Christopher William Bellamy, Baron Bellamy, (born 25 April 1946) is a British barrister and former judge.

Early and personal life

Born on 25 April 1946, Bellamy's father was a physician. Bellamy attended the independent Tonbridge School and then

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

."Bellamy, Sir Christopher (William)"
''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biography, biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a gr ...

'' (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2020). Retrieved 25 January 2021. He is a member of the Athenaeum and Garrick clubs.

Career

Bellamy was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the Middle Temple in 1968. He spent a year teaching before starting to practise as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

in 1970, when he joined Monckton Chambers. He developed specialisms in European, competition and regulatory law, and in 1986 was appointed Queen's Counsel."Sir Christopher Bellamy QC"
'' Monckton Chambers''. Retrieved 25 January 2021. Between 1992 and 1999, Bellamy was a judge of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities. He then served as a judge on the Employment Appeal Tribunal between 2000 and 2007, and as president of the United Kingdom's Competition Appeal Tribunals for the Competition Commission (between 1999 and 2003) and then of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (from 2003 to 2007). After leaving the judiciary in 2007, Bellamy became a senior

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

at Linklaters, where he was appointed chairman of its Global Competition Practice in 2011. He left Linklaters in 2020 and resumed practising as a barrister at Monckton Chambers. Bellamy was elevated to the peerage as Baron Bellamy, by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. On 7 June 2022, Bellamy was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice in the Ministry of Justice, replacing David Wolfson. Aged 76, he became the oldest minister in the Government. He was reappointed by Liz Truss and by

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...

Honours

Bellamy was a bencher of the Middle Temple in 1994. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

2000 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom and New Zealand were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2000. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various or ...

.
Supplement to the London Gazette
', 31 December 1999 (issue no. 55710), p. 2. On 14 June 2022, to facilitate his ministerial role, he was created Baron Bellamy, of Waddesdon in the County of Buckinghamshire, for life, and was introduced to the House of Lords the same day, supported by Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Anderson of Ipswich.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellamy, Christopher 1946 births Living people British barristers 20th-century English judges English King's Counsel Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Knights Bachelor Life peers created by Elizabeth II Conservative Party (UK) life peers 21st-century English judges People educated at Tonbridge School