Euan Michael Ross Geddes, 3rd Baron Geddes (born 3 September 1937) 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 ...

peer and politician and current deputy speaker of the

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Early life and education

Geddes is the son of the 2nd Baron Geddes and the former Enid Mary Butler, only child of Clarence Henry Butler, of Tenterden. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

, then an all-boys public school (i.e. an

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) in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. He studied history at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

, where he graduated as a

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(BA) in 1961; as per tradition, his BA was later promoted to a

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(MA Cantab) degree. He was further educated at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

in 1969.

Career

Military service

Geddes served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

from 1956 to 1958. On 3 September 1958, he transferred to the Supply Branch of the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

with the rank of sub lieutenant. He was promoted to

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on 3 September 1961, and to lieutenant-commander on 3 September 1969. He was placed on the retired list on 30 November 1971.

Civilian career

Geddes was development manager, P&O Bulk Shipping. He was deputy manager of P&O Asia (Hong Kong) between 1975 and 1977. Since 1992, he has been chair of the

Trinity College, London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom which offers graded and diploma qualifications across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and teaching. Trinity College ...

and since 2000 of

Chrome Castle Ltd Chrome may refer to: Materials * Chromium, a hard, shiny metal, when used in the context of * Chrome plating, a process of surfacing with chromium * Chrome alum, a chemical used in mordanting and photographic film Computing * Google Chrome, a ...

. He is further director of the

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music, dance, and musical theatre conservatoire based in South East London. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. Trini ...

House of Lords

He succeeded to his father's title,

Baron Geddes Baron Geddes, of Rolvenden in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 28 January 1942 for the prominent Conservative politician and former Ambassador to the United States, Sir Auckland Geddes. ...

, in 1975. He is 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 selected to remain in the

after the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

. Since 2002, Lord Geddes has been a deputy speaker of the House of Lords.

Personal life

Lord Geddes has been married twice, first to Gillian Butler in 1966 and, after her death in 1995, to Susan Margaret Carter in 1996. He has two children by his first wife, one daughter and one son, his heir James George Neil Geddes.

References

Literature

* 1937 births Living people People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Harvard Business School alumni Royal Naval Reserve personnel Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999 {{UK-baron-stub