Donald Euan Palmer Howard, 4th Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal (born 26 November 1923), is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 politician.

Howard is the eldest son of Donald Howard, 3rd Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal

Donald Howard, 3rd Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal

Donald Stirling Palmer Howard, 3rd Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom....

, and his wife the Hon. Diana Evelyn, daughter of Gerald Loder, 1st Baron Wakehurst. He was educated at King's Mead, Seaford, Eton

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

, Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

, and McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

, Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, and served in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 from 1942 to 1947, achieving the rank of Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

. Howard succeeded his father in the barony in 1959 and took his seat on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

. He served under Edward Heath

Edward Heath

Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....

 as a Lord-in-Waiting

Lord-in-Waiting

Most Lords in Waiting are Government whips in the House of Lords who are members of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. As members of the Royal Household their duties are nominal, though they are occasionally required to meet visiting political and state leaders on visits...

 (government whip in the House of Lords) from 1973 to 1974 and as Joint Under-Secretary of State for the Air Force

Under-Secretary of State for Air

The Under-Secretary of State for Air was a junior ministerial post in the United Kingdom Government, supporting the Secretary of State for Air in his role of managing the Royal Air Force....

 in 1974. After the Conservatives lost power in 1974 he was Joint Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords between 1976 and 1979. When the Conservatives returned to office in 1979 under Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...

, Howard was appointed Minister of State

Minister of State

Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...

 at the Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

, a post he held until 1981. He lost his seat in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999

House of Lords Act 1999

The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...

.

Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal married firstly Lady Jane Mary, daughter of Geoffrey Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave

Geoffrey Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave

Geoffrey Noel Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave KG GCVO TD , known as Viscount Chewton from 1933 to 1936, was a British peer and agriculturist....

, in 1954. They had two sons and four daughters but were divorced in 1977. He married secondly Patricia (née Thomas), widow of John Middleton, in 1978.