David George Clark

David George Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere (born 19 October 1939 in Castle Douglas, Scotland) is a British Labour politician, former cabinet minister and author.

Political Career

Lord Clark of Windermere joined to the House of Lords on the 2nd July 2001. Prior to this he was a member of the Labour Party in 1959 and was then elected as MP for Colne Valley from 1970 to 1974. Following his loss at the general Elections in 1974 he became a Senior Lecturer in Politics at Huddersfield Polytechnic (now the University of Huddersfield) until 1979 when he returned to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for South Shields in Tyne and Wear, a seat he held until he stood down at the 2001 general elec-tion.

Lord Clarke was appointed to a number of roles in Tony Blair’s Shadow Cabinet, including Agriculture Fisheries & Food (1972–74), Defence (1980–81), Food Agricultural and Rural Affairs (1987–92), and Shadow Defence Secretary (1992–97). Lord Clark of Windermere stood down from his role as MP in 2001 and was swiftly appointed a Lord.

His career in the House of Lords has been characterised by his role in the National Security Strategy (Joint Committee) which he has held since 2013.

Education

He attended Bowness Elementary School and Windermere Grammar School in Cumbria. After leaving school, he worked as a forester and then as a Laboratory Assistant in a textile mill before becoming a stu-dent teacher in 1959. He attended the University of Manchester as a mature student from 1960, gaining a BA in Economics, then later an MSc. He was President of the Students' Union. In 1978 he gained a PhD from the University of Sheffield. He was a Lecturer in Government and Administration at the University of Salford from 1965–70 and a Tutor at University of Manchester from 1967-1970.

Notable Work

He has held a number of public roles including the Chairman of the Lake District National Park World Herit-age Bid 2005-present, Chairman of the Lake District National Park Partnership from 2006 and an Hon Fellow of the University of Cumbria from 2009. In the Private sector he has also been active in roles such as the Leader of the British Delegation to NATO from 2001-2005, the Director of Carlisle United Football Club from 2001 and the Chair of the Forestry Commission from 2001-2009.