Terence Langley Higgins, Baron Higgins, (born 18 January 1928) is a British former Conservative Party politician and

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

silver medalist winner for England. He also competed in the men's 400 metres at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Biography

Born in 1928, Higgins was educated at

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, independent, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundatio ...

, Dulwich. He served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

from 1946 to 1948. He represented the Great Britain team at the 1948 Olympic Games in London and represented the Great Britain team again at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki. In between he won a silver medal for the England athletics team at the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games were the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. A documentary fil ...

in Auckland, New Zealand. In 1948 he immigrated to New Zealand, where he worked for a shipping firm, but seven years later returned to Britain to study economics as a mature student at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

. During his time at Cambridge, Higgins was President of the

Cambridge Union The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the oldest ...

. After graduating in 1958, he spent a year as an economics lecturer at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

before choosing to work for

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

as an economist. Higgins was the Member of Parliament for

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

from 1964 to 1997, and

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the ch ...

between 1972 and 1974. He became a Privy Councillor in 1979, and served on the

Treasury Select Committee The House of Commons Treasury Committee (often referred to as the Treasury Select Committee) is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The committee is responsible for examining and scrutinizing the ...

from 1979 to 1992 (serving as chairman from 1983 to 1992), and on the Liaison Committee from 1984 to 1997. Higgins was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Higgins, of Worthing in the County of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

on 28 October 1997. While in opposition, he served as the Conservative shadow minister for work and pensions in 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 ...

. He was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the 1993 New Years Honours List. Higgins retired from the House of Lords on 1 January 2019. His wife, Dame

Rosalyn Higgins Rosalyn Cohen Higgins, Baroness Higgins, (born 2 June 1937) is a British former president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). She was the first female judge elected to the ICJ, and was elected to a three-year term as its president in ...

, with whom he has two children, was the President of the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

References

External links

* * * 1928 births Living people English male sprinters British male sprinters Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British sportsperson-politicians Royal Air Force officers Conservative Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Presidents of the Cambridge Union Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Higgins, Terence Higgins, Baron Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England People educated at Alleyn's School Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain Deputy lieutenants of West Sussex Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics {{England-sprint-athletics-bio-stub