Alastair Bruce, 5th Baron Aberdare

The Right Honourable The Lord Aberdare KStJ
Official parliamentary portrait
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
as an elected hereditary peer 20 July 2009
Preceded by	The 3rd Viscount Bledisloe
Personal details
Born	Alastair John Lyndhurst Bruce (1947-05-02) 2 May 1947 London, England
Political party	Crossbench
Spouse	Elizabeth Mary Cuthbert Foulkes ​ ​ (m. 1971)​
Parent(s)	Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare Maud Helen Sarah Dashwood

Alastair John Lyndhurst Bruce, 5th Baron Aberdare, KStJ DL (born 2 May 1947), is a British nobleman, and since 2009 a crossbench hereditary peer elected under the House of Lords Act 1999.

Early life and education

Lord Aberdare was born at 12 Avenue Road in St John's Wood, London, the son of Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, and Maud Helen Sarah Dashwood, only daughter of Sir John Dashwood, 10th Baronet. His godparents included Lord Terrington and Diana Bowes-Lyon. Aberdare was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He succeeded his father upon the latter's death in 2005.

Career

• IBM, 1969–1991
• Partner, Bruce Naughton Wade, 1991–1999
• Director, ProbusBNW, 1999–?
• Trustee, National Botanic Garden of Wales, 1994–2006
• Fellow, Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce
• Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University since July 2008
• Sub Prior of the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem, Priory of Wales.

Offices

Lord Aberdare is president of the Cynon Valley History Society.

House of Lords

Coats of arms of Alastair Bruce

In July 2009, Lord Aberdare was elected to sit in the House of Lords, following the death of Lord Bledisloe in May 2009. A by-election took place under the terms of the House of Lords Act 1999, which provided for 92 hereditary peers to keep their seats in the reformed House, with vacancies in their number filled from amongst all non-sitting hereditary peers. The result was announced in the Chamber of the Lords on 15 July 2009, following the voting by 27 of the 29 Crossbench peers eligible to take part. His maiden speech, made on 26 November 2009 during the debate on the Queen's Speech, focused on the transition from education to employment.

Family

He married Elizabeth Mary Culbert Foulkes in 1971; they have two children:

• Hon. Hector Morys Napier Bruce (born 1974)
• Hon. Sarah Katherine Mary Bruce (born 1976)

References

• "Aberdare, Baron (Bruce) (Baron UK 1873)" Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage 1995 London: Debrett's Peerage Limited, 1995, p. 4.
• Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2007.

External links

• Profile at the Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com