William Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank
William " Bill" Thomas Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, PC ( born October 28, 1928 in Liverpool) is a British politician.
Biography
After school he studied at Magdalen College, University of Oxford and was then from 1953 to 1960 served as General Secretary of the Fabian Society.
His political career began in 1962 when he was elected at a by-election as a Labour candidate for the Members of the House (House of Commons ), where until 1983 the constituency of Stockton -on-Tees represented. In the following years he took over during the governments of the Labour Party in the years 1964 to 1970 and from 1974 to 1976 under Prime Minister Harold Wilson first several junior ministerial posts.
In September 1976 Prime Minister James Callaghan eventually appointed him as the successor of John Gilbert to the Minister of Transport ( Secretary of State for Transport ). This office he held until the end of Callaghan's term of office on May 4, 1979 after the election defeat by the Conservative Party in the general election of May 3, 1979.
Rodgers was a strong supporter of British membership of the European Communities ( EC) and concerned about the increasing links course the Labour Party after the election of Michael Foot as party leader (Leader) 1980. 1981 he resigned from the Labour Party and founded, together with the also disaffected former Labour ministers Roy Jenkins, David Owen and Shirley Williams ( " gang of Four" ), the Social Democratic Party ( SDP).
Although he suffered an election defeat in the general election on 9 June 1983, lost his seat in the House, he continued to take a leading role in the organization of the SDP and was its Vice-Chair, 1982 until 1987. In this role, he was instrumental in the Alliance of SDP with the Liberal Party, which saw also disadvantaged by the British electoral system itself. Although he was a staunch supporter of the alliance, which eventually in 1988 to unite the two parties led to the Liberal Democrats, he moved in 1987 back from the party executive.
Subsequently, he was from 1987 to 1994 Director General of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
For his services he was in 1992 raised to life peer in the peerage with the title Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank and thereby also became a member of the Upper House (House of Lords). In May 1997 he was appointed as successor to Roy Jenkins, the current Lord Jenkins of Hillhead, Chairman of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. This office he handed over in June 2001 to Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby now.
Source
- Chambers Biographical Dictionary. 2002, ISBN 0-550-10051-2, p 1298th