William Rodgers

William Rodgers   ( politician)
Born	28 October 1928  Liverpool,  Lancashire,  England
Nationality	UK
Alma mater	Magdalen College (Oxford)
Spouse	Silvia Szulman
Member of	Königswinter/Speakers
Party	Labour, Social Democratic Party (UK), Liberal Democrats
Labour politician who was strong supporter of the UK's membership in the European Economic Community. Later one of the founders of the Social Democratic Party  Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords In office 19 December 1997 - 7 June 2001 Preceded by Roy Jenkins Succeeded by Shirley Williams  Shadow Secretary of State for Defence  In office 14 June 1979 - 8 December 1980 Preceded by Fred Mulley Succeeded by Brynmor John  Shadow Secretary of State for Transport  In office 4 May 1979 - 14 June 1979  Secretary of State for Transport  In office 10 September 1976 - 4 May 1979  Minister of State for Defence In office 4 March 1974 - 10 September 1976 Preceded by Ian Gilmour Succeeded by Fred Mulley  Member of Parliament for Stockton-on-Tees In office 5 April 1962 - 9 June 1983 Succeeded by Richard Caborn, Michael HowardKenneth Baker, Winston Churchill II, Robin Corbett, Gwyneth Dunwoody, Clement Freud, Alan Howarth, Douglas Hurd, Edward Leigh, Nicholas Lyell, Dave Nellist, Merlyn Rees, Nicholas Soames, David Waddington

John Morris, Baron Morris of Aberavon, KG, PC, QC was appointed to the Privy Council in 1975, and was still on it as of 2021.

Education

After completing his secondary education, he studied at Magdalen College at the University of Oxford and then worked as general secretary of the Fabian Society from 1953 to 1960.

Career

He began his political career in 1962, when he was elected to the House of Commons as a Labour Party candidate at a by-election, where he represented the constituency of Stockton-on-Tees until 1983. He subsequently held a number of junior ministerial positions during the Labour Party governments of 1964 to 1970 and [[1974] to 1976 under Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

In September 1976, Prime Minister James Callaghan appointed him Secretary of State for Transport, succeeding John Gilbert. He held this office until the end of Callaghan's term on 4 May 1979 after the electoral defeat against the Conservative Party in the House of Commons elections of 3 May 1979.

Rodgers was a strong supporter of the UK's membership in the European Economic Community and was concerned about the increasing left-wing course of the Labour Party after the election of Michael Foot as party chairman in 1980. In 1981, he resigned from the Labour Party and founded the staunchly pro-NATO Social Democratic Party (SDP) together with the also dissatisfied former Labour ministers Roy Jenkins, David Owen and Shirley Williams ("Gang of Four"). The SDP is suspected of having been supported by the British deep state and the CIA.

Although he suffered an electoral defeat in the elections to the House of Commons on 9 June 1983 and lost his seat, he continued to play a leading role in the organisation of the SDP and was its deputy chairman from 1982 to 1987. In this function, he played a significant role in the alliance of the SDP with the [[Liberal Party] (UK)|Liberal Party]], which also felt disadvantaged by the British electoral system. Although he was a staunch supporter of this alliance, which eventually led to the unification of the two parties into the Liberal Democrats in 1988, he retired from the party's executive committee in 1987.

Subsequently, he was Director General of the Royal Institute of British Architects from 1987 to 1994.

He became a life peer on 12 February 1992 with the title Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, and thereby also became a member of the House of Lords. In May 1997, he succeeded Roy Jenkins (now Lord Jenkins of Hillhead), as leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. He handed over this office to Shirley Williams, now Baroness Williams of Crosby, in June 2001.

Marriage

He married Silvia Szulman in 1955. She was born in Berlin to working-class Jewish parents. Her parents were members of the Communist Party of Germany. The family came to Britain in 1939. She was noted as a political hostess. She influenced her husband's political career, particularly his decision to leave the Labour Party and set up the Social Democratic Party.

[[Display born on::28 October 1928| ]] 

Event Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Bilderberg/1974	19 April 1974	21 April 1974	France Hotel Mont d' Arbois Megève	The 23rd Bilderberg, held in France

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