David Garro Trefgarne, 2nd Baron Trefgarne (born 31 March 1941), is a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician. He is currently the longest-serving member of the

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Biography

The son of George Trefgarne, 1st Baron Trefgarne, Trefgarne succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Trefgarne in 1960 at the age of 19, having attended

Haileybury and Imperial Service College Haileybury is a co-educational public school (fee-charging boarding and day school for 11- to 18-year-olds) located in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire. It is a member of the Rugby Group and enrols pupils at the 11+, 13+ and 16+ stages of edu ...

. He took his seat in the

on his 21st birthday in 1962. In contrast to his father, who was a Liberal and later Labour politician, he chose to sit on the

benches. Trefgarne was an opposition

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

from 1977 to 1979 and then served in the

administration 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 ...

as a Government Whip from 1979 to 1981 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the

Department of Trade Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in 1981, at the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

from 1981 to 1982, at the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a Ministry (government department), ministry of the Her Majesty's Government, British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed b ...

from 1982 to 1983 and at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

from 1983 to 1985. The latter year he was promoted to

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

for Defence Support, a post he held until 1986, and then served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement from 1986 to 1989 and as a

at the Department of Trade and Industry from 1989 to 1990. In 1989 he was admitted to the Privy Council. Trefgarne was a qualified commercial pilot. Immediately prior to Thatcher's election victory he had been working as a First Officer on the

Handley Page Dart Herald The Handley Page HPR.7 Dart Herald is a British turboprop passenger aircraft, designed in the 1950s as a DC-3 replacement, but only entering service in the 1960s by which time it faced stiff competition from Fokker ( F27 Friendship) and Avro ( ...

for British Island Airways, which company had provided her with a personal jet during the election campaign. After the election he resigned from his flying job to join the government. He was president of the Institution of Incorporated Engineers when they merged with the

Institution of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and information technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Tel ...

in 2006. Lord Trefgarne is still a member of the House of Lords as one of the ninety

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

s elected by their colleagues to remain after the passing of the House of Lords Act of 1999. According to the

Electoral Reform Society The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) is an Advocacy group, independent advocacy organisation in the United Kingdom which promotes electoral reform. It seeks to replace first-past-the-post voting with proportional representation, advocating the si ...

, he has since blocked further reform of the Lords, tabling 'wrecking' amendments to a draft Bill to abolish by-elections for hereditary peers, proposed by Lord Grocott in 2018. He became the longest-serving member of the House of Lords on 26 April 2021 after the retirement of Lord Denham. He once owned Windermere Island in the Bahamas.

Arms

Notes

References

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trefgarne, David Trefgarne, 2nd Baron 1941 births Living people Princeton University alumni 2 Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999