Peter Allan Renshaw Blaker, Baron Blaker, (4 October 1922 – 5 July 2009) was a British

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 ...

politician.

Early life

Blaker was born in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, son of

Cedric Blaker Cedric Blaker (19 November 1889 – 18 June 1965) was a British entrepreneur in China and Hong Kong. He was the chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the ''South China Morning Post'' and the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce ...

. He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

before being evacuated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1939. There he took a degree in classics, before being commissioned in the Canadian Army. On return to England he went to

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

. He qualified as a lawyer, and later joined the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

Political career

In 1964 he was elected Member of Parliament for Blackpool South, which he represented until 1992. In Parliament, he served as a Minister for the Army (1972–74), Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1974 and 1979–81). He was a Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence from 29 May 1981, until 9 June 1983. He was 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 the

1983 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 ...

, and was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) on 21 July 1983.

House of Lords

On 10 October 1994 he 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. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Blaker, of

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in the County of Lancaster and of Lindfield in the County of

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

Coat of arms

Personal life

In 1953, Blaker married Jennifer Dixon, daughter of diplomat

Pierson Dixon Sir Pierson John Dixon (13 November 190422 April 1965) was a British diplomat and writer. He was known to be a firm believer in the value of diplomacy to solve international issues. Career Dixon was the Principal Private Secretary to the Fore ...

. They had one son and two daughters.

Footnotes

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1987''
The Peerage Website

External links

* 1922 births 2009 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) life peers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 People educated at Shrewsbury School Alumni of New College, Oxford Presidents of the Oxford Union Canadian military personnel of World War II British expatriates in Hong Kong British expatriates in Canada {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1920s-stub