The Lord Watson of Richmond | |
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Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
In office 23 July 1999 –25 July 2023 Life Peerage | |
President of the Liberal Party | |
In office 1984–1985 | |
Preceded by | Geoffrey Tordoff,Baron Tordoff |
Succeeded by | David Penhaligon |
Personal details | |
Born | Port Elizabeth,South Africa | 3 February 1941
Political party | Liberal Democrats (since 1988) |
Other political affiliations | Liberal (before 1988) |
Children | 2 |
Residence(s) | Richmond,London,England |
Education | University of Cambridge |
Occupation | Journalist Politician Broadcast presenter |
Website | www.lordalanwatson.com |
Alan John Watson,Baron Watson of Richmond CBE (born 3 February 1941) [1] is a UK-based broadcaster,Liberal Democrat politician and leadership communications consultant. [2]
Lord Watson of Richmond is the son of the Rev. John William Watson and Edna Mary Peters. He was educated at the Diocesan College,Cape Town in South Africa and Kingswood School in Bath. He was an Open Scholar in history at Jesus College,Cambridge 1959,a State Scholar 1959 and was awarded an MA in 1963. He was the Vice-President of the Cambridge Union.
Watson's German-born wife Karen is an artist:they have two sons,Stephen and Martin. [3]
Watson joined the BBC after graduating from Cambridge University in 1963,and later became a regular presenter for The Money Programme on BBC Two and Panorama on BBC One. He also reported on London Weekend Television,Radio 4 and the BBC World Service,and wrote and presented award-winning documentaries over many years. He was one of the studio contributors to the BBC's June 1970 Election Night television programme.
He is a Fellow and Former Chairman of the Royal Television Society. From 1976 to 1980 he was responsible for media at the European Commission.
In politics,Watson's notable role was as President of the Liberal Party. He was appointed CBE in 1985 and,on 23 July 1999 was elevated to the House of Lords with a Life Peerage as Baron Watson of Richmond,of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. [4] He was a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union.
He stood for election four times:as the Liberal candidate for Richmond in the general elections of October 1974 and 1979, [5] and as the Liberal candidate (SDP-Liberal Alliance) for Richmond and Barnes in the general elections of 1983 and 1987. On all four occasions,he came in second place,losing to the Conservatives. [6] [7]
Outside of the United Kingdom,Lord Watson is Chair of the Albanian British Chamber of Commerce and is a Member of the European Parliament's High Level Group on Romania. His political interests are the "worldwide use of English,EU enlargement and transatlantic relationship". [8]
He retired from the House of Lords on 25 July 2023.
Lord Watson was Chairman of CTN Communications until retirement,a creative communications agency based on St Martin's Lane in central London. He advises the leaders of major UK and international companies on their communications,with clients including BP,BAE Systems and Tesco. [8]
Lord Watson holds a range of visiting and honorary posts at universities in the United Kingdom and abroad.
Europe at Risk was Lord Waton's first publication,released in 1972. [12]
The Germans:Who Are They Now? is a non-fiction book,first published in 1992. [13]
Eminent Europeans:personalities who shaped contemporary Europe is a collection of 17 essays on the personalities who have shaped modern Europe,for which Lord Watson contributed the essay entitled Thatcher and Kohl:Old Rivalries Revisited. The book was published in 1996,and edited by Martyn Bond,Julie Smith and William Wallace. [14]
Published in 2007,Jamestown:The Voyage of English is an exploration of the global significance of the arrival of the Godspeed,the Susan Constant and the Discovery on America's East Coast in 1607. [15] These three ships carried the ideas and the language which would shape the modern world. Lord Watson tells the story of a precarious venture that nearly failed. But it succeeded against the odds,planting the seeds of representative government,capitalism and the rule of law. These ideas were expressed in a language which had just reached a peak of power and vitality –the English of Shakespeare,Tyndale and Cranmer's Prayer Book. The year 1607 marks the start of the voyage of English from the language of 4 million inhabitants of the British Isles to its role as today's working language of the global village used by almost 2 billion people world-wide.
The Queen and the USA is a non-fiction book published in March 2012 by Dementi Milestone Publishing. [16] [17] During 2012,Queen Elizabeth II celebrated the 60th anniversary of her role as Queen of the United Kingdom. This book explores and celebrates the special relationship between the American and British people during this period,and honours Queen Elizabeth II for her role and contribution to a friendship recognised throughout the world. Co-authored by Horace Edward "Chip" Mann,the book is highly visual,and includes photographs of the Queen with twelve US Presidents.
Published in 2016,Churchill's Legacy,Two Speeches to Save the World is a non-fiction book published in September 2016 by Bloomsbury Publishing to mark the 70th anniversary of Churchill's speeches in 1946,first in March in Fulton,Missouri,often known as the Iron Curtain speech,and then in September in Zurich,Switzerland,often known as the United States of Europe speech.
Below is a list of Lord Watson's most notable awards. For educational honours,please see the above section,Positions at Educational Institutions.
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David Terence Puttnam,Baron Puttnam,CBE,HonFRSA,HonFRPS,MRIA is a British-Irish film producer,educator,environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include Chariots of Fire,which won the Academy Award for Best Picture,The Mission,The Killing Fields,Local Hero,Midnight Express and Memphis Belle. In 1982,he received the BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema,and in 2006 he was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
David John Sainsbury,Baron Sainsbury of Turville,is a British politician,businessman and philanthropist. From 1992 to 1997,he served as chairman of Sainsbury's,the supermarket chain established by his great-grandfather John James Sainsbury in 1869.
Alexander Charles Carlile,Baron Carlile of Berriew,is a British barrister and crossbench member of the House of Lords. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Montgomeryshire from 1983 to 1997.
Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil,5th Marquess of Salisbury,,known as Viscount Cranborne from 1903 to 1947,was a British Conservative politician.
George Patrick John Rushworth Jellicoe,2nd Earl Jellicoe,Baron Jellicoe of Southampton was a British politician,diplomat and businessman.
Hermann Maria Hauser,KBE,FRS,FREng,FInstP,CPhys is an Austrian entrepreneur,venture capitalist and inventor who is primarily associated with the Cambridge technology community in England.
Edward Timothy Razzall,Baron Razzall,,is a British Liberal Democrat politician and parliamentarian.
Sir David Nicholas Cannadine is a British author and historian who specialises in modern history,Britain and the history of business and philanthropy. He is currently the Dodge Professor of History at Princeton University,a visiting professor of history at Oxford University,and the editor of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He was president of the British Academy between 2017 and 2021,the UK's national academy for the humanities and social sciences. He also serves as the chairman of the trustees of the National Portrait Gallery in London and vice-chair of the editorial board of Past &Present.
David Gifford Leathes Prior,Baron Prior of Brampton is the former chairman of NHS England and chairman of University College Hospital. He served as Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for North Norfolk from 1997 until the 2001 general election,when he lost his seat to Norman Lamb of the Liberal Democrats by 483 votes. In 2015,he was appointed as a life peer in the House of Lords.
Gordon Slynn,Baron Slynn of Hadley was a British judge and Advocate General of the European Court of Justice. He particularly specialised in European law. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.
Air Marshal Timothy Garden,Baron Garden,,FRUSI,FCGI was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF) who later became a university professor and a Liberal Democrat politician.
John Robert Louis Lee,Baron Lee of Trafford,DL is a British Liberal Democrat politician,who has sat as a life peer since 2006.
Timothy Francis Clement-Jones,Baron Clement-Jones,is a Liberal Democrat peer and spokesman for the digital economy in the House of Lords.
Charles James Dugdale,2nd Baron Crathorne,,was Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire from 1999 until 2014. He is also one of the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999,sitting as a Conservative. In 1977,he succeeded to his father's title.
Jeffrey Maurice Sterling,Baron Sterling of Plaistow,is a British businessman and Conservative peer. The Plaistow referred to is Plaistow,West Sussex,reflected in the land holdings in the county.
Stephen Andrew Carter,Baron Carter of Barnes,,is a Scottish businessman and politician. Starting his career as graduate trainee rising to CEO of J Walter Thompson UK &Ireland and COO of NTL UK &Ireland,in 2003 Carter became the founding CEO of Ofcom in the United Kingdom. He was subsequently the group CEO of Brunswick Group from 2007 until 2008,when he stepped down to join the administration of Prime Minister Gordon Brown,Initially serving in 2008 as Brown's chief of strategy,principal advisor,and the Acting Downing Street Chief of Staff,he was very briefly Minister for Communications,Technology and Broadcasting for 9 months in 2008-9. Between 2010 and 2013 he held various management positions at Alcatel-Lucent,and in 2013 he became the group CEO of Informa,an information and events company.
The 1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were officially announced in two supplements to The London Gazette of 1 August 1997 and marked the May 1997 resignation of the Prime Minister,John Major.
Rajinder Paul Loomba,Baron Loomba,is a philanthropist,founder and executive chairman of clothing company Loomba Group,and a member of the House of Lords.
As part of the British honours system,Special Honours are issued at the Monarch's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours refer to the awards made within royal prerogative,operational honours,political honours and other honours awarded outside the New Years Honours and Birthday Honours.