Simon Peregrine Gauvain Murray, Baron Murray of Blidworth (born 2 August 1974), is a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and

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 ...

member of the House of Lords. He served as a minister for the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

(2022–2023).

Early life and education

The only son of Dr Nigel Ormiston Gauvain Murray (1944–2002) and his wife Shirley ''née'' Arbuthnot (born 1949), elder daughter and co-heiress of Commander Bernard Arbuthnot DSC, scion of the Arbuthnot baronets, his matrilineal great-great-grandfather, Sir Henry Blake GCMG, was a British colonial administrator and

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the United Kingdom, British The Crown, Crown in British Hong Kong, Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, Executiv ...

who hailed from the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

being seated at Myrtle Grove,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. Of Scots patrilineal descent, his grandfather was Dr Ronald Murray MBE FRCPE, a kinsman of the Duke of Atholl. After graduating from the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

with an undergraduate Master of Arts (MA Hons), Murray was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 2000. Lord Murray practises

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

at 39 Essex Chambers. In 2011 he appeared on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

show, '' Fake or Fortune?'' for his family who claim ownership of the painting; even though the family did not remember owning the painting and presumably because they had realised its worth, '' Children Under a Palm'' by Winslow Homer, which had been found by a skip over 23 years earlier; although determined to be genuine, who owns this

work of art A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

is still a matter of dispute.

Political career

Elected to Gedling Borough Council at the 2019 local elections, Murray represented Newstead Abbey Ward as a Conservative

Councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

until November 2022 after being appointed to HMG. Appointed

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 the

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 ...

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth da ...

on 9 October 2022, 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 ...

on 21 October 2022, taking the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

of Baron Murray of Blidworth, ''of Blidworth in the County of Nottinghamshire''. Lord Murray made his maiden speech in the

Upper House An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

on 26 October 2022 during a debate on British Passports for those born the Republic of Ireland but living in Northern Ireland, and served in the

as Parliamentary Under-Secretary from 30 October 2022 until 14 November 2023.

Personal life

Murray married Amelia May Beaumont (born 1983), a granddaughter of the Revd Baron Beaumont of Whitley and great-granddaughter of Lady May Abel Smith, at

Temple Church The Temple Church, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner Temple, Inner and Middle Temple, Middle Temple, London, Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their En ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on 4 October 2007. Lord and Lady Murray have two children. A Freeman of the City of London and a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Scriveners,www.scriveners.org.uk
/ref> Lord Murray is a member of MCC and since 2002 serves on the ceremonial staff as an

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

of the Order of St John.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Simon 1974 births Living people Clan Murray Alumni of the University of St Andrews English people of Scottish descent British people of Irish descent Politicians from London English barristers Members of the Inner Temple Conservative Party (UK) life peers Conservative Party (UK) councillors Government ministers of the United Kingdom 21st-century British lawyers Esquires of the Order of St John Life peers created by Charles III

Early life and education

Political career

Personal life

See also

References

Notes