Peter Spencer Bowness, Baron Bowness, (born 19 May 1943) is a British politician, solicitor, 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

. Since 1996, he has been a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Early life

Bowness was born on 19 May 1943. He was educated at

Whitgift School Whitgift School is an independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was prev ...

, an all-boys

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

South Croydon South Croydon in south London is the area surrounding the valley south of central Croydon and running as far south as the former Red Deer public house on the Brighton Road. It is bounded by Waddon to the West and Selsdon and Sanderstead to the E ...

, London. He graduated from the

University of Law The University of Law (founded in 1962 as The College of Law of England and Wales) is a Private university, private Proprietary college, for-profit university in the United Kingdom, providing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law, busi ...

, and began work as a solicitor in 1966.

Legal career

Bowness is a qualified solicitor and

notary public A notary public ( notary or public notary; notaries public) of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers- ...

. From 1970 to 2002, he was a partner at Weightman Sadler Solicitors in Purley,

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough, borough in South London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of and had a population of 397,741 as of mid-2023, making it the most populous London borough. It is London's southernmost ...

. From 2002 to 2011, he was a consultant to Streeter Marshall Solicitors (the successor to the now merged Weightman Sadler Solicitors). Since then, he has not practised as a solicitor or notary public.

Political career

Councillor

Bowness became a councillor and soon rose within Conservative Party ranks, becoming Leader of

Croydon Council Croydon London Borough Council, which styles itself Croydon Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Croydon in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. Croydon is divided into 28 wards, elect ...

, London's largest borough. During the 1980s, Bowness was said to have been one of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

's favourite Council leaders, and took part in the abolition of the GLC. He was unusual amongst his Conservative colleagues, however, for supporting

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...

's low-cost public transport initiative, ''Fares Fair''. He continued as Leader until 1994 when the Labour Party won the local elections. He stepped down from the Council in 1998. He served as a member of the

Committee of the Regions The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities) with a direct voice w ...

and the Audit Commission.

House of Lords

On 17 January 1996, Bowness was created a

as Baron Bowness, of

Warlingham Warlingham is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England, south of London and east of Guildford. Warlingham is the centre of a civil parish that includes Hamsey Green to the north. Caterham is to the southwest ...

in the County of Surrey and of Croydon in the

. From December 2002 to November 2006, he was member of the Parliamentary

Joint Committee on Human Rights The Joint Committee on Human Rights is a joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to consider human rights issues in the United Kingdom. Membership , the members of the committee are as follows: Se ...

. From December 2003 to May 2014, he served on the

European Union Committee The European Union Committee was a select committee of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its terms of reference were "to consider European Union documents and other matters relating to the European Union", as well as " ...

. He chaired the Foreign Policy Defence and Developmental Aid Sub-Committee of the EU Select Committee from 2003 to 2006, and chaired the Justice, Institutions and Consumer Protection Sub-Committee from 2009 to 2013. Having originally sat as a Conservative, Lord Bowness left the party to become a non-affiliated peer on 23 November 2020, before becoming a crossbencher on 1 December 2021.

OSCE

Lord Bowness has been a member of the British delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

(OSCE) since 2007. He was elected a Vice President of the Parliamentary Assembly in 2015 and re-elected in 2018, serving until 2020. In December of that year, Bowness—as the most senior Vice President—acceded to the presidency following the departure of

Gigi Tsereteli George "Gigi" Tsereteli (born 23 February 1964) is a member and former vice-speaker of the Parliament of Georgia and the president of Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Education *1970–1977: T ...

, and served as President of the Parliamentary Assembly until July 2021.https://www.oscepa.org/en/about-osce-pa/history/former-presidents/peter-lord-bowness-2020-2021

Personal life

Bowness is a patron of the

Warehouse Theatre The Warehouse Theatre was a professional producing theatre in the centre of Croydon, England. Based in an oak-beamed Victorian former cement warehouse, it had 100 seats. The theatre closed in 2012 following withdrawal of funding and the disc ...

and was formerly a Governor of the

Whitgift Foundation The Whitgift Foundation is a charity based in Croydon, South London, England. The purpose of the charity is to provide education for the young and care for the elderly. The main activities of the charity are the operation of three independent ...

Honours

On 14 June 1981, Bowness was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) to the

Lord Lieutenant of Greater London The Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London is the personal representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Greater London. Each Lord-Lieutenant is assisted in, largely ceremonial, duties by Deputy Lieutenants whom he appoints; the Li ...

. In the 1981

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

, he was appointed a

Commander 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 ...

(CBE) in recognition of his service as Chairman of the London Boroughs Association. In the 1987

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, it was announced that he was to be made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

"for political and public service". On 11 February 1987, he was knighted by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

during a ceremony at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. In 1987, Bowness was made

Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. In 2002, he was made an Honorary Freeman of the

. On 1 May 1988, Bowness was appointed Honorary Colonel of the

151 (Greater London) Transport Regiment 151 Regiment RLC is a regiment of the British Army's Royal Logistic Corps. It is currently under Army Reserve control. History The regiment was formed in the Royal Corps of Transport in 1967 as 151 (Greater London) Transport Regiment, from three ...

Royal Corps of Transport The Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was a British Army Corps established to manage all matters in relation to the transport of men and material for the Army and the wider defence forces. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and tr ...

(Volunteers), Territorial Army. On 5 April 1993, he stood down from the appointment and was granted permission to retain his

honorary rank Military ranks is a system of hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military lines, such as youth groups, chivalric orders, religious orders, a ...

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowness, Peter 1943 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) life peers Councillors in the London Borough of Croydon Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor People educated at Whitgift School Deputy lieutenants of Greater London Life peers created by Elizabeth II