Robin Teverson, Baron Teverson (born 31 March 1952) is a

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

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and former

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP).

Career

Teverson was educated at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

. He joined the Liberal Democrats, for which he stood unsuccessfully in

South East Cornwall South East Cornwall is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Sheryll Murray, a Conservative. Boundaries 1983–2010: The District of Caradon, the Borough of Restormel wards of Fowey, Lostwit ...

at the

1992 United Kingdom general election The 1992 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 9 April 1992, to elect 651 members to the House of Commons. The election resulted in the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party since 1979 and would be the last tim ...

. At the

1994 European Parliament election The 1994 European Parliamentary election was a European election held across the 12 European Union member states in June 1994. This election saw the merge of the European People's Party and European Democrats, an increase in the overall number ...

, Teverson was elected

(MEP) for Cornwall and West Plymouth, becoming one of the first two Liberal Democrats ever elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

along with

Graham Watson Sir Graham Robert Watson (born 23 March 1956) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England from 1994 to 2014. Watson was the chairman of the Parliament's committee on ci ...

in Somerset and North Devon. He was Chief Whip of the European Liberal Democrats from 1997 and 1999. In 1999, he was Chairman of Finance South West Ltd. At the

1999 European Parliament election The 1999 European Parliament election was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and ...

, the UK switched from electing MEPs in

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

constituencies to a form of region-based

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

. Each party put forward a list of candidates, and the higher its vote share, the more seats it would be awarded. Watson and Teverson were both MEPs in the

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

region, and the Liberal Democrats placed Watson in first position on its list and Teverson in second position. At the election, the Liberal Democrats polled 16.5% of the vote in the South West, entitling them to just one of the region's seven seats. Thus Watson was elected, but Teverson lost his seat. On 1 June 2006, 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 Teverson, of

Tregony Tregony ( kw, Trerigoni), sometimes in the past Tregoney, is a village and former civil parishes in England, civil parish, now in the parish of Tregony with Cuby, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies on the River Fal. In the village th ...

in the County of Cornwall. During his time in the Lords he has chaired both the House of Lords EU select sub-committee on External Affairs, and its ad-hoc select committee on the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

. He oversaw the publication of the Committee's repor
'responding to a changing Arctic'
which explored 'recent and expected changes in the Arctic and their implications for the UK and its international relations'. Teverson has sat on the Liberal Democrat Federal Executive and has also previously chaired the Party's national finance committee. Teverson was elected to

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( kw, Konsel Kernow) is the unitary authority for Cornwall in the United Kingdom, not including the Isles of Scilly, which has its own unitary council. The council, and its predecessor Cornwall County Council, has a tradition o ...

for the new

St Mewan St Mewan ( kw, Sen Mewen) is a civil parish and village in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is approximately one mile (1.6 km) west of St Austell. It is a small settlement, comprising the parish church, rectory, a sc ...

ward in the 2009 election. during which time he sat as the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Cornwall Council. He did not stand in the subsequent

2013 Cornwall Council election The Cornwall Council election, 2013, was an election for all 123 seats on the council. Cornwall Council is a unitary authority that covers the majority of the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cornwall, with the exception of t ...

Personal life

Teverson is the son of Crofton Teverson. He was educated at

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

. Teverson was married to Rosemary Anne Young from 1975 to 2005 and they had two daughters. Teverson married Terrye Lynn Jones in 2006. Terrye Jones has stood in parliamentary elections for the Liberal Democrats both before and after marrying Teverson.

References

External links

Lord Teverson bio at www.parliament.gov.uk

Liberal Democrats profile

Profile as non-executive director of the Marine Management Organisation

They Work for You parliamentary contributions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teverson, Robin 1952 births Living people People from Essex Alumni of the University of Exeter Liberal Democrats (UK) MEPs Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers MEPs for England 1994–1999 English environmentalists Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Politicians from Cornwall Members of Cornwall Council Life peers created by Elizabeth II