Tim Renton
Ronald Timothy Renton, Baron Renton of Mount Harry, PC, DL (born 28 May 1932) is a British Conservative Party politician.
The Lord Renton of Mount Harry PC, DL | |
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Minister of State for the Arts | |
In office 28 November 1990 – 11 April 1992 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Prime Minister | John Major |
Preceded by | David Mellor |
Succeeded by | David Mellor (as Secretary of State for National Heritage) |
Chief Whip of the House of Commons Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | |
In office 24 July 1989 – 28 November 1990 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
Preceded by | David Waddington |
Succeeded by | Richard Ryder |
Minister of State for Immigration | |
In office 13 June 1987 – 25 July 1989 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
Preceded by | David Waddington |
Succeeded by | Peter Lloyd |
Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | |
In office 2 September 1985 – 13 June 1987 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
Preceded by | Richard Luce |
Succeeded by | David Mellor |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | |
In office 11 September 1984 – 1 September 1985 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
Preceded by | Ray Whitney |
Succeeded by | Tim Eggar |
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
In office 8 June 1997 – 14 April 2016 Life Peerage | |
Member of Parliament for Mid Sussex | |
In office 28 February 1974 – 8 April 1997 | |
Preceded by | Constituency Created |
Succeeded by | Nicholas Soames |
Personal details | |
Born | 28 May 1932 |
Political party | Conservative |
Alma mater | Magdalen College, Oxford |
Early life
Tim Renton, who rarely uses his first name of Ronald, won scholarships to Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford, and graduated with a first class degree in History.
Parliamentary career
After unsuccessfully contesting Sheffield Park in 1970, he was Conservative Member of Parliament for Mid-Sussex from 1974 to 1997.
He served as a Minister of State in both the Foreign Office and the Home Office, and served as Margaret Thatcher's Chief Whip (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) between 1989 and 1990. After Thatcher's resignation in 1990 he served in John Major's government as Minister for the Arts between 1990 and 1992. During this time he launched National Music Day (UK) with Mick Jagger which ran from 1992 until around 1997.[1][2] He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Biffen, the Trade Secretary but resigned from that position in 1981 after he refused to support the government on a vote about a windfall tax on bank profits.
After standing down from the Commons at the 1997 General Election, he was created a life peer in the 1997 Dissolution Honours;[3] on 9 June 1997 as Baron Renton of Mount Harry, of Offham in the County of East Sussex,[4][5] and took his seat in the House of Lords. He retired from the House on 14 April 2016.[6]
Family
In 1960, he married Alice Blanche Helen Fergusson, daughter of Sir James Fergusson, 8th Baronet of Kilkerran. The couple live in Offham near Lewes in East Sussex and have a holiday home on the Hebridean island of Tiree.
Their four surviving children are Alexander James Torre (a journalist and author),[7] Christian Louise, Daniel Charles Antony and (Katherine) Chelsea, who is an artist. The couple's youngest daughter, Polly Renton (Penelope Sally Rosita), a documentary film maker, died in a car accident in 2010.[7]
Bibliography
- The Dangerous Edge, Hutchinson, 1994, ISBN 0-09-179151-0
- Hostage to Fortune, Arrow, 1998, ISBN 0-09-946831-X
- Chief Whip, Politico's, 2005, ISBN 1-84275-129-8
References
- "The List: 19 Jun 1992". The List Archive. 19 June 1992. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- "Joining in: Investigation into Participatory Music in the UK - PDF Free Download". epdf.pub. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- "No. 54743". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 April 1997. p. 4708.
- "No. 54791". The London Gazette. 12 June 1997. p. 6845.
- "No. 24212". The Edinburgh Gazette. 17 June 1997. p. 1485.
- Lord Renton of Mount Harry – UK Parliament
- Obituary: Polly Renton, The Times, 10 June 2010
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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New constituency | Member of Parliament for Mid Sussex 1974–1997 |
Succeeded by Nicholas Soames |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by David Waddington |
Chief Whip of the Conservative Party 1989–1990 |
Succeeded by Richard Ryder |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1989–1990 | ||
Preceded by David Mellor |
Minister of State for the Arts 1990–1992 |
Succeeded by David Mellor |
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
Preceded by The Lord Steel of Aikwood |
Gentlemen Baron Renton of Mount Harry |
Followed by The Lord Alton of Liverpool |