretary is a most important responsibility, since that 
officer is the chief liaison official with the American delegation. The 
secretaries of the delegations make most of the logistical decisions. 
The exchange plan he helped institute is an excellent program and 
vehicle for dealing with issues common to our two countries. He has 
referred to his activities with the British-American group ``as a 
labour of love'' and believes ``with a great deal of passion that the 
continued warm relationship between Britain and the United States is 
crucial for world peace.''
  Mr. Jopling was an outstanding and courageous Minister of 
Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food in the British government for two 4-
year periods between 1979 and 1987. Some of his policies angered 
British farmers, since he was appointed at a time when food surpluses 
under the Common Agricultural Policy of Europe had reached very high 
levels. It has been said that he was a victim of Jopling's law, which 
says that whatever you do is going to be unpopular with the 
environmentalists for not going nearly far enough and with the farmers 
for doing far too much. For those of us who serve on the Agriculture 
Committee, Jopling's Law has particular resonance. Nevertheless, he 
stood firm and became a moving force during the 1980's for bringing the 
Common Agricultural Policy of Europe under control. Under trying 
circumstances, he endeavored to achieve a proper and reasonable balance 
on these issues and always acted in a manner that served the public 
interest. He was warmly praised and encouraged by former American 
Secretary of Agriculture Clayton Yeutter.
  He also served as government chief whip. The government and the 
opposition in Parliament both appoint whips whose duty is to manage the 
affairs of the party and to organize their members to provide support. 
The government chief whip is in charge of the important responsibility 
of arranging the scheduling of the government's business in the House 
of Commons. This is done in consultation with the opposition chief 
whip.
  In addition, he was assistant whip, spokesman on agriculture, deputy 
spokesman on agriculture, secretary of the conservative MPs' 
agriculture committee, and a member of the Select Committees on Science 
and Technology, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, and Privileges. He was 
also vice chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, 
chairman of the Select Committee on Sittings of the Commons, and 
president of the Auto Cycle Union.

  Michael Jopling was born on December 10, 1930 in Ripon, Yorkshire. He 
was educated at Cheltenham College; King's College, Newcastle-upon-
Tyne; and Durham University, where he earned a degree in agriculture. 
He is a farmer, sharing a 500-acre farm in Thirsk, Yorkshire ``on some 
of the finest arable land in the country.'' He has also served as a 
consultant to the Hill and Knowlton public relations firm.
  Mr. Jopling represents Westmorland and Lonsdale, an area of Great 
Britain which is dominated by agriculture and tourism, with some light 
industry. One British newspaper referred to it as ``a curious mixture 
of farmers in tweeds and sprightly geriatrics * * *'' While I do not 
think of him as being ``geriatric,'' he certainly reflects the overall 
nature of his constituency. He has been called ``a farmer in politics 
rather than a politician who makes agriculture his specialty.'' He is 
know as being likable, engaging, and affable. I have had the pleasure 
on several occasions to swap humorous stories with him about the 
politics, government, and cultural idiosyncracies of our respective 
nations. He is a practical joker who has said that ``riding a 
motorcycle is one of the life's most exhilarating experiences.''
  He is also a serious leader who pays close attention to the nuances 
of public policy and who judges by eye and instinct. His voice of 
reason at NAA meetings has helped guide favorably its deliberations and 
improved its decisions.
  He has always supported a strong national defense and strong NATO. He 
often criticized backsliders like Canada ``with its miserable 1.2 
percent of GNP'' for defense expenditures. He also warned the British 
cabinet to take ``unpopular decisions, if necessary'' to ensure the 
Army had the best tank possible.
  His natural manner is one of caution, of getting all the facts before 
making a decision. He instinctively distrusts high-flown theory, 
preferring instead the directness of personal dialog and negotiation. 
His height, square build, and rustic manner often conjure up the image 
of a genial giant, but his country gentleman appearance often masks his 
shrewdness, keen sense of politics, and anayltically sharp mind. All 
these traits come together to give him an unusual ability to take the 
full measure of a person, situation, or piece of legislation 
objectively, but always with an eye toward accomplishing his goals.
  I am pleased to commend and congratulate the Right Honourable Michael 
Jopling for his outstanding leadership and dedication as a Member of 
the British Parliament and as a British good-will ambassador at-large. 
I wish him, as well as his red-haired, beautiful, and talented wife, 
Gail Dickinson Jopling, all the best as he approaches retirement. He 
deserves our profound thanks for his many lasting contributions over 
the years to British-American relations in general and for his personal 
commitment to preserving the special nature of the relationship between 
our two great nations. After he leaves government service, I hope he 
will continue to use his enormous talents and energies to benefit 
British-American relations.
  Madam President, I thank the Chair, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  Mr. REID. Will the Senator withhold?
  Mr. HEFLIN. I yield the floor.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I understand, under the standing order, 
that I have 10 minutes. Is that correct?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada is correct.
  Mr. REID. Would the Chair advise me when I have used 8 minutes of the 
10?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. We will let you know.
  
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