| The Right Honourable The Lord Strathclyde PC |
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|---|---|
| Leader of the House of Lords Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 12 May 2010 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| In office 20 July 1994 – 2 May 1997 |
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| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Ullswater |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Carter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 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.
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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).[1][2] His father was MP for Glasgow Hillhead (1948–82) but died in 1982, triggering the famous by-election that saw the election of Roy Jenkins. Galbraith 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.
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.
Lord Strathclyde married his wife Jane in 1992. They have three daughters, and the family live in Westminster and at the family estate in Mauchline, Ayrshire.
On 23 January, 2011, in interview with the Mail on Sunday, former actress Brigit Cunningham revealed that she had been having an eight-year affair with Lord Strathclyde, after she initially contacted him looking for help with Britain's Child Support Agency.[3][4]
Lord Strathclyde is a govenor of Wellington College, Berkshire.
He is a director of Auchendrane Estates Ltd, a landowning company in Scotland. His wealth is estimated at £10m.[5][6]
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 [7] Trafigura has been in the news for a number of years in relation with the 2006 Côte d'Ivoire toxic waste dump scandal.[8]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Viscount Ullswater |
Chief Whip in the House of Lords 1994–1997 |
Succeeded by The Lord Carter |
| Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms 1994–1997 |
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| Preceded by The Baroness Royall of Blaisdon |
Leader of the House of Lords 2010–present |
Incumbent |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 2010–present |
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| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Viscount Ullswater |
Conservative Chief Whip in the House of Lords 1994–1998 |
Succeeded by The Lord Henley |
| Preceded by Viscount Cranborne |
Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords 1998–present |
Incumbent |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Thomas Galbraith |
Baron Strathclyde 1985–present |
Incumbent |
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