Howe, Sir Geoffrey (1926-...), a Conservative Party politician, was deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to 1990. He had been foreign secretary since 1983. Before that, Howe had been solicitor general from 1970 to 1972, minister for trade and consumer affairs from 1972 to 1974, and chancellor of the exchequer (the country's chief financial officer) from 1979 to 1983.