Peter Allan Renshaw Blaker, Baron Blaker, (4 October 1922 – 5 July 2009) was 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.

Early life

Blaker was born in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, son of

Cedric Blaker Cedric Blaker (19 November 1889 – 18 June 1965) was a British entrepreneur in China and Hong Kong. He was the chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the ''South China Morning Post'' and the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce a ...

. He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

before being evacuated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1939. There he took a degree in classics, before being commissioned in the Canadian Army. On return to England he went to

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

. He qualified as a lawyer, and later joined the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

Political career

In 1964 he was elected Member of Parliament for Blackpool South, which he represented until 1992. In Parliament, he served as a Minister for the Army (1972–74), Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1974 and 1979–81). He was a Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence from 29 May 1981, until 9 June 1983. He was sworn of the Privy Council in the

1983 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

, and was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) on 21 July 1983.

House of Lords

On 10 October 1994 he was created 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 ...

as Baron Blaker, of

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

in the County of

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

and of Lindfield in the County of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

Coat of arms

Personal life

In 1953, Blaker married Jennifer Dixon, daughter of diplomat

Pierson Dixon Sir Pierson John Dixon (13 November 190422 April 1965) was a British diplomat and writer. He was known to be a firm believer in the value of diplomacy to solve international issues. Education Dixon was educated at Bedford School and Pembroke C ...

. They had one son and two daughters.

Footnotes

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1987''
The Peerage Website

External links

* 1922 births 2009 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) life peers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 People educated at Shrewsbury School Alumni of New College, Oxford Presidents of the Oxford Union Canadian military personnel of World War II British expatriates in Hong Kong British expatriates in Canada Life peers created by Elizabeth II Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's) officers University of Toronto alumni Members of Lincoln's Inn British barristers {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1920s-stub