Robert Shirley, 13th Earl Ferrers

Robert Washington Shirley, 13th Earl Ferrers PC ( June 8, 1929 - November 13, 2012 ) was a British nobleman and politician.

Life

Shirley was the only son of Robert Shirley, 12th Earl Ferrers . He attended Winchester College and then studied at Magdalene College of Cambridge University agronomy . He then fought with the Coldstream Guards in Malaya . In 1954, when his father died, he inherited his title Earl Ferrers and the associated seat in the House of Lords .

During the Conservative governments of Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home (1962-1964) and Edward Heath (1971-1974), he served as Whip of his party in the House of Lords. In the following years he was Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

After the Conservatives re-established government under Margaret Thatcher , Shirley was Minister of State in the same ministry and vice chairman of the House of Lords. He gave up both offices in 1983. In 1988 he returned to the government as Minister of State in the Home Office , from 1990 under John Major . In 1994 he moved to the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the following year to the Ministry of the Environment. Until 1997 he was also vice chairman of the House of Lords. Shirley thus served under five Conservative Prime Ministers for more than 18 years in government offices.

Even after the reform of the House of Lords in 1999 , he continued to have a seat there as one of the 90 members elected by the hereditary nobles.

Shirley had been Grand Prior of the Grand Priory of England and Wales of the Order of Lazarus since 2007 and was replaced in 2012 by Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 22nd Earl of Shrewsbury .

family

Shirley was married and had two sons and three daughters.

Web links

• Page on the Shirley Society
• Entry at leighrayment.com (engl.)

predecessor	Office	successor
Robert Shirley	Earl Ferrers 1954-2012	Robert Shirley