Emlyn Hooson, Baron Hooson
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
---|---|
In office 26 July 1979 – 21 February 2012 Life Peerage | |
Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire | |
In office 15 May 1962 – 7 April 1979 | |
Preceded by | Clement Davies |
Succeeded by | Delwyn Williams |
Personal details | |
Born | Hugh Emlyn Hooson 26 March 1925 Colomendy, Second World War |
Hugh Emlyn Hooson, Baron Hooson,
Early life
Hooson was born at Colomendy in
Legal career
He became a barrister, called to the bar by
As QC, Hooson represented
In 1970 he appeared for the Ministry of Defence at a public inquiry over plans to move its experimental range from Shoeburyness to Pembrey, near Carmarthen.
He went on to become
He was President of the Cambrian Law Review and was the Hon. Professional Fellow of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Political career
Hooson became chairman of the Liberal Party of Wales in 1955 and was elected to the Liberal Party executive in 1965. He contested Conway at the 1950 general election and again in 1951.
As Chairman of the Liberal Party of Wales, he led its merger with the North and South Wales Liberal Federations, thereby uniting liberalism in Wales in the Welsh Liberal Party.[7]
He became MP for Montgomeryshire at a 1962 by-election following the death of Clement Davies, as a member of the Liberal Party. He contested the Liberal Party leadership election of 1967, but withdrew in favour of Jeremy Thorpe after gaining only a quarter of the votes in the first ballot.
Initially being Eurosceptic, Hooson was the only Liberal MP to vote against entry into the Common Market in a 'free vote' division on 28 October 1971,[8] although he campaigned for a 'Yes' (Remain) vote in the 1975 referendum.[9] He later became solidly more pro-European telling an audience at a Welsh Political Archive lecture in the 1990s:[10]
"Whereas almost without exception the Liberals of Wales were for it, I had developed doubts about that particular route to a United Europe and voted against entry. In retrospect I think I should have voted for it, although I believe my reasons for delaying our entry, as I explained them then, largely proved to be correct."
Hooson also wrote in a draft of his unfinished and unpublished autobiography: "I believe we need a federal Europe"[11]
He introduced the Government of Wales Bill on St David's Day 1967, taking one of the first steps to the formation of the
At the 1979 general election, Hooson lost his seat to the Conservatives and was then appointed a life peer as Baron Hooson, of Montgomery in the County of Powys and of Colomendy in the County of Clwyd. Montgomeryshire was regained by the Liberal Party at the next general election; it was then held by the Liberal Party and its successor party, the Liberal Democrats, until the 2010 general election.
Hooson sat for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, where he was active in improving the Mental Health Act, urged police reforms and spoke on law reform and drug trafficking.
Hooson was vice-chairman of the
Personal life and other interests
In 1950, Hooson married Shirley Hamer, daughter of Sir George Hamer, Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire. They had two daughters, Sioned and Lowri. He sent his daughters to London's only Welsh-speaking school, and chaired its governors.[13] The family home was in Llanidloes, where Lord Hooson's funeral was held in the China Street Chapel.[14]
In 1980 he chaired a consortium that bid for the Wales and West television franchise, and became a member of the ITV Advisory Council.
In 1985, Emlyn Hooson became a non-executive director of
From 1991 to 2000, he was Chairman of Severn River Crossing PLC, the company operating both the Severn Bridge and the Second Severn Crossing.
He became President of the
A farmer, Hooson was a member of an old North Wales agricultural family. He was a cousin (and political opponent) of Tom Hooson, a Conservative MP who died in 1985.
Lord and Lady Hooson also held the position of President of Llidiartywaen Young Farmers Club for many years. Until his ill health, an annual occurrence was the young farmers being invited in every Christmas Eve to sing carols around the fireside.
Lady Hooson died in 2018.[15]
Honours
France and Germany Star | |
Defence Medal (United Kingdom) | |
War Medal 1939–1945 |
Country | Date | School | Degree |
---|---|---|---|
Wales | 2003 | University of Wales | Honorary Ll.D |
See also
References
- ^ "Lib Dem peer Emlyn Hooson dies, aged 86". BBC News. 22 February 2012.
- ^ Derec Llwyd Morgan Ed (2014) Emlyn Hooson, Essays and Reminiscences, Gomer
- ^ Lord Hooson Papers http://www.archiveswales.org.uk/anw/get_collection.php?inst_id=1&coll_id=223&expand= Archived 23 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Andrew Roth (26 February 2012). "Lord Hooson obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ Derec Llwyd Morgan Ed (2014) Emlyn Hooson, Essays and Reminiscences, Gomer
- ^ a b "Lord Hooson". The Telegraph. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- ^ Liberal Democrats: official biography "Lord Hooson | Peers Detail". Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ^ "EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES". UK Parliament. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ Derec Llwyd Morgan Ed (2014) Emlyn Hooson, Essays and Reminiscences (Page 161), Gomer.
- ^ Derec Llwyd Morgan Ed (2014) Emlyn Hooson, Essays and Reminiscences (Page 104), Gomer.
- ^ Derec Llwyd Morgan Ed (2014) Emlyn Hooson, Essays and Reminiscences (A snatch at an autobiography, page 28), Gomer.
- ^ Lloyd George Society: Tributes for Lord Hooson http://lloydgeorgesociety.org.uk/en/article/2012/562334/tributes-for-lord-hooson-the-society-loses-a-valued-a-vice-president
- ^ "Lord Hooson". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ Hundreds pay last respects to great Lord Hooson http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/i/22844/ Archived 3 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Shirley (Hamer) HOOSON
Sources
Books and Journals
- Jones, J. Graham (June 1993). "The Liberal Party and Wales, 1945-79". Welsh History Review. 16 (3): 326–55. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
- The Times Guide to the House of Commons, Times Newspapers Ltd, 1950 & 1966
- Derec Llwyd Morgan Ed (2014) Emlyn Hooson, Essays and Reminiscences, Gomer