Hazel Osborne Byford, Baroness Byford, (born 14 January 1941) is a retired 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 ...

, where she served as

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for Food, Farming and Rural Affairs from 1997 to 2007. She sat as a

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 ...

. Her father, Sir

Cyril Osborne Sir Cyril Osborne (19 June 1898 – 31 August 1969) was a Justice of the Peace for Leicestershire and a British Conservative politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Louth constituency in Lincolnshire from 1945 to his death. B ...

, was Conservative MP for

Louth, Lincolnshire Louth () is a market town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): Louth serves as an important town for a large rural area of eastern Lincolnshire. Visitor ...

from 1945 to 1969. She married, in 1962, Charles Barrie Byford, CBE (1931–2013). She was raised to the

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for life as Baroness Byford, of

Rothley Rothley ( ) is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Charnwood in Leicestershire, England. Situated around west of the River Soar and north of Leicester, it had a population of 3,612 inhabitants . The population measured at the 201 ...

in the

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

in 1996, having been appointed a DBE in 1994. Byford is

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of Young Leicestershire, an honorary patron of the Church Lads' and Church Girls' Brigade as well as president of The Royal Agricultural Societies of England. From 2007 to 2010 she served as president of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers. She is a

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of the Royal Agricultural Society and an honorary

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Leicester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. The church was elevated to a collegiate church in 1922 ...

, Chairman of Leicester Cathedral Council. She was also formerly the President of The Women's Farming Union, National Farm Attractions Network, and the Institute of the Agricultural Secretaries and Administrators. Byford serves as a Deputy Lieutenant for

. She was

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

of the Worshipful Company of Farmers and was Master of the Company in 2013/2014 Spring 2010 Newsletter of The Worshipful Company of Farmers in the

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and still remains an active liveryman today. In 2008, Byford received an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

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(Hon DSc) from

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...

in recognition of her outstanding contribution and commitment to agriculture and rural life. She also holds Honorary Doctorates from Lincoln University, Leicester University and Harper Adams University.

Arms

References

External links

Baroness Byford profile
conservatives.com; accessed 3 April 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Byford, Baroness Byford, Hazel 1941 births Living people People from Rothley People from Louth, Lincolnshire Byford, Hazel Byford, Baroness Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Byford, Hazel Byford, Baroness Deputy Lieutenants of Leicestershire People associated with Nottingham Trent University