Tristan Garel-Jones Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Lord Garel-Jones
Honorific-Suffix:PC
Office:Minister of State for Europe
Primeminister:Margaret Thatcher
John Major
Term Start:14 July 1990
Term End:27 May 1993
Predecessor:Francis Maude
Successor:David Heathcoat-Amory
Office1:Deputy Chief Whip
Treasurer of the Household
Primeminister1:Margaret Thatcher
Term Start1:25 July 1989
Term End1:14 July 1990
Predecessor1:David Hunt
Successor1:Alastair Goodlad
Office2:Comptroller of the Household
Term Start2:26 July 1988
Term End2:25 July 1989
Predecessor2:Robert Boscawen
Successor2:Alastair Goodlad
Primeminister2:Margaret Thatcher
Office3:Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
Term Start3:16 October 1986
Term End3:26 July 1988
Predecessor3:Robert Boscawen
Successor3:Michael Neubert
Primeminister3:Margaret Thatcher
Office5:Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Term Start5:22 October 1997
Office6:Member of Parliament
for Watford
Predecessor6:Raphael Tuck
Successor6:Claire Ward
Term Start6:3 May 1979
Term End6:8 April 1997
Birth Name:William Armand Thomas Tristan Garel-Jones
Birth Date:28 February 1941
Birth Place:Gorseinon, Wales
Death Place:Candeleda, Spain
Nationality:British
Party:Conservative
Children:5

William Armand Thomas "Tristan" Garel-Jones, Baron Garel-Jones, PC (28 February 1941 – 23 March 2020) was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Watford from 1979 to 1997, before being made a life peer in 1997.

Following his election to Parliament, Garel-Jones served in various whip positions and also as a junior minister at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Early life

Born in Gorseinon, Wales,[1] the son of Bernard Garel-Jones and Meriel (née Williams),[2] [3] he and his family moved first to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands prior to settling in Madrid, Spain, when he was seven years old.[4] Garel-Jones was educated at the King's School, Canterbury.[5] His parents established successful language schools in Spain during this time. He moved back to the United Kingdom and worked as a merchant banker prior to embarking on a career in politics.

Parliamentary career

Garel-Jones first contested Caernarvon in February 1974, but was defeated by the future leader of Plaid Cymru, Dafydd Wigley. He was elected for Watford at the 1979 General Election.

Whips Office

Viewed as an effective whip who successfully delivered parliamentary votes in favour of Thatcher's legislation, Garel-Jones was nonetheless seen as a mixture of Machiavelli and Ivan the Terrible by the Thatcherite right-wing.[6] Although his loyalty to Thatcher was never questioned, nor his ability to stamp out a rebeillion rebellion, his party's "dry" (right wing) flank associated him with the Conservative "wets" (centrist) faction. He was seen as being to blame for the "growing wetness" of Thatcher's government.[6] His formidable reputation as an effective enforcer in the whips' office was said to have been the inspiration for the fictional scheming Whip Francis Urquhart in the novel House of Cards and subsequent BBC TV drama adaptation.[7]

Others who knew him said "where Dobbs’ character was a cold, machiavellian schemer, Garel-Jones was in reality a warm and enthusiastic person who cared deeply about human rights, equality, and the advancement of humanist ideals."[8]

Europe

Garel-Jones was a leading pro-European, and remained so, despite the Conservative party moving to a more Eurosceptic position by the end of the Thatcher era. This created suspicion among right-wing Thatcherites, who thought of him as one of the "wets". However, he voted for Margaret Thatcher in the first round of the leadership challenge by Michael Heseltine, but reserved the right to vote against her if it went to a second round. He subsequently voted for Douglas Hurd.[6]

After he stepped down from the House of Commons in 1997, he was given a life peerage as Baron Garel-Jones, of Watford in the County of Hertfordshire.

Other interests

Garel-Jones was a well-known Hispanophile.[9] A dedicated defender of bullfighting, he worked as a bullfighting critic. He was also a supporter of Humanists UK, and a vice chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group.[5] He was an honorary associate of the National Secular Society.[10]

Personal life

In 1966, Garel-Jones married Catalina Garrigues Carnicer, niece of the Spanish bullfighting critic .[11] [12] They had four sons and a daughter.[3] He lived in Candeleda, Spain, and died there on 23 March 2020.[13] [14]

Garel-Jones was a firm atheist and humanist, but held strong respect for the right to freedom of religion or belief. He built a chapel for his wife Catalina on his estate so that she could practice her religion comfortably, as well as a bench outside the chapel where he could "smoke and contemplate more worldly concerns".[8]

In popular culture

Garel-Jones was portrayed by Hugh Fraser in the 2004 BBC production of The Alan Clark Diaries, and by Guy Henry in 2009's Margaret.

External links

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Notes and References

  1. ABC. Un lord en Candeleda. 3 May 2009. Ramón. Pérez-Maura. 13 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181216032211/https://www.abc.es/hemeroteca/historico-03-05-2009/abc/Opinion/un-lord-en-candeleda_92596981051.html. 16 December 2018. live.
  2. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 2003, vol. 2, p. 1525
  3. Book: Garel-Jones | Who's WHO & WHO WAS WHO . 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U16769 . 978-0-19-954088-4 . 18 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190618005641/https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-16769/version/4 . 18 June 2019 . live .
  4. Lord Garel-Jones, premio Fundación Banco Santander a las relaciones hispano-británicas. ABC. 3 April 2013. 13 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181216031019/https://www.abc.es/cultura/20140403/abci-garel-jones-premio-santander-201404031256.html. 16 December 2018. live.
  5. Web site: Lord Garel-Jones of Watford, PC. 4 May 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120324100403/http://www.humanism.org.uk/about/people/distinguished-supporters/garel-jones. 24 March 2012. dmy-all.
  6. Web site: Minister departs to right-wing glee: Colin Brown on the career of . . 23 October 2011 . 1 November 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150925165230/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/minister-departs-to-rightwing-glee-colin-brown-on-the-career-of-tristan-gareljones-an-enthusiastic-european-perceived-by-political-enemies-as-a-key-player-in-margaret-thatchers-downfall-1565113.html . 25 September 2015 . live .
  7. Web site: WESTMINSTer's SECRET SERVICE » 20 May 1995 » the Spectator Archive . 8 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140720030940/http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/20th-may-1995/11/westminsters-secret-service . 20 July 2014 . live .
  8. Web site: Humanists UK mourns Tristan Garel-Jones (1941-2020). 25 March 2020. 1 July 2020. Humanists UK.
  9. Book: George, Stephen. https://books.google.com/books?id=PffohOKRIkkC&pg=PA106. 106. Politics of European Treaty Reform. Geoffrey Edwards and Alfred Pijpers. Pinter. London & Washington. 1-85567-359-2. Britain and the IGC. 100-118-->. 1997-01-01.
  10. Web site: National Secular Society Honorary Associates. National Secular Society. 26 August 2019.
  11. El crítico taurino Tristan Garel-Jones, Premio Fundación Banco Santander. El Confidencial. 3 April 2014. 13 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181216031946/https://www.elconfidencial.com/ultima-hora-en-vivo/2014-04-03/el-critico-taurino-tristan-garel-jones-premio-fundacion-banco-santander_221179/. 16 December 2018. live.
  12. El Mundo. John Major invita a los británicos desde Ávila a 'asomarse a la verdadera España'. 2 September 2009. 13 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181216031804/https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2013/08/31/espana/1377965028.html. 16 December 2018. live.
  13. Web site: Fallece en Candeleda el político Tristan Garel-Jones. Diario de Ávila. 25 March 2020.
  14. News: Tristan Garel-Jones, Tory 'wet' and able deputy chief whip under Margaret Thatcher – obituary. The Telegraph. 24 March 2020. Obituaries. Telegraph.