John Richard Attlee, 3rd Earl Attlee (born 3 October 1956), styled Viscount Prestwood between 1967 and 1991, is a British Conservative Party peer and 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 ...

. He is the grandson of

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

, the Labour

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, who was the first

Earl Attlee Earl Attlee is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 16 December 1955 for Clement Attlee, the former Labour prime minister. At the same time he was made Viscount Prestwood, of Walthamstow in the County of Essex, which s ...

Early life

Attlee was educated at

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. ...

, trained with

Smiths Industries Smiths or Smith's may refer to: Companies *Smith Electric Vehicles, or Smith's, a manufacturer of electric trucks *Smith's Food and Drug, or Smith's, an American supermarket chain ** Smith's Ballpark, a baseball stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, U. ...

, and worked mainly in materials management.

Professional career

In 1985, Attlee went into business in the field of commercial vehicle recovery and repair. In this connection he is president of the Heavy Transport Association and Patron of the Road Rescue Recovery Association. He undertook a tour with the non-governmental organisation British Direct Aid in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

during the winter of 1993–94, and then ran British Direct Aid's operation in

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

for most of 1995.

Military service

A member of the Territorial Army, Attlee served in

with an aid agency during 1993–1994. He has also served in the Gulf War.

Political career

Attlee inherited his title following his father's death in 1991 and entered the

in 1992, initially as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or 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. They take their name fr ...

. Shortly before the general election of 1997, he joined the Conservative Party. He is one of the ninety elected hereditary peers that remain in the House of Lords after the passing of 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 ...

. He served as an Opposition spokesman on various subjects; immediately prior to the 2010 general election he was a spokesman for transport and an Opposition whip. Following the Conservative victory in that election Earl Attlee was appointed a

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

or Government whip in the House of Lords. He continued in that role until April 2014, when he left the government. He was replaced by

Susan Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford Susan Frances Maria Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford (née McElroy; born 16 May 1967)Crypt Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, Palace of Westminster. Lady Attlee is the younger daughter of Mortimer Ahern, of Malvern, Worcestershire. Should Lord Attlee die without a son, the earldom will become extinct.

Arms

Notes

References

External links

* * 1956 births Living people People educated at Stowe School

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999

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