Donald Michael Ellison Foster, Baron Foster of Bath (born 31 March 1947), is a British politician and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

who served as Government Deputy Chief Whip and

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of t ...

from 2013 to 2015. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

from

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Early life

Foster was born in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

, and attended the

Lancaster Royal Grammar School Lancaster Royal Grammar School (LRGS) is a selective grammar school (day and boarding) for boys aged 11–18 in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. Old students belong to The Old Lancastrians. The school's sixth form opened to girls in 2019. LRGS i ...

before

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...

where he was awarded a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in physics and psychology in 1969, and also received the

CertEd The Certificate in Education (Cert Ed) is a professional qualification for teachers in the United Kingdom. There have been two incarnations of the Cert Ed over the years. New Cert Ed The current Cert Ed is a non-compulsory qualification offering ...

that same year. He later received an MEd in education at the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

in 1981. He was a science teacher at

Sevenoaks School Sevenoaks School is a highly selective coeducational independent school in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. It is the second oldest non-denominational school in the United Kingdom, dating back to 1432, only behind Oswestry (1407). Over 1,000 day pupils ...

in Kent in 1969, before appointment as Avon

Education Authority The Education Authority ( ga, Údarás Oideachais) is a non-departmental body sponsored by the Department of Education (Northern Ireland), Department of Education in Northern Ireland. It was established under the Education Act (Northern Ireland) ...

's Science Project Director in 1975 and as a

Lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

in Education at

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

in 1980, before being engaged as a

management consultant Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultants ...

with Pannell Kerr Forster from 1989 until his election to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

Parliamentary career

A local party activist, he was a founder member of the Avon Liberal Democrats and was elected as a

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

Avon County Council Avon County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Avon in south west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1974 and was abolished on 1 April 1996 at the same time as the county. The county council was based at Av ...

in 1981 for Cabot Ward, and was the SDP-Liberal Alliance Group Leader from 1981 to 1986. He also served as the county's education committee chairman, and remained a Councillor until 1989. He unsuccessfully contested

Bristol East Bristol East is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency recreated in 1983 covering the eastern part of the City of Bristol, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of ...

at the 1987 general election where he finished in third place, 11,659 votes behind the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Jonathan Sayeed Jonathan Sayeed (born 20 March 1948) is an Anglo-Indian British politician who was a Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2005. He was the only member of the Conservative front bench who c ...

. He was first elected in the constituency of Bath at the 1992 general election when he defeated then-

Conservative Party Chairman The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservatives are in government, the offic ...

Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, (; born 12 May 1944) is a British politician who was the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997 and Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992. He was made a life pe ...

with a majority of 3,768. In his

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

on 12 May 1992, Foster spoke of the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

status of

and sent his best wishes to Patten in Hong Kong. In

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, Foster was the Liberal Democrat Spokesman for

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

under the leadership of

Paddy Ashdown Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internati ...

in 1992, in which capacity he served until 1999. In December 2010, in response to a call from the Football Supporters' Federation, he introduced a Bill in Parliament for English and Welsh football safe standing areas, the first of its kind since the

Taylor Report The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...

. Having been sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 2010, in September 2012 Foster was appointed

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...

for

Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government in ...

before being promoted in October 2013 as Government Deputy Chief Whip representing the Liberal Democrats in the

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

. In January 2014, Foster announced he would stand down as an MP at the following general election. He was created Baron Foster of Bath, of Bath in the County of Somerset, in the 2015 Dissolution Honours, becoming a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. His Bath constituency was won by the Conservatives at the 2015 general election and regained by the Liberal Democrats in 2017.

Personal life

His interests include

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

issues, being a member of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and the

Child Poverty Action Group Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is a UK charity that works to alleviate poverty and social exclusion. History The Group first met on 5 March 1965, at a meeting organised by Harriett C. Wilson. It followed the publication of Brian Abel-Smith a ...

as well as supporting a number of local charities, including Ted's Big Day Out and Julian House. Lord Foster's main national charity is WaterAid and he has seen first hand their work in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. He is a Vice-President of the Debating Group, and also enjoys sport, music, ballet, travelling and reading; Lord Foster also plays the ukulele. Foster was nominated for a

age in August 2015, despite having previously favoured abolition of the

. When accused of hypocrisy, Foster stated: "I want to get rid of he House of Lordsand the only way

o do that O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

..is having people there who will do just that."

Publications

* ''Resource Based Learning in Science'' by Don Foster, 1979, Association for Science Education * ''Science with Gas'' by Don Foster, 1981 * ''Aspects of Science'' by Don Foster, 1984, Longman * ''Reading about Science'' by Don Foster, 1984 * ''Nuffield Science'' by Don Foster, 1986 * ''Teaching Science 11–13'' Edited by Don Foster, Cecil Powell and Roger Lock, 1987, Routledge * ''Education: Investing in Education'' by Don Foster, 1994, Liberal Democrat Publications * ''Making the Right Start: Nursery Education and Care'' by Don Foster, 1994, Liberal Democrat Publications * ''From the Three Rs to the Three Cs: A Personal View of Education'' by Don Foster, 2003

Notes

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

'' ;Video clips * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Don 1947 births Living people Politicians from Preston, Lancashire Academics of the University of Bristol Councillors in South West England Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Politics of Bath, Somerset UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors

Early life

Parliamentary career

Personal life

Publications

See also

Notes

External links