Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde

The Right Honourable The Lord Strathclyde PC
Leader of the House of Lords Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 May 2010
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	The Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
In office 3 December 1998 – 11 May 2010
Leader	William Hague Iain Duncan Smith Michael Howard David Cameron
Preceded by	Viscount Cranborne
Succeeded by	The Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
Chief Whip in the House of Lords Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms
In office 20 July 1994 – 2 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	The Viscount Ullswater
Succeeded by	The Lord Carter
Personal details
Born	(1960-02-22) 22 February 1960 Glasgow, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	University of East Anglia Aix-Marseille University

Thomas Galloway Dunlop du Roy de Blicquy Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde, PC (born 22 February 1960, Glasgow, Scotland), is a British politician. He is currently the Leader of the House of Lords and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster as well as being the leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords. He is known informally as Tom Strathclyde.

Early life

Thomas Galbraith was born in Glasgow, the son of Conservative politician The Hon. Sir Tam Galbraith, KBE and his Belgian wife Simone du Roy de Blicquy (b. 1924). His father was MP for Glasgow Hillhead (1948–82) but died before his own father in 1982, triggering the famous by-election that saw the election of Roy Jenkins. Galbraith therefore succeeded to the barony at the age of 25 on the death of his grandfather in 1985.

Galbraith was educated at two independent schools for boys: at Sussex House School, a day school in Cadogan Square in Chelsea in London and Wellington College, a boarding school in the village of Crowthorne in Berkshire, followed by the University of East Anglia, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1982. He also studied at the University of Aix-en-Provence, and is fluent in French.

Conservative Party

Strathclyde first entered the House of Lords in 1986, becoming a junior whip in 1988, then Minister for Tourism in 1989. Between 1990 and 1992 he was Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries in the Scottish Office. He then served in the Department of the Environment and the Department of Trade and Industry before being appointed Conservative Chief Whip in the House of Lords in 1994, succeeding Lord Ullswater. The next year, he was sworn of the Privy Council.

In 1998 Strathclyde, along with the entire Conservative front bench in the House of Lords, threatened to tender his resignation if the party refused to accept a proposed compromise plan for reform of the Lords that had been negotiated by Lord Cranborne, Conservative leader in the Lords, to the disapproval of party leader William Hague. Hague accepted the proposals, though Cranborne was dismissed for the way in which they had been negotiated, and Strathclyde was appointed to succeed him. Under his leadership the House of Lords Act 1999 passed. Strathclyde was subsequently selected as one of the 92 hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords.

When the Conservatives returned to power under David Cameron in May 2010, Strathclyde became Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, with a seat in the cabinet.

He won Channel 4 Peer of the Year 2000, and Spectator Peer of the Year 2004.

Career

He is a director of Auchendrane Estates Ltd, a landowning company in Scotland.

He is currently non-executive director on the board of Trafigura's hedge-fund arm, Galena Asset Management although he has stated that he intends to stand down from Trafigura Trafigura has been in the news for a number of years in relation with the 2006 Côte d'Ivoire toxic waste dump scandal.

His wealth is estimated at £10m.

Styles

• Thomas Galbraith (1960–1985)
• The Rt. Hon. The Lord Strathclyde (1985–1995)
• The Rt. Hon. The Lord Strathclyde PC (1995–)

See also

• Cabinet of the United Kingdom
• Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (UK)

External links

• Conservatives: Lord Strathclyde