John Robert Louis Lee, Baron Lee of Trafford, DL (born 21 June 1942) is a British

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

politician, who has sat as a life peer since 2006. He was previously 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 in ...

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 o ...

(MP) from 1979 to 1992.

Parliamentary career

He contested Manchester Moss Side in October 1974, but was beaten by

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

’s Frank Hatton. He was

MP for

Nelson and Colne Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

from 1979 to 1983, and then for

Pendle Pendle may refer to: * Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England ** Pendle (UK Parliament constituency) * Pendle Hill in Lancashire, England ** Forest of Pendle, hilly landscape surrounding the hill * Pendle College of the University of Lancaster * ...

from June 1983 until he lost his seat in April 1992 to

Gordon Prentice Gordon Prentice (born 28 January 1951) is a British former politician of the Labour Party who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pendle in Lancashire from 1992 to 2010. Early life He was educated at the independent George Heriot's School i ...

from

. He served as Junior Minister for

Defence Procurement Military acquisition or defense acquisition is the "bureaucratic management and procurement process", dealing with a nation's investments in the technologies, programs, and product support necessary to achieve its national security strategy and ...

from 1983 to 1986, and then for Employment from 1986 to 1989, being Minister for Tourism, from 1987 to 1989. He became a non executive director in 1999, and a member of the board of the

Emerson Group The Emerson Group is one of the largest privately owned property development companies in the United Kingdom. Emerson was founded by Peter Emerson Jones in 1959 and is based in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, UK. Its subsidiaries include Orbit Develop ...

After politics

He has been chairman of the ''Association of Leading Visitor Attractions'' the major trade body since 1990. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, and was High Sheriff of

in 1998. He was previously chairman of

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Withington, Manchester, manages the Christie Hospital, one of the largest cancer treatment centres of its type in Europe. The Christie became a NHS Foundation Trust in 2007 and is also an international leade ...

, The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester and the council of the

National Youth Agency The National Youth Agency (NYA) is an educational charity in England and Wales that works in partnership with a wide range of public, private and voluntary sector organizations to support and improve services for young people. The NYA's particul ...

. He was formerly a member of the

English Tourist Board VisitEngland is the official tourist board for England. Before 1999 it was known as the English Tourist Board and between 1999 and 2009 as the English Tourism Council. In 2003, it merged with the British Tourist Authority to form VisitBritain bef ...

and vice chairman of the North West Conciliation Committee of the

Race Relations Board The Race Relations Board was established in 1966 following the passage of the Race Relations Act 1965. The act specified that the board should consist of a chairman and two other members. Its remit was to consider complaints under the Act. It dealt ...

. He is Patron of ShareSoc, which is the individual shareholders society of the United Kingdom.

House of Lords

He left the Conservatives in May 2001, coincidentally prior to the forthcoming election and joined the Liberal Democrats and then was made a life peer as Baron Lee of Trafford of Bowdon in the County of Cheshire on 26 May 2006. From 2007 to 2012, he served as a Whip for the Liberal Democrats in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. He vowed to resign in February 2012 in protest at the House of Lords Reform Bill making its way into the Queen's Speech. He released his “financial autobiography” in December 2013 – ''How to Make a Million – Slowly: Guiding Principles From a Lifetime Investing''. He has also published his

pictorial An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

autobiography entitled ''Portfolio Man'' and in 2019, he published one guide for young people on investing in the stock market entitled ''Yummi Yoghurt'', which references the fictional family company which joins the stock market.

Personal life

He currently lives in Richmond, south-west London, and is deputy chair of the

Museum of Richmond The Museum of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is located in Richmond's Old Town Hall, close to Richmond Bridge. It was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 October 1988. An independent museum and a regis ...

Arms

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', 1992 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, John, Baron Of Trafford 1942 births Living people Lee of Trafford, John Lee Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 People educated at William Hulme's Grammar School Deputy Lieutenants of Greater Manchester High Sheriffs of Greater Manchester Life peers created by Elizabeth II