Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth honoured as Fellow

Lord Bourne (LLB and LLM) is a Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip) and an alumnus of Aberystwyth University.

After the 2015 General Election he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, and the Wales Office. Lord Bourne continues to have a substantial connection with the University.

He is a member of the Advisory Board of Aberystwyth's Centre for Welsh Legal Affairs as well as the Honorary President of Aberystwyth Conservative Future.

Lord Bourne was presented as Fellow on Wednesday 15 July by Dr Anwen Elias, Senior Lecturer at the Department of International Politics.

Presentation of Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Dirprwy Ganghellor, Is-Ganghellor, darpar raddedigion, gyfeillion.  Pleser o’r mwyaf yw cyflwyno'r Arglwydd Nicholas Bourne yn gymrawd Prifysgol Aberystwyth.

Pro Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, prospective graduates and supporters.  It is an honour and a privilege to present Lord Nicholas Bourne as a Fellow of Aberystwyth University.

Nicholas Bourne was born in Aberystwyth, and graduated with a law degree from this University.

After some time as an academic, Nick entered the world of politics in the 1980s as a member of the Conservative Party. As the Conservatives' Chief Spokesman in Wales during the 1990s, he played a prominent role in debating proposals for Welsh devolution. After a referendum in 1997 voted to create a new National Assembly for Wales, he sat on the advisory group which set up the working arrangements of this new body.

He was elected to the National Assembly for Wales in May 1999 representing Mid and West Wales, and within a few months became the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, a post he held until 2011. In this role, he contributed to policy-making through his work on various Assembly Committees. But just as significant, if not more so, was his role in adapting the Welsh Conservative party to the new realities and opportunities of politics in post-devolution Wales. Nick oversaw substantial organisational and policy changes that, since 1999, have revived the electoral fortunes of the Welsh Conservatives. Having undertaken research on party politics in Wales myself, I can say with confidence that the fact that the party now constitutes the second political force in Wales is, in large part, down to Nick's skilful leadership over more than a decade at the helm.

Nick's impact on Welsh politics and society doesn't end there. Between 2011 and 2014, he was a member of the influential Commission on Devolution in Wales, which made recommendations on the fiscal accountability and powers of the Welsh Assembly.

And, in September 2013, he was appointed to the House of Lords, as Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth. He was made a whip in that chamber in August 2014, and after the 2015 General Election he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, and the Wales Office.

Throughout this time, Nick has maintained strong links with the University: He is a member of the Advisory Board of Aberystwyth's Centre for Welsh Legal Affairs, Honorary President of the Aberystwyth branch of Conservative Future, and he has contributed to post-graduate teaching in the Department of International Politics.

Mae'n fraint i fi yn bersonnol, ac i'r Brifysgol, i gael cyfle i gyd-nabod a dathlu cyfraniad aruthrol a pharhaol Nick i wleidyddiaeth a chymdeithas Cymru.

It is a great honour for me personally, and for the University, to be able to recognise and celebrate Nick's substantial and on-going contribution to Welsh politics and society.

Dirprwy Ganghellor, mae’n bleser gen i gyflwyno'r Arglwydd Nicholas Bourne i chi yn Gymrawd. 

Pro Chancellor, it is my absolute pleasure to present Lord Nicholas Bourne to you as a Fellow of Aberystwyth University.