Gareth Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn

(Redirected from Baron Williams of Mostyn) British Labour Party politician (1941–2003) For other people named Gareth Williams, see Gareth Williams (disambiguation).

The Right HonourableThe Lord Williams of MostynPC QC

Leader of the House of Lords

In office
8 June 2001 – 20 September 2003

Prime Minister

Tony Blair

Preceded by

The Baroness Jay of Paddington

Succeeded by

The Baroness Amos

Other ministerial offices 1999–2003


Lord President of the Council
In office 13 June 2003 – 20 September 2003
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	John Reid
Succeeded by	The Baroness Amos
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
In office 8 June 2001 – 13 June 2003
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	The Baroness Jay of Paddington
Succeeded by	Peter Hain
Attorney General for England and Wales Attorney General for Northern Ireland
In office 29 July 1999 – 8 June 2001
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	John Morris
Succeeded by	The Lord Goldsmith

Junior ministerial offices 1997–2001

Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
In office October 1998 – June 2001
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Leader	The Baroness Jay of Paddington
Preceded by	The Baroness Jay of Paddington
Succeeded by	The Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
Minister of State for Prisons
In office 28 July 1998 – 28 July 1999
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Joyce Quin
Succeeded by	Charles Clarke
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs
In office 2 May 1997 – 28 July 1998
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Tom Sackville
Succeeded by	Kate Hoey

Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal

In office
20 July 1992 – 20 September 2003
Life peerage

Personal details

Born

(1941-02-05)5 February 1941
Prestatyn, Wales

Died

20 September 2003(2003-09-20) (aged 62)
Evenlode, England

Resting place

St Michael and all Angels Church
Great Tew, England

Political party

Labour

Spouses

Pauline Clarke (m. 1962, divorced)
Veena Russell (m. 1994)

Children

Alma mater

Queens' College, Cambridge

Gareth Wyn Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn, PC, QC (5 February 1941 – 20 September 2003), was a Welsh barrister and Labour politician who was Leader of the House of Lords, Lord President of the Council and a member of the Cabinet from 2001 until his sudden death in 2003.

Early life

Williams was born near Prestatyn, in North Wales, a son of Albert Thomas Williams and his wife Selina, née Evans. He was educated at Rhyl Grammar School and at Queens' College, Cambridge.

Legal career

He was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1965, he became Queen's Counsel in 1978, was a Recorder from 1978, a Deputy High Court Judge, 1986–92, the Leader of the Wales and Chester Circuit, 1987–89, and a Member of the Bar Council, 1986–92 (Chairman, 1992).

Political career

He was created a life peer on 20 July 1992 as Baron Williams of Mostyn, of Great Tew in the County of Oxfordshire, and became an opposition spokesman in the House of Lords on Legal Affairs, and later Northern Ireland. After Labour's election victory he was appointed a Home Office minister, and in 1999 became Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland. He was appointed Leader of the House of Lords in 2001, initially with the sinecure office of Lord Privy Seal, for which Lord President of the Council was substituted in 2003.

Reputation among his colleagues

As part of the celebrations to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Life Peerages Act, Lord Williams was voted by the current members of the House of Lords as the outstanding life peer since the creation of the life peerage. In his book A View from the Foothills Chris Mullin wrote that he thought that Gareth Williams was most likely to succeed Derry Irvine as Lord Chancellor; in the event the position was next filled by Charles Falconer.

Personal life

Williams married Pauline Clarke in 1962, and they had three children. They divorced, and he then married Veena M. Russell in 1994, and by her had one daughter, Imogen. He died from a heart attack at his home in Evenlode, Gloucestershire on 20 September 2003, aged 62, and was buried at St Michael and all Angels Church in Great Tew, Oxfordshire.

Arms

Coat of arms of Gareth Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn
	Crest A portcullis Or in front of an arm embowed vested and the cuff braided Sable frilled at the wrist the hand Proper holding by its blade upwards Argent a sword palewise to the front of the portcullis its hilt pommel and quillons Gold. Escutcheon Ermine on a pile flory at the point Sable a lion rampany Or armed and langued Gules. Supporters Dexter upon a grassy mount growing therefrom two sweet pea flowers Proper a griffin statant erect Gold sinister upon a like mount a dragon statant erect also Gold both armed and langued Gules. Motto Y Gwir Yn Erbyn Y Byd

References

^ Archer of Sandwell (21 September 2003). "Obituary: Lord Williams of Mostyn". The Independent. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
"No. 47569". The London Gazette. 16 June 1978. p. 7315.
"No. 53009". The London Gazette. 4 August 1992. p. 13149.
"Former Lords leader honoured with award". Yahoo/Epolitix. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
Mullin, Chris (2009). "Monday 7 January 2002". A View from the Foothills: The Diaries of Chris Mullin. Profile Books. p. 248. ISBN 978-1-84668-230-8.
Robbins, Keith (28 June 2017). "WILLIAMS, GARETH WYN, Baron Williams of Mostyn (1941–2003), lawyer and politician". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
Debrett's Peerage. 2003. p. 1674.

Bibliography

Burke's Peerage & Baronetage (106th edition, 1999) edited by Charles Mosley

External links

"Interview: Lord Williams" – Guardian Unlimited Politics interview with Lord Williams by Julian Glover, dated Friday, 28 June 2002, giving the peer's views on reform of the House of Lords
Profile, Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Accessed 30 January 2023.

Political offices
Preceded byThe Baroness Jay of Paddington	Deputy Leader of the House of Lords 1998–2001	Succeeded byThe Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
Preceded byJohn Morris	Attorney General for England and Wales 1999–2001	Succeeded byThe Lord Goldsmith
Preceded byJohn Morris	Attorney General for Northern Ireland 1999–2001	Succeeded byThe Lord Goldsmith
Preceded byThe Baroness Jay of Paddington	Lord Privy Seal 2001–2003	Succeeded byPeter Hain
Preceded byThe Baroness Jay of Paddington	Leader of the House of Lords 2001–2003	Succeeded byThe Baroness Amos
Preceded byJohn Reid	Lord President of the Council 2003	Succeeded byThe Baroness Amos
Party political offices
Preceded byThe Baroness Jay of Paddington	Leader of the Labour Party in the House of Lords 2001–2003	Succeeded byThe Baroness Amos
Academic offices
Preceded byCledwyn Hughes	Pro-Chancellor of the University of Wales 1994–2003	Succeeded byDafydd Wigley

Labour Party

History

Main

History of the Labour Party

Topics

Leadership

Leaders	Hardie Henderson Barnes MacDonald Henderson Adamson Clynes MacDonald Henderson Lansbury Attlee Morrison^ Gaitskell Brown^ Wilson Callaghan Foot Kinnock Smith Beckett^ Blair Brown Harman^ Miliband Harman^ Corbyn Starmer
Deputy Leaders	Clynes Graham Attlee Greenwood Morrison Griffiths Bevan Brown Jenkins Short Foot Healey Hattersley Beckett Prescott Harman Watson Rayner
General Secretaries	MacDonald Henderson Middleton Phillips Williams Barker^ Nicholas Hayward Mortimer Whitty Sawyer McDonagh Triesman Carter Watt Collins McNicol Formby Evans
Treasurers	Henderson MacDonald Henderson Lathan Greenwood Gaitskell Bevan Nicholas Davies Callaghan Atkinson Varley Booth McCluskie Burlison Prosser Elsby Dromey Holland
Leaders in the Lords	Haldane Cripps Ponsonby Snell Addison Jowitt Alexander Pakenham Shackleton Shepherd Peart Hughes Richard Jay Williams Amos Ashton Royall Smith of Basildon
Scottish Labour Leaders	Dewar McLeish Jamieson^ McConnell Jamieson^ Alexander Jamieson^ Gray Lamont Sarwar^ Murphy Gray^ Dugdale Rowley^ Baillie^ Leonard Baillie^ Sarwar
PLP Chairs	Hardie Henderson Barnes MacDonald Henderson Hodge* Wardle* Adamson Clynes MacDonald Henderson Lansbury Attlee Lees-Smith* Pethick-Lawrence* Greenwood* Gaitskell Wilson Houghton Mikardo Hughes Willey Dormand Orme Hoyle Soley Corston Clwyd Lloyd Watts Cryer Morden
EPLP Leaders	Stewart Prescott Castle Lomas Martin Seal Ford Green David Donnelly Murphy Titley Willmott Corbett
* = wartime, in opposition ^ Interim/Acting

Internal elections and selections

Leadership elections	1922 Ramsay MacDonald 1931 Arthur Henderson 1932 George Lansbury 1935 Clement Attlee 1955 Hugh Gaitskell 1960 1961 1963 Harold Wilson 1976 James Callaghan 1980 Michael Foot 1983 Neil Kinnock 1988 1992 John Smith 1994 Tony Blair 2007 Gordon Brown 2010 Ed Miliband 2015 Jeremy Corbyn 2016 2020 Keir Starmer
Deputy Leadership elections	1952 Herbert Morrison 1953 1956 Jim Griffiths 1959 Aneurin Bevan 1960 George Brown 1961 1962 1970 Roy Jenkins 1971 1972 Edward Short 1976 Michael Foot 1980 Denis Healey 1981 1983 Roy Hattersley 1988 1992 Margaret Beckett 1994 John Prescott 2007 Harriet Harman 2015 Tom Watson 2020 Angela Rayner
Shadow Cabinet elections and reshuffles	Sep 1931 (Henderson) Nov 1931 1932 (Lansbury) 1933 1934 1935 (Attlee) 1936 1937 1938 1939 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 (Gaitskell) 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 (Wilson) 1970 1971 1972 1973 1979 (Callaghan) 1980 (Foot) 1981 1982 1983 (Kinnock) 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 (Smith) 1993 1994 (Blair) 1995 1996 2010 (Miliband) June 2016 (Corbyn) May 2021 (Starmer) November 2021 2023

Party structure

Constitution	Clause IV
Executive	National Executive Committee General Secretary Treasurer
Parliamentary	Parliamentary Labour Party Chief Whip of the Labour Party
Conference	Labour Party Conference
Subnational	Scottish Labour Welsh Labour Labour Party in Northern Ireland
Directly elected city mayoral authorities	London Labour
CLPs	Constituency Labour Party Labour International
Miscellaneous	National Policy Forum Affiliated trade unions Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation Labour Co-operative Co-operative Party Labour – Federation of Labour Groups

Associated organisations

List	Organisations associated with the Labour Party
Sectional groups	Young Labour Labour International LGBT+ Labour Labour Campaign for Trans Rights Labour Students BAME Labour Disability Labour
Factional groups	Blue Labour Campaign for Labour Party Democracy Christians on the Left Compass Fabian Society Young Fabians Future Britain Centre-Left Grassroots Alliance Jewish Labour Movement Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform Labour CND Labour Friends of Israel Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East Labour Growth Group Labour Party Irish Society Labour Representation Committee (2004) Labour Women's Network Momentum Open Labour National Union of Labour and Socialist Clubs Progressive Britain Revolutionary Communist Party Formerly Socialist Appeal Socialist Health Association Socialist Educational Association Socialist Environment and Resources Association Socialist Campaign Group Socialist Youth Network Socialist societies
Media publications	LabourList Tribune

Party alliances

Current	Party of European Socialists Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Progressive Alliance Socialist International

v t e Blair Cabinet
Ministries	First (1997–2001) Second (2001–2005) Third (2005–2007)
Cabinet members	Douglas Alexander Baroness Amos Hilary Armstrong Margaret Beckett Hilary Benn Tony Blair Hazel Blears David Blunkett Paul Boateng Gordon Brown Nick Brown Des Browne Stephen Byers David Clark Charles Clarke Robin Cook Jack Cunningham Alistair Darling Ron Davies Donald Dewar Frank Dobson Peter Hain Harriet Harman Patricia Hewitt Geoff Hoon John Hutton Lord Irvine of Lairg Baroness Jay of Paddington Alan Johnson Tessa Jowell Ruth Kelly Helen Liddell Peter Mandelson Ian McCartney Alun Michael Alan Milburn David Miliband Paul Murphy Estelle Morris Mo Mowlam John Reid Ivor Lord Richard George Robertson Clare Short Andrew Smith Chris Smith Gavin Strang Jack Straw Ann Taylor Stephen Timms Lord Williams of Mostyn
Also attended meetings	Peter Goldsmith John Morris Jacqui Smith

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