William Astor, 4th Viscount Astor
The Viscount Astor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for National Heritage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 20 July 1994 – 6 July 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister | John Major | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Iain Sproat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | The Lord Inglewood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Assumed office 4 July 1973 Hereditary Peerage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | The 3rd Viscount Astor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | William Waldorf Astor III 27 December 1951 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Relatives | See Astor family | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alma mater | Eton College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation | Politician, businessman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
William Waldorf Astor III, 4th Viscount Astor (born 27 December 1951) is an English businessman and politician who sits as a Conservative hereditary Lord Temporal in the House of Lords. He is a member of the Astor family, which is known for its prominence in business, society, and politics in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Biography[]
William Waldorf III is the son of William Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor (1907–1966), and Sarah Kathleen Elinor Norton (1920–2013). From his father's later marriages, he has three younger half-sisters: Emily (born 1956), Janet (born 1961), and Pauline (born 1964). From his mother's remarriage to Thomas Michael Baring, he has a younger half-brother named Edward Richard Philip Baring (born September 1962).[1] He was educated at Eton College.
Astor was a Lord-in-waiting (a House of Lords whip) from 1990 to 1993. He was then made a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Social Security. In 1994, he moved to the Department of National Heritage where he served until leaving the government in 1995.[2]
He was a member of the Founding Council of the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford.[3]
Viscount Astor is Chairman of Silvergate Media and director of Networkers Plc (since 2007) and trustee of Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham.
Political Positions[]
Astor was an early opponent of the HS2 high-speed rail project.[4]
Marriage and children[]
Astor married Annabel Lucy Veronica Jones (born 1948), daughter of Timothy Angus Jones and Patricia David Pandora Clifford on 14 January 1976. They have three children:
- Hon Flora Katherine Astor (born 7 June 1976)
- Hon William Waldorf "Will" Astor IV (born 18 January 1979)
- Hon James Jacob Astor (born 1981)
The heir to the viscountcy is his elder son, Will.[5]
His wife Annabel's stepfather was his uncle Michael Langhorne Astor.
Viscountess Astor was previously married to Sir Reginald Sheffield, 8th Baronet by whom she is the mother of Samantha Cameron, wife of former Prime Minister David Cameron.
Arms[]
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References[]
- ^ "Person Page".
- ^ thePeerage.com - Person Page 7535
- ^ "Founding Council | The Rothermere American Institute". Rothermere American Institute. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ Cohen, Nick (15 January 2012). "Viscount Astor, you really are a class apart | Nick Cohen". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ^ "Allegra Annabel Astor Birth Announcement". The Times. 21 August 2013.
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
- Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Astor
- http://www.thepeerage.com/p7535.htm#i75348
- 1951 births
- Living people
- Astor family
- Livingston family
- Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting
- Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act
- People educated at Eton College
- Viscounts Astor