Hazel Osborne Byford, Baroness Byford, (born 14 January 1941) is a retired member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, where she served as

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for Food, Farming and Rural Affairs from 1997 to 2007. She sat as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

. Her father, Sir Cyril Osborne, was Conservative MP for

Louth, Lincolnshire Louth () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): Louth serves as an important town for a large rural area of east ...

from 1945 to 1969. She married, in 1962, Charles Barrie Byford, CBE (1931–2013). She was raised to the

Peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

for life as Baroness Byford, of

Rothley Rothley ( ) is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Charnwood in Leicestershire, England. Situated around west of the River Soar and north of Leicester, it had a population of 3,612 inhabitants . The population measured at the 20 ...

in the

County A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

in 1996, having been appointed a DBE in 1994. Byford is

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of Young Leicestershire, an honorary patron of the Church Lads' and Church Girls' Brigade as well as president of The Royal Agricultural Societies of England. From 2007 to 2010 she served as president of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers. She is a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the Royal Agricultural Society and an

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Leicester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England, and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. One of the city centre's five surviving medieval ch ...

, Chairman of Leicester Cathedral Council. She was also formerly the President of The Women's Farming Union, National Farm Attractions Network, and the Institute of the Agricultural Secretaries and Administrators. Byford serves as a Deputy Lieutenant for

. She was

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

of the

Worshipful Company of Farmers The Worshipful Company of Farmers is one of the Livery Company, Livery Companies of the City of London. The company became a Livery Company in 1952, with the support of HM King George VI, and was granted a royal charter three years later by H ...

and was Master of the Company in 2013/2014 Spring 2010 Newsletter of The Worshipful Company of Farmers in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

and still remains an active liveryman today. In 2008, Byford received an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

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(Hon DSc) from

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...

in recognition of her outstanding contribution and commitment to agriculture and rural life. She also holds Honorary Doctorates from Lincoln University, Leicester University and Harper Adams University.

Arms

References

External links

Baroness Byford profile
, conservatives.com; accessed 3 April 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Byford, Baroness Byford, Hazel 1941 births Living people People from Rothley People from Louth, Lincolnshire Byford, Hazel Byford, Baroness Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Byford, Hazel Byford, Baroness Deputy lieutenants of Leicestershire People associated with Nottingham Trent University Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014