Alastair John Lyndhurst Bruce, 5th Baron Aberdare, (born 2 May 1947), is a British nobleman, and since 2009 a

crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

Lord Temporal The Lords Temporal are secular members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament. These can be either life peers or hereditary peers, although the hereditary right to sit in the House of Lords was abolished for all but ni ...

Early life and education

Lord Aberdare is the son of

Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare Morys George Lyndhurst Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, (16 June 1919 – 23 January 2005), was a Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, and from 1999 until his death, one of List of hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 19 ...

, and Maud Helen Sarah Dashwood, only daughter of Sir John Dashwood, 10th Baronet. Aberdare was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He succeeded his father upon the latter's death in 2005.

Career

* IBM, 1969–1991 * Partner, Bruce Naughton Wade, 1991–1999 * Director, ProbusBNW, 1999–? * Trustee,

National Botanic Garden of Wales The National Botanic Garden of Wales ( cy, Gardd Fotaneg Genedlaethol Cymru) is a botanical garden located in Llanarthney in the River Tywi valley, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The garden is both a visitor attraction and a centre for botanical rese ...

, 1994–2006 * Fellow,

Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

* Honorary Fellow of

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

since July 2008 * Sub Prior of the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem, Priory of Wales.

Offices

Lord Aberdare is president of the Cynon Valley History Society.

House of Lords

In July 2009, Lord Aberdare was elected to sit in the House of Lords, following the death of Lord Bledisloe in May 2009. A

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

took place under the terms of the House of Lords Act 1999, which provided for 92 hereditary peers to keep their seats in the reformed House, with vacancies in their number filled from amongst all non-sitting hereditary peers. The result was announced in the Chamber of the Lords on 15 July 2009, following the voting by 27 of the 29 Crossbench peers eligible to take part. His maiden speech, made on 26 November 2009 during the debate on the Queen's Speech, focused on the transition from education to employment.

Family

He married Elizabeth Mary Culbert Foulkes in 1971; they have two children: *Hon. Hector Morys Napier Bruce (born 1974) *Hon. Sarah Katherine Mary Bruce (born 1976)

References

*"Aberdare, Baron (Bruce) (Baron UK 1873)" ''Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage 1995'' London: Debrett's Peerage Limited, 1995, p. 4. *Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2007.
thePeerage.com

External links

* 1947 births Living people People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Crossbench hereditary peers Eldest sons of British hereditary barons Alastair Deputy Lieutenants of Dyfed {{UK-baron-stub Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999