Lord Carrington

The Rt Hon. the Lord Carrington KG GCMG CH MC DL has been a member of the House of Lords since the 4th of April 1941.

Political Career

Peter Carrington succeeded his father as 6th Baron Carrington and took his seat as a Member of the House of Lords on his 21st birthday. He became involved in Politics and served in the Conservative governments of Winston Churchill as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food from November 1951 to October 1954. He worked for the Ministry of Defence from October 1954 to October 1956. Following this post he was appointed High Commissioner to Australia, a post which he held until October 1959.

After his return to Britain he served under Harold Macmillan as First Lord of the Admiralty until October 1963. From 1964 to 1970 he was Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords. In 1970 Carrington became Defence Secretary until 1974 when Labour came into power.

Carrington was Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords from 1974 to 1979, following this he was made Foreign Secretary and Minister for Overseas Development as part of the first Cabinet of Margaret Thatcher. He resigned from this role in 1982 due to complacency and failures in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

After the House of Lords Act in 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers, Carrington was appointed a Life Peerage on 17th November 1999. He is the longest serving member of the House of Lords

Education

He was educated at two independent schools: at Sandroyd School from 1928–1932 , and Eton College, followed by RMC Sandhurst.

Notable Work

After commissioning from Sandhurst Lord Carrington joined the Grenadier Guards as a second lieutenant. He served during the regiment during the Second World War and was eventually promoted to Major. He was awarded the Military Cross on the 1st Marc 1945. He remained in the army until 1949.

Lord Carrington served as Secretary General of NATO from 1984 to 1988. He was also appointed Chancellor of the Order of St Michael and St George on the 1st August 1984, he served on this post until June 1994.

Apart from his extensive political career Lord Carrington has also been the Chancellor of the university of Reading and the chairman of several companies, including Christie’s. He has also been a director of many others including Barclays Bank, Schweppes and the Daily Telegraph.

External links

http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-carrington/3295