Roger Nicholas Edwards, Baron Crickhowell, PC (25 February 1934 – 17 March 2018) was a

British Conservative Party The Conservative and Unionist Party, commonly the Conservative Party and colloquially known as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. The party sits on the centre-right to right- ...

politician who served as an MP from 1970 until 1987 and as

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales (), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Ki ...

during the first two terms of the Thatcher government.

Early life

Edwards was born in 1934 in

Highgate, London Highgate is a suburban area of north London in the London Boroughs of Camden, Islington and Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive Londo ...

, to Ralph Edwards and Marjorie Ingham Brooke. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and, after completing

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers () was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689, shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and becam ...

, at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, graduating in history in 1957. He was a director of William Brandt's insurance brokers and became a member of Lloyd's in 1965.

Political career

Edwards left insurance to take

Desmond Donnelly Desmond Louis Donnelly (16 October 1920 – 3 April 1974) was a British politician, author and journalist who was a member of four political parties during the course of his career, and moved between parties on five occasions. Origins Donn ...

's old seat of Pembroke and served as Secretary of State for Wales in

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 ...

's first and second administrations. He was adopted by the Pembrokeshire Conservative Party as parliamentary candidate for Pembroke in 1968. At the 1970 general election, he was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

as Member of Parliament for

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, which he represented until his retirement at the 1987 general election. From 1975 to 1979, he was

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

Spokesman for Welsh Affairs (in other words, the

Shadow A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...

). When Margaret Thatcher became

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 ...

in 1979, Edwards was appointed Secretary of State for Wales. He served in that position until 1987, when he was given a

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 ...

age, being created on 15 October 1987 as Baron Crickhowell, of Pont Esgob in the Black Mountains and County of

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

Later career

Lord Crickhowell was the sole chairman of the

National Rivers Authority The National Rivers Authority (NRA) was one of the forerunners of the Environment Agency of England and Wales, existing between 1989 and 1996. Before 1989 the regulation of the aquatic environment had largely been carried out by the ten region ...

(NRA) from its inception in 1989 until its merger into the newly created

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

in 1996. Although his was a direct political appointment from the Conservative government, Lord Crickhowell showed commitment to the principles of the NRA and the legislation that it enforced. He spoke in favour of the natural environment and supporting strong enforcement action against major corporate polluters. During the 1990s, Lord Crickhowell became a leading figure in the campaign for a permanent home for the

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) () is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales. WNO gave its first performances in 1946. The company began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its early days, the ...

in Cardiff. When the plans were rejected by the Government in 1995, he launched a public attack on his former Conservative colleagues. Lord Crickhowell sat in 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 ...

as a life peer for over 30 years from 1987 until his death in 2018, making his last appearance in September 2017. He had been associated with many British institutions, including the

University of Wales, Cardiff 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 ...

(now Cardiff University), where he was awarded an honorary

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

ship in 1984 and served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

from 1988 to 1998. He received an honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from 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 ...

in 2001.

Personal life and death

In 1963, Edwards married Ann Healing, and they had three children. Edwards died from cancer in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

on 17 March 2018, at the age of 84. A memorial service was held at St Margaret's Church Westminster on 23 October 2018.

Works

* 1980 * September 1997 * October 1999 * 2006 * November 2009

References

External links

The Baron Crickhowell (Burke's Peerage)
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Nicholas 1934 births 2018 deaths People from Crickhowell Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Conservative Party (UK) life peers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Pembrokeshire constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People associated with Cardiff University People educated at Westminster School, London Royal Welch Fusiliers officers Secretaries of State for Wales UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 Life peers created by Elizabeth II Deaths from cancer in England