Edwin Leather

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Sir Edwin Hartley Cameron "Ted" Leather (22 May 1919 – 5 April 2005), KCMG, KCVO, KStJ, LL.D. was a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom, and Governor of Bermuda.

Leather was born in Toronto, Canada. He was educated at Trinity College School, Port Hope and the Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario. He served in Europe during World War II with the Toronto Scottish and Royal Canadian Artillery. He worked as an insurance broker and was secretary of the Central London branch of the Association of Supervisory Staffs, Executives and Technicians.

At the 1945 general election Leather stood without success in the Bristol South constituency, but at the 1950 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Somerset. Leather never held political office but was a popular speaker at Party Conference and other events, as well as on radio and television. He was a One Nation Tory; he forcefully opposed racism and supported the European Union.

Leather was proposed for knighthood but, still a Canadian citizen, required the support of the Canadian government which had not made any honor recommendation for some years; Prime Minister John Diefenbaker declined to support the recommendation. He was eventually knighted in 1962 when he was made a Knight bachelor, having taken British citizenship.

Poor health and the low pay for MPs forced Leather to retire from Parliament at the 1964 general election and enter business. He returned to the political scene a few years later, as vice-chairman of the National Union of the Conservative Party, taking a leading role in fundraising and at Party Conference. In 1973, following the murder of Sir Richard Sharples, Leather was appointed Governor of Bermuda. Despite the assassination of his predecessor, he lived informally and mixed with locals; he continued to live in Bermuda after his retirement in 1977. He became the local representative of N M Rothschild & Sons and wrote several thrillers.

He was appointed KCMG in 1974 and in 1975 became the first Canadian to be appointed KCVO since the future 1st Lord Shaughnessy in 1907. Leather was an active freemason and an Anglican lay reader. During his time as Governor of Bermuda, Sir Edwin made a significant effort to include a number of influential Bermudians as part of the vice-regal household. Among them were Rev. Thomas N. Nisbett, Bermuda's first Black Anglican priest (later Canon Thomas Nisbett), and Major Eugene Raynor, who became Colonel and Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment, Bermuda's armed forces.

He was an accomplished gymnast and founded the International Sports Fellowship.

Leather married Sheila Greenlees in 1940; they had two daughters.

See also Nickle Resolution.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by (new constituency)	Member of Parliament for North Somerset 1945–1964	Succeeded by Paul Dean
Political offices
Preceded by Richard Sharples	Governor of Bermuda 1973-1977	Succeeded by Sir Peter Ramsbotham