David Sydney Rowe-Beddoe, Baron Rowe-Beddoe, (19 December 1937 – 15 November 2023), was a Welsh businessman 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 ...

who was a

crossbench A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...

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 ...

. Lord Rowe-Beddoe was chairman of the

Welsh Development Agency Welsh Development Agency (WDA; ) was an executive agency (or QUANGO) and later designated an Assembly Sponsored Public Body (ASPB). Established in 1976, it was tasked with rescuing the ailing Welsh economy by encouraging business development and ...

, and was chairman of

Cardiff Airport Cardiff Airport () is an airport in Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan. It is the only airport offering commercial passenger services and cargo services in Wales. The airport is owned by the Welsh Government, operating it at arm's length as a commercia ...

until November 2016.

Early life

David Sidney Rowe Beddoe was born on 19 December 1937, as the son of Sydney Rowe Beddoe a travelling salesman and Gwendolan Evans a singing teacher. Rowe-Beddoe's early education was at

The Cathedral School, Llandaff The Cathedral School, Llandaff ( Welsh: ''Ysgol y Gadeirlan, Llandaf'') is a coeducational private day school located in Llandaff, a district north of the Welsh capital Cardiff. Originally established as a choral foundation to train choir boys f ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, where he won the Victor Ludorum in 1951. He attended

Stowe School The Stowe School is a public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, England. It was opened on 11 May, 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. ...

at Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. In 1964, Rowe-Beddoe married Malinda Collison, and the union produced three daughters. The couple were divorced in 1982. He remarried in 1984, to Madeleine Harrison.

Career

Rowe-Beddoe's career in business began at Thomas De La Rue in 1961; and he rose to the position of Chief Executive from 1971 through 1976. At Revlon, he was president, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa from 1976 through 1981. He also served as president, Morgan Stanley-GFTA Ltd from 1983 through 1991. Rowe-Beddoe was known as a Monaco-based businessman and a Tory party fund-raiser when an opportunity arose for him to be appointed to a Welsh quango; and that opportunity led to others. He was appointed chairman of the

( WDA) in July 1993; and the term of this appointment was nine years. He was invested as 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 ...

in the

2000 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 19 June 2000 to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: Australia (12 June), New Zealand (13 June),New ZealandThe Queen's Birthday Honours 2000(13 June 2000), ' ...

"for services to Industrial and Economic Development in Wales." In 2001, Sir David Rowe-Beddoe was appointed the Chairman of the

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre () is Wales' national arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on ...

; and he remained in this post. In 2004, Sir David Rowe-Beddoe was appointed president of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama having previously been a governor and chairman of the board. In 2005, he received the Beacon Prize for Wales for his contribution to the economic and social development of Wales. On 15 June 2006, he was created a

as Baron Rowe-Beddoe, of

Kilgetty Kilgetty (; ) is a village immediately north of Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire, Wales, at the junction of the A477 road, A477 between St. Clears and Pembroke Dock and the A478 road, A478 between Tenby and Cardigan, Ceredigion, Cardigan. Communit ...

in the County of Dyfed. In April 2007, Lord Rowe-Beddoe was created Pro-Chancellor of the

University of Glamorgan The University of Glamorgan () was a public university based in South Wales, that merged with University of Wales, Newport to form the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university was based in Pontypridd, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, with ...

. Lord Rowe-Beddoe was a Deputy Chair of the

UK Statistics Authority The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA, ) is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for oversight of the Office for National Statistics, maintaining a national code of practice for official statist ...

who held responsibility for the governance of the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...

. An Anglican, Lord Rowe-Beddoe was chairman of the Representative Body of The Church in Wales from 2002 to 2012.

Death

Lord Rowe-Beddoe died on 15 November 2023, at the age of 85.

Honours

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

, Honorary fellow, 1999. *

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

, Honorary degree (DScEcon), 2004. * Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, 2008.Embassy of Japan in the U.K.
"Japanese Government honors Lord David Sydney Rowe-Beddoe,"
18 December 2008. * University of Glamorgan, Honorary Doctor * University of Aberystwyth, Honorary fellow * UWIC, Honorary Fellow * UWCN, Honorary Fellow * Deputy Lieutenant of Gwent

Arms

Notes

References

* Hill, Stephen, Brian Morgan and David Rowe-Beddoe. (1998)
''Inward Investment, Business Finance and Regional Development,''
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan.
OCLC 39861489
* Jones, Bill
''Political Issues in Britain Today.''
Manchester:

Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England, and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with t ...

.
OCLC 41017782
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe-Beddoe, David Rowe-Beddoe, Baron 1937 births 2023 deaths Peers recommended by the House of Lords Appointments Commission People associated with the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge People educated at The Cathedral School, Llandaff Deputy lieutenants of Gwent Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class British expatriates in Monaco Crossbench life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II People educated at Stowe School