John Roger Roberts, Baron Roberts of Llandudno (born 23 October 1935), is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister, 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. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

. He was for many years President of the Welsh Liberals, and later, the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

Early life and education

Lord Roberts was educated at

John Bright Grammar School Ysgol John Bright is a secondary school on Maesdu Road, Llandudno in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It was founded with money and support from the social reformer John Bright, whose son died in Llandudno in 1864. Until 1969 the school was a select ...

, in

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

, the

University College of North Wales , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

, and Handsworth Methodist College,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Career

Ordained ministry

In 1957, he became a

minister, and was the superintendent Methodist minister at Llandudno for twenty years before serving as minister at the Dewi Sant (Welsh United) Church, Toronto. He is an active supernumerary minister in North Wales.

Political career

He was a councillor and a leader of the Liberal Democrats on

Aberconwy Borough Council The Borough of Aberconwy was a local government district with borough status from 1974 to 1996, being one of five districts in the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales. History The borough was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Governmen ...

for a number of years, and stood as a candidate for the parliamentary seat of

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...

five times. He narrowly missed being elected the last two times he stood, first coming close to beating the Conservatives, with only a margin of 995 votes, and then being beaten by Labour in the General Election of 1997, when the Conservatives lost their majority in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. On 15 June 2004, Roberts was created a

as Baron Roberts of Llandudno, ''of

in the County of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

''. A former whip and spokesperson on International Development, he now speaks on youth democratic engagement, unemployment, asylum, migration and Welsh affairs for the Liberal Democrats in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. Roberts is currently president of Wales International, is honorary president of

Bite The Ballot Bite The Ballot (BTB) is a party-neutral movement and registered youth democracy charity, based in the United Kingdom. Its mission is to empower young people to evolve UK democracy. BTB was formed in April 2010 by business studies teachers David ...

, Liberal Democrats for Seekers of Sanctuary (LD4SOS) and Friends of Barka UK and is also vice-president of Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod.

Personal life

Roberts' latest book, ''Hel Tai'', is only available in Welsh. He is a widower with three children and lives in Llandudno on the Creuddyn peninsula, North Wales. His son, Gareth Roberts, also stood for the same seat for the Liberal Democrats in 2005. His two daughters, Rhian Roberts and Sian Roberts work for the BBC and the Electoral Reform Services respectively.

References

External links

*Lord Roberts of Llandudno'
website

Lord Roberts of Llandudno
profile at the site of Liberal Democrats. {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts Of Llandudno, Roger Roberts, Baron 1935 births Living people Councillors in Wales Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers People from Llandudno Welsh-speaking politicians Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Welsh Methodist ministers Liberal Party (UK) politicians Life peers created by Elizabeth II