The Lord Rees | |
|---|---|
 Peter Rees | |
| Chief Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 11 June 1983 – 2 September 1985 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Leon Brittan |
| Succeeded by | John MacGregor |
| Member of theHouse of Lords | |
| Life peerage 16 November 1987 – 30 November 2008 | |
| Member of Parliament forDover | |
| In office 18 June 1970 – 18 May 1987 | |
| Preceded by | David Ennals |
| Succeeded by | David Shaw |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Peter Wynford Innes Rees (1926-12-09)9 December 1926 Camberley, Surrey, England |
| Died | 30 November 2008(2008-11-30) (aged 81) Lambeth, London, England |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | |
Peter Wynford Innes Rees, Baron Rees,PC, QC (9 December 1926 – 30 November 2008) was a BritishConservative politician andbarrister. He wasMember of Parliament (MP) forDover and Deal from 1974 to 1983 and MP forDover from 1970 to 1974 and 1983 to 1987. He wasChief Secretary to the Treasury from 1983 until 1985. He was created a life peer as Baron Rees, of Goytre, in 1987.[1][2]
Rees was born inCamberley,Surrey, the only son of Major-GeneralThomas Wynford Rees of the India Army, and Agatha Rosalie (née Innes). His maternal grandfather was SirCharles Alexander Innes, Governor ofBritish Burma from 1927 to 1932. He was educated atStowe School. He joined theScots Guards in 1945 and three years later continued his education atChrist Church, Oxford. In 1953, he was called to the bar by theInner Temple. He became aQC in 1969.[3]
At the1964 general election Rees stood as the Conservative candidate in the safeLabour seat ofAbertillery, where he won only 14% of the votes, against the 86% won by the only other candidate, Labour's ReverendLlewellyn Williams.[4] When Williams died in 1965, Rees was the Conservative candidate inthe consequent by-election, losing by a similarly large margin.
At the1966 election, he stood in the more promising Labour-held seat ofLiverpool West Derby, but lost again.
He finally enteredParliament at the1970 general election, when he won inDover, with a majority of 1,649 over sitting Labour MPDavid Ennals.
InEdward Heath's government, he served from 1972 to 1973 asParliamentary Private Secretary to theSolicitor General,Michael Havers.
In 1979, when the Conservative Party entered government underMargaret Thatcher, he becameMinister of State at theTreasury, working to theChancellor of the Exchequer,Geoffrey Howe, before becoming Minister for Trade in 1981. After the 1983UK general election he was appointed to thecabinet asChief Secretary to the Treasury, working to the newChancellor of the Exchequer,Nigel Lawson. He was madePrivy Counsellor the same year.
Unlike most other Chief Secretaries to the Treasury, Peter Rees never went further within the Cabinet, leaving the post in the September 1985 cabinet reshuffle. He retired from Parliament at the1987 general election, aged 61, and on 16 November 1987 was created alife peer asBaron Rees, of Goytre in the County ofGwent[5] and sat in theHouse of Lords as a Conservative.
In 1969, he married Anthea Peronelle Wendell, daughter of Major Hugh John Maxwell-Hyslop, and former wife of Major Jack Wendell. They had no children.[3] Through this marriage, he was the stepfather of Anthea's daughters from her first marriage to Jac Wendell: Francesca andSerena Wendell (later the second wife ofJohn Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute).[6]
Rees died of a spontaneoussubarachnoid haemorrhage atSt Thomas' Hospital, London, following a short illness. He was buried at St Peter's Church,Goytre.[3]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forDover 1970–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chief Secretary to the Treasury 1983–1985 | Succeeded by |
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