Terence Higgins, Baron Higgins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Lord Higgins
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Official portrait, 2018
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| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 7 April 1972 – 4 March 1974 |
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| Prime Minister | Edward Heath |
| Preceded by | Patrick Jenkin |
| Succeeded by | John Gilbert |
| Member of Parliament for Worthing |
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| In office 15 October 1964 – 8 April 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Otho Prior-Palmer |
| Succeeded by | constituency abolished |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
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| In office 28 October 1997 – 1 January 2019 Life peerage |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 January 1928 |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge |
| Medal record | ||
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| Men's athletics | ||
Representing  England |
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| Commonwealth Games | ||
| Silver | 1950 Auckland | 4x440 yard relay |
Terence Langley Higgins, also known as Baron Higgins, is a British politician who used to be a member of the Conservative Party. He was also a talented athlete. He won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games for England. He even competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics in the 400-meter race. He was born on January 18, 1928.
Contents
Early Life and Athletics
Terence Higgins was born in 1928. He went to Alleyn's School in Dulwich. From 1946 to 1948, he served in the Royal Air Force.
Olympic and Commonwealth Games
Higgins was a skilled athlete. He represented the Great Britain team at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. He also competed for Great Britain at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki. In 1950, he won a silver medal for the England athletics team. This was at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand.
Education and Early Career
In 1948, Higgins moved to New Zealand. There, he worked for a shipping company. Seven years later, he returned to Britain. He decided to study economics at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, he was the President of the Cambridge Union. After finishing his studies in 1958, he taught economics for a year at Yale University. Later, he worked as an economist for a company called Unilever.
Political Career
Terence Higgins had a long and important career in British politics.
Member of Parliament
He was elected as a Member of Parliament for Worthing. He held this position from 1964 until 1997. This means he represented the people of Worthing in the UK Parliament for 33 years.
Government Roles
From 1972 to 1974, Higgins served as the Financial Secretary to the Treasury. This is a very important job in the government. It involves helping to manage the country's money. In 1979, he became a Privy Councillor. This is a group of important advisors to the King or Queen.
Committee Work
Higgins was also very active in different committees in Parliament. He was part of the Treasury Select Committee from 1979 to 1992. He even served as its chairman from 1983 to 1992. He also worked on the Liaison Committee from 1984 to 1997. These committees help Parliament check the work of the government.
House of Lords
On October 28, 1997, Higgins was given the title of Baron Higgins. This made him a life peer, which means he became a member of the House of Lords for life. The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UK Parliament. While in the House of Lords, he was a Conservative shadow minister for work and pensions. This means he was part of the opposition party, checking the government's plans for work and pensions. He retired from the House of Lords on January 1, 2019.
Awards and Family
In 1993, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. This is a special honor given by the King or Queen. His wife, Dame Rosalyn Higgins, was also very accomplished. She was the President of the International Court of Justice. They have two children.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Terence Higgins
- Terry Higgins at Olympedia
- Terence Langley Higgins at Olympics.com (archived: OlympicChannel.com and Olympic.org)
