British politician
Richard Andrew Ryder, Baron Ryder of Wensum
,
OBE
,
PC
(born 4 February 1949) is a British
Conservative Party
politician. A former
Member of Parliament
(MP) and government minister, he was made a
life peer
in 1997 and was a member of the
House of Lords
from 1997 to 2021.
Early life
[
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]
He was educated at
Radley College
and
Magdalene College, Cambridge
.
In the
1981 Birthday Honours
Ryder was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
(OBE), for political service.
[1]
Parliamentary career
[
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]
Having unsuccessfully fought the
Labour
seat of
Gateshead East
in
February
and
October 1974
, Ryder was elected at the
1983 general election
as MP for the
Mid Norfolk
constituency. From 1990 to 1995 he was the government's
Chief Whip
. This period includes the Conservative backbench rebellion over the
Maastricht Treaty
. The maverick MPs, known as the
Maastricht Rebels
, were under intense pressure from the government whips but still brought the administration of
John Major
close to collapse.
Ryder retired from the
House of Commons
at the
1997 general election
, and was created a
life peer
as
Baron Ryder of Wensum
, of
Wensum
in the County of
Norfolk
on 22 November 1997. He will retire from the Lords on 12 April 2021.
[2]
Outside Parliament
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]
He became Vice-Chairman of the
BBC
on 1 January 2002 for a four-year term.
Ryder was appointed Acting Chairman of the BBC following the resignation of
Gavyn Davies
on 28 January 2004. Davies resigned following the criticism of the BBC in the
Hutton Report
, which was set up to investigate "the circumstances surrounding the death of
Dr David Kelly
". One of Ryder's first acts as chairman was to give a televised statement, during which he offered an unreserved apology for the mistakes made during the Dr. Kelly affair. This apology was criticised by many, including departing
Director General
,
Greg Dyke
, as overdone. In the same statement Ryder announced that the process to select a new Chairman had begun, and that he would not be putting his name forward.
Michael Grade
was appointed on 2 April 2004 and took up his post on 17 May; Ryder resumed the post of Vice-Chairman.
Ryder resigned early on 1 August 2004, after which the position was assumed by
Anthony Salz
.
Ryder is the Chairman of the
Institute of Cancer Research
, and is a director of
Ipswich Town F.C.
Family
[
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]
He is a nephew of the late
Sue Ryder
, the Baroness Ryder of Warsaw.
[
citation needed
]
References
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]
External links
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]
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Cabinet Members
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Also attended meetings
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