Viscount Simon, of Stackpole Elidor in the

County of Pembroke Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and administrative headquarters of Pembrokeshi ...

, was a title in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

. It was created on 20 May 1940 for the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

politician

Sir John Simon John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, (28 February 1873 – 11 January 1954) was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. He is one of three people to ...

. He was

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

from 1915 to 1916 and 1935 to 1937, Foreign Secretary from 1931 to 1935,

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

from 1937 to 1940 and

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

from 1940 to 1945. His second wife Kathleen was a noted campaigner against slavery and other forms of involuntary servitude worldwide, and against

racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their Race (human categorization), race, ancestry, ethnicity, ethnic or national origin, and/or Human skin color, skin color and Hair, hair texture. Individuals ...

. (Chapter 3, Lady Kathleen Simon and Antislavery, pages 103–145) From 1993 to 2021, the title was held by his grandson, the third Viscount, who succeeded his father in 1993. He was one of the ninety elected

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

s that remained 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 ...

after the passing of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

, and sat on the Labour benches. He was married to Mary Elizabeth Burns from 1969 until her death in 2020. He died on 15 August 2021 and was survived by his daughter, Fiona, but he had no male heir and the viscountcy became extinct upon his death.

Viscounts Simon (1940)

* John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon (1873–1954) * John Gilbert Simon, 2nd Viscount Simon (1902–1993) *

Jan David Simon, 3rd Viscount Simon Jan David Simon, 3rd Viscount Simon (20 July 1940 – 15 August 2021), was a British hereditary peer and member of the House of Lords. Early life and education Simon was born in 1940, the only son of John Simon, 2nd Viscount Simon, and his wif ...

(1940–2021)

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simon Extinct viscountcies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1940 Peerages created for lord high chancellors of Great Britain Peerages created for UK MPs 1940 establishments in the United Kingdom 2021 disestablishments in the United Kingdom