The Earl Russell | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Assumed office 19 June 2023 as anelected hereditary peer | |
| Preceded by | The 15th Viscount Falkland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Francis Russell (1971-11-19)19 November 1971 (age 54) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats |
| Parents |
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| Occupation | Freelance photographer |
John Francis Russell, 7th Earl Russell (born 19 November 1971), is a Britishhereditary peer, photographer, andLiberal Democrat politician.
The younger son ofConrad Russell, 5th Earl Russell, a professor of history atYale University, and his wife Elizabeth Franklin Sanders, Russell is also a grandson of the philosopherBertrand Russell and a great-great-grandson ofJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, a LiberalPrime Minister of the United Kingdom. He was educated at theWilliam Ellis School,Highgate.[1]
As a teenager, he tookadventure training holidays at Ty'n y Berth, a Wide Horizons centre in Wales, and he later became an advocate of providing disadvantaged children with such opportunities.[2]
Russell works as a freelance photographer, specializing in "political photography, event photography, charity commissions and landscapes". In 2006, he was in-house photographer forTotal Politics magazine and also works for the Liberal Democrats, theLondon Wildlife Trust, other charities, and individuals. He publishes work at Zenfolio.[3]
Russell became chairman of theLewisham Liberal Democrats and went on to serve as a Liberal Democrat councillor forForest Hill onLewisham Borough Council from 2006 to 2010, chairing its Overview and Scrutiny committee. In 2012 he was his party's candidate for theGreenwich and Lewisham seat on theLondon Assembly.[4]
In 2006, Russell joined the board of Wide Horizons and chaired it from 2012. It went into administration and ceased trading in 2018.[2][5]
On 17 August 2014, on the death of his older brotherNicholas Russell, 6th Earl Russell, Russell succeeded asEarl Russell and Viscount Amberley, both in thePeerage of the United Kingdom.[1]
In the2017 general election, he stood for the Liberal Democrats inLewisham West and Penge, butLabour held the seat. In 2022 he stood unsuccessfully for election toLewisham London Borough Council.[6]
In June 2023, Russell entered the House of Lords after winning a whole house by-election to fill a vacancy among theexcepted hereditary peers.[7]
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| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Earl Russell 2014–present | Incumbent |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Elected hereditary peer to theHouse of Lords under theHouse of Lords Act 1999 2023–present | Incumbent |
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