John Kerr, Baron Kerr of Kinlochard
British Permanent Representative to the European Union | |
---|---|
In office 1990–1995 | |
Prime Minister | John Major |
Preceded by | Sir David Hannay |
Succeeded by | Sir Stephen Wall |
Personal details | |
Born | Grantown-on-Spey, Morayshire, Scotland (now within the Highland Council area) | 22 February 1942
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Pembroke College, Oxford |
John Olav Kerr, Baron Kerr of Kinlochard
Background and education
Born in
Diplomatic career
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He served in the
He was Ambassador and UK Permanent Representative to the
He was appointed to the Order of St Michael and St George as a Companion in the 1987 Birthday Honours,[3] was promoted to be a Knight Commander in the 1991 New Year Honours,[4] and to be a Knight Grand Cross in the 2001 Birthday Honours.[5] Three years later, his life peerage was announced on 1 May[6] and was raised to the peerage as Baron Kerr of Kinlochard, of Kinlochard in Perthshire.[7][8] In the House of Lords he has served on the EU Select Committee and three of its Sub-Committees, and currently is a member of its Economic Select Committee.[9]
He is a Trustee of the Refugee Council, and a Trustee, and deputy chairman, of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. He was Chairman of the Court and Council of Imperial College London from 2005 to 2011; a Trustee of the National Gallery from 2002 to 2010, and the Rhodes Trust from 1997 to 2010; a Fulbright Commissioner from 2003 to 2009; a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group from 2004 to 2016 (3); and UK President of the UK/Korea Forum for the Future from 2007 to 2013.
He is Chairman of the Centre for European Reform, a member of the executive committee of the Trilateral Commission, and President of St Andrew's Clinics for Children.[10]
Business career
He became a Director of
Views on Brexit
Before the 2016 Referendum, Lord Kerr had argued that leaving would mean that "our influence across the world would shrink",[13] and looking back in a lecture at the University of Bath on 26 January 2017 he remarked, "We have been strong in Brussels because we have been strong in Washington, and we have been strong in Washington because we have been strong in Brussels."
He has maintained, in House of Lords speeches and in a BBC interview, that since an Article 50 notification is revocable during the two-year negotiation period, the UK could change its mind and choose to stay in the EU even after exit negotiations had begun. Speaking at an event organised by the Institute for Government, Lord Kerr said: "In my view, immigration is the thing that keeps this country running. We native Brits are so bloody stupid that we need an injection of intelligent people, young people from outside who come in and wake us up from time to time." In response to the remarks, Peter Lilley MP (a Eurosceptic Conservative) walked out of the event, and said he had considered reporting the peer to the police for hate speech and being "racially abusive of the British people".[14]
Boris Johnson
In an August 2017 article, Lord Kerr criticised Boris Johnson, "Callaghan, Carrington, Howe, Hurd... Foreign Secretaries used to cut ice abroad, particularly in Europe and America. But maybe that’s not Boris’s game".[15]
Personal
In 1965, he married Elizabeth Mary Kalaugher, daughter of the late New Zealand athlete Wilfrid Kalaugher. They have two sons and three daughters.[16]
References
- ^ "The Treaty of Lisbon fact sheet" (PDF).
- ^ "Pembroke Fellows List - Pembroke College".
- ^ "No. 50948". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1987. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 52382". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1990. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 56237". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2001. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 57277". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 May 2004. p. 5513.
- ^ "No. 57344". The London Gazette. 5 July 2004. p. 8323.
- ^ "No. 25662". The Edinburgh Gazette. 6 July 2004. p. 1895.
- ^ "Lord Kerr of Kinlochard".
- ^ "The Rt Hon Lord Kerr of Kinlochard". European Leadership Network. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ISBN 0-566-08711-1Ch 10
- ^ "George Osborne and the man at the centre of everything". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ^ "Britain risks losing its voice". Financial Times. 9 June 2016.
- ^ "UK needs migration 'because native Britons are bloody stupid', says pro-EU lord". The Independent. 18 November 2016. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
- ^ Brexit is about foreign policy. Why is Britain being so silent?
- ^ Biodata, archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk. Accessed 30 November 2022.
Further reading
- Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 14 September 2004