Donald Martin Thomas, Baron Thomas of Gresford, (born 13 March 1937) is a British Liberal Democrat

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Born the son of a Llangollen policeman, he was educated at

Grove Park Grammar School The Grove Park School (or simply the Groves School) is a former school building in Wrexham, North Wales, which was home to a school between 1939 and 2003. The site has been derelict since 2003, and was proposed for demolition by Wrexham council, ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

, and at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

, he graduated with a degree of LLB and an MA in

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. He practised as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

in Wrexham from 1961 to 1966 before becoming a lecturer in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

. He 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 ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1967, and was appointed QC in 1979. He became a

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

Recorder in 1976, and was authorised to sit as a deputy High Court judge in 1995. Having been appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

1982 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supp ...

, Thomas was created a

Life Peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Thomas of Gresford, of

Gresford Gresford (; ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village of Marford, was 5,334, reducing to 5,010 at the 2011 census. The Grad ...

in the County Borough of Wrexham on 30 September 1996, whereupon he took the Liberal Democrat

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

. Since then he has been a spokesman on

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...

, and has sat on a number of committees. His political interests include

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, China,

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

, and

. In 1961 Thomas married Nan Kerr, with whom he had three sons and one daughter. She died in 2000. In 2005, he married fellow Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Walmsley. Lord Thomas was a vice-president of the

Lloyd George Society The Lloyd George Society is an organisation connected with, but not formally affiliated to, the Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats. It is named after David Lloyd George, the Welsh Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister ...

until February 2012, when he was elected president. Lord Thomas is the honorary chairman of the Association of Military Court Advocates. Lord Thomas is the honorary president of the Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir

References

*Who's Who 2008 *

External links

Lord Thomas of Gresford
profile at the site of Liberal Democrats

Website of the Lloyd George Society 1937 births, Thomas, Martin, Baron Thomas of Gresford Thomas, Martin, Baron Thomas of Gresford Thomas of Gresford Thomas of Gresford English Anglicans Spouses of life peers Thomas, Martin, Baron Thomas of Gresford Members of Gray's Inn Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{Life-peer-stub