David Williamson, Baron Williamson of Horton

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David Francis Williamson, Baron Williamson of Horton GCMG , CB , PC (born May 8, 1934 in Whitstable , Kent , † August 30, 2015 in Taunton , Somerset ) was a British civil servant and an active member of the House of Lords . As a crossbencher , he did not belong to any party.

Life and education

David Francis Williamson was born in England on May 8, 1934, to Samuel and Marie Williamson . He attended Tonbridge School in Tonbridge in the county of Kent , and later went to Oxford to attend the Exeter College Classic, philosophy and history to study. There he completed his studies in 1956 with a bachelor's and master's degree in literae humaniores .

From 1956 to 1958 he served as a second lieutenant (equivalent to a lieutenant ) in the Royal Corps of Signals , the communications force of the British Army.

In 1961 he married Patricia Margaret Smith . The marriage resulted in two sons.

Political career

Williamson began his civil servant career in 1958 in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food , worked his way up to office manager of the minister between 1960 and 1962, served in the diplomatic service from 1965 to 1967 and served as a First Secretary for Agriculture and Food at the Kennedy Round , the sixth round of negotiations of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), in Geneva and followed the call of private Secretary of State to the Minister for Fisheries and Food from 1967 to 1970. In the ministry from 1970 to 1977 he took on various other management tasks in the field of agriculture.

In 1977 Williamson went to Brussels and until 1983 took over the position of Deputy Director-General for Agriculture in the European Commission . In 1983 Williamson went back to the UK to accept the post of Deputy Secretary in the Cabinet Office . In 1987 he again accepted an offer from the European Commission and became its Secretary General for ten years.

In 1997 Williamson went back to England and was raised to the nobility on February 5, 1999 as a life peer for life. Since then, Williamson sat as a Crossbencher (not affiliated to a party) in the House of Lords and was elected there in July 2004 for three years until October 2007 as the Convenor of the Crossbench Peers .

Further engagements

  • 1997–2000 - Visiting Professor at the University of Bath
  • 1998–2004 - Member of the Wessex Regional Committee in the National Trust
  • 1998–2005 - Member of the board of directors of the British company Whitbread
  • 2000–2003 - President of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies
  • 2001–2006 - Curator of the Thomson Foundation
  • since 2011 - Chairman of the Bruces-Natolin UK European Scholarships Fund

Awards and honors

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Former Commission secretary-general dies
  2. ↑ Lord Williamson of Horton . The Independent Crossbenchers , archived from the original on May 16, 2015 ; accessed on April 23, 2018 (English, original website no longer available).
  3. ^ Minutes and Order Paper - Minutes of Proceedings . parliament.uk , January 17, 1999, accessed August 3, 2014 .
  4. ^ Convenors of the Crossbench Peers . The Independent Crossbenchers , archived from the original on May 16, 2015 ; accessed on April 23, 2018 (English, original website no longer available).
personal data
SURNAME Williamson, David, Baron Williamson of Horton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Williamson, David Francis, Baron Williamson of Horton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British civil servant and member of the House of Lords
DATE OF BIRTH May 8, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Whitstable
DATE OF DEATH August 30, 2015
Place of death Taunton