During the Premiership of Margaret Thatcher he enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks of government, which culminated in his serving as a Secretary of State in the Cabinet from 1987 to 1989.

Moore's fortunes in government waned after 1987 when he was made responsible for the highly sensitive portfolios of health and social security.

Here the couple married in 1962 and Moore found work initially as a financial analyst with a Chicago investment bank.

Dean Witter catered to a mainly middle-class clientele, with the typical client holding only a modest portfolio of stock.

[1] While in Chicago, Moore became a Democratic Party activist, motivated by his opposition to segregation, and served as a "precinct captain".

[1] Moore became active in local Conservative politics and was elected to serve as a Councillor in the London Borough of Merton in 1971.

For example, he opposed the withdrawal of free school milk from the Borough's children which was happening as the result of the government budget cuts policy.

He held this position until the Conservatives were returned to office in 1979, at which time he was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy.

His tenure of office at Transport was brief but coincided with the completion of major developments such as the M25 London orbital motorway and the privatisation of British Airways.

[1] The capsizing of the Herald of Free Enterprise car ferry outside Zeebrugge harbour on 6 March 1987 gave Moore considerable media exposure.

[1] These events served to raise Moore's profile even further and he played a prominent campaign role in the 1987 general election.

... what probably clinched his promotion to the DHSS yesterday was his TV performance in the party political broadcast that attacked the loony left.

Describing Moore's earlier career in government, Julian Critchley said, "The script had been written for him, and he had only to learn his lines".

Waddington declined to name the people he referred to but many commentators stated that Moore was one clear beneficiary of this personal foible.

Specific proposals included making private healthcare insurance contributions tax-deductible, and allowing nurses' wage rates to be established by local bargaining rather than by central negotiation.

During a visit to the US in October 1987, he delivered a speech to the Mont Pelerin Society in which he appeared to suggest that he had been the prime mover behind privatisation in the UK.

[12] A 1987 Cabinet Office memo written by Moore stated that the Government had adopted a Policy of not accepting any direct responsibility for the Contaminated Blood Scandal.

He initially ignored the illness and tried to attend a cabinet meeting, during which he lost consciousness, and was subsequently admitted to Parkside Hospital in Wimbledon.

[1] The fact that this was a private clinic owned by a German healthcare company (reportedly charging patients up to £2,000 per day) attracted bad publicity.

His attempt to target state assistance towards poorer families while freezing child benefits provoked a major rebellion by Conservative backbench MPs.

After leaving government Moore held a number of directorships with large concerns, including Credit Suisse Asset Management and Rolls-Royce.

[17] His attendance was very sparse; a BBC feature in August 2011 reported that after 20 years in the House of Lords, Moore had still to make his maiden speech.

During his time as an MP, he played football and took up skiing; later in life, he competed in a triathlon when he was 64, which he completed despite a fall off his bike at one point, and also became an avid practitioner of tai chi.