John Morris, Baron Morris of Aberavon

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Lord Morris of Aberavon in the robes of a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter
Lord Morris of Aberavon in the robes of a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter

John Morris, Baron Morris of Aberavon, KG, PC, QC (born 5 November 1931), is a retired UK Labour politician.

Lord Morris was born in Capel Bangor, Aberystwyth in the County of Ceridigion. He was educated at Ardwyn School, the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.

Lord Morris was a barrister and was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 1954. He practised at 2 Bedford Row Chambers, took silk in 1973 and was made a Bencher of Gray's Inn in 1984. Between 1982 and 1997 Lord Morris was a Recorder of the Crown Court.

He represented Aberavon as its Labour MP from 1959 and was the longest serving Welsh MP until his retirement 2001, when he was succeeded by Hywel Francis.

He served as Attorney General of Northern Ireland, Secretary of State for Wales between March 5, 1974 and May 5, 1979 and returned to Government as the Attorney General for England and Wales between 1997 and 1999. As such, he was one of only a small handful of Labour ministers to hold office under both James Callaghan and Tony Blair, and perhaps the only minister to have held office under Harold Wilson also.

He was created a life peer as Baron Morris of Aberavon, of Aberavon in the County of West Glamorgan and of Ceredigion in the County of Dyfed in 2001, made Lord Lieutenant of Dyfed a year later and created a Knight of the Order of the Garter in 2003.

Lord Morris has been Chancellor of the University of Glamorgan since 2002, succeeding fellow Labour politian Lord Merlyn-Rees. Lord Morris is also President of the London Welsh Trust and a member of the Council of the Prince of Wales Trust (Wales).

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
William George Cove
Member of Parliament for Aberavon
1959–2001
Succeeded by
Hywel Francis
Political offices
Preceded by
Peter Thomas
Secretary of State for Wales
1974–1979
Succeeded by
Nicholas Edwards
Legal Offices
Preceded by
Sir Nicholas Lyell
Attorney General for England and Wales
1997–1999
Succeeded by
The Lord Williams of Mostyn