Sir Nicholas Cosmo Bonsor, 4th Baronet, DL (9 December 1942 – 21 March 2023) was a British Conservative politician.

Sir Nicholas Bonsor
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
In office
5 July 1995 – 5 May 1997
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byDouglas Hogg
Succeeded byTony Lloyd
Member of Parliament
for Upminster
In office
9 June 1983 – 8 April 1997
Preceded byJohn Loveridge
Succeeded byKeith Darvill
Member of Parliament
for Nantwich
In office
3 May 1979 – 13 May 1983
Preceded byJohn Cockroft
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born(1942-12-09)9 December 1942
London, England
Died21 March 2023(2023-03-21) (aged 80)
Political partyConservative
Residence(s)Soulbury, Buckinghamshire
Alma mater

Early life

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Bonsor was educated at Eton College and Keble College, Oxford.

Political career

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Having unsuccessfully fought Newcastle-under-Lyme in both February and October 1974 elections, Bonsor was Member of Parliament for Nantwich from 1979 to 1983, then for Upminster from 1983 until he lost the seat to Labour's Keith Darvill in 1997. He was Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1997 and practised as a barrister in London.

In 1994, just before he became a minister, Bonsor had challenged the incumbent Sir Marcus Fox for the chairmanship of the influential 1922 Committee, and narrowly lost by 129 votes to 116.[1] Bonsor, a Eurosceptic, had previously rebelled against the government by voting several times against the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty in the 1992-93 parliamentary session.[2]

Post-Parliamentary career

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Bonsor lived at Liscombe Park near Soulbury in Buckinghamshire and was a Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire.

Bonsor pledged support, by appearing together in a public meeting, to Nigel Farage MEP in his 2010 general election campaign for the Buckingham constituency, standing against the speaker of the House (standing for re-election), John Bercow.

Bonsor was a vice-president of the Standing Council of the Baronetage.[3]

Personal life and death

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Sir Nicholas Bonsor was the elder son of Sir Bryan Bonsor (1916–1977) and his wife Elizabeth Hambro (1920–1995). In 1969, he married Hon. Nadine Marisa Lampson, now the Hon. Lady Bonsor, a daughter of Graham Curtis Lampson, 2nd Baron Killearn. They had five children, including Sir Alexander Cosmo Walrond Bonsor (b. 1976) and entrepreneur Mary Bonsor (b. 1987).

Bonsor died on 21 March 2023, at the age of 80.[4] His eldest son Alexander succeeded to the baronetcy as the 5th Baronet.

Notes

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  1. ^ "Sir Marcus Fox". www.theguardian.com. 19 March 2002. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  2. ^ "No 10 stands by Clarke's accuser". www.independent.co.uk. 24 September 1996. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Standing Council of the Baronetage".
  4. ^ "Sir Nicholas Bonsor, Right-wing Eurosceptic MP who served under John Major – obituary". The Telegraph. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.

References

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  • Times Guide to the House of Commons, Times Newspapers Limited, 1997
  • Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, [page needed]
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Nantwich
19791983
Constituency abolished
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Upminster
19831997
Succeeded by
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baronet
(of Kingswood)
1977–2023
Succeeded by