Tessa Keswick Explained

Honorific Prefix:The Honourable
Tessa Keswick
Birth Name:Annabel Thérèse Fraser
Birth Date:15 October 1942
Alma Mater:Woldingham School
Spouse:Hugh Mackay, 14th Lord Reay (div.)
Father:Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat

The Honourable Annabel Thérèse Keswick, Lady Keswick (née Fraser; 15 October 1942 – 13 September 2022), was a Scottish lady from the Fraser family who married Lord Reay and then Sir Henry Keswick. She was influential in British politics as the special advisor to Kenneth Clarke and then as director of the Centre for Policy Studies. She was Chancellor of the University of Buckingham from 2014 to 2020.

Professional career

Keswick served as a special policy advisor to Kenneth Clarke from 1989 to 1995.[1] During that time she worked at the Department of State for Health, the Department of Education and Science, the Home Office and HM Treasury.

After resigning from this position in 1995,[2] she became executive director of the Centre for Policy Studies, eventually becoming its deputy chairman from January 2004 until April 2017.[3] In this role she contributed to, commissioned and published over 100 public policy pamphlets on the European Union, the Constitution, law and order, education, health, tax and regulatory affairs and women's issues. She has written on these subjects for most of the national newspapers, and appeared on radio and on television.

Journalism

Keswick has contributed articles for The Daily Telegraph,[4] The New Statesman,[5] Financial Times,[6] and The Spectator,[7] among other publications.

Books

On 9 January 2020, Keswick published The Colour of the Sky After Rain,[8] about her impression of the Chinese people and their culture after decades of travel to China and the Far East.[9] [10]

Other positions

In September 2013, Keswick was appointed a director of Daily Mail and General Trust. In the same month, she was elected chancellor of the University of Buckingham, a position she held until 2020.[11]

She was a patron of the British Museum, the National Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum. In July 2007 she became a Fellow of King's College London.[12]

Personal life and death

Keswick was the daughter of Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat and Rosamond Delves (née Broughton). She was married firstly to Hugh Mackay, 14th Lord Reay, and then to businessman Sir Henry Keswick from 1985.[13]

Keswick died of ovarian cancer on 13 September 2022, at the age of 79.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Biography - Tessa Keswick - Author. Tessa Keswick. 20 January 2020.
  2. Web site: Treasury adviser to resign. 25 February 1995. The Independent. 20 January 2020. Patricia Wynn-Davies. ESI Media.
  3. Web site: Blogs by Tessa Keswick. Centre for Policy Studies. 23 January 2020.
  4. News: Who is telling the truth about the health service?. Keswick. Tessa. 2 December 2001. 20 January 2020. 0307-1235. The Telegraph.
  5. Web site: Writers. 20 January 2020. New Statesman.
  6. Web site: Tessa Keswick. Financial Times. 20 January 2020.
  7. Web site: Author: Tessa Keswick. The Spectator. 20 January 2020.
  8. Web site: The Colour of the Sky After Rain. Head of Zeus. 20 January 2020.
  9. News: Tessa Keswick's three rules for winning over China: don't show off, don't grovel and tell the truth. Julia Llewellyn Smith. . 27 January 2020. 0140-0460.
  10. Web site: Tessa Keswick: The Changing Landscape of China. Robert Elms. 9 January 2020. BBC Radio London. 20 January 2020.
  11. Web site: Dame Mary Archer appointed new Chancellor of the University of Buckingham. Dean. Sam. 23 January 2020. Buckingham Advertiser. en. 2020-05-14.
  12. Web site: Fellows and Honorary Fellows of the College as at June 2019. 8 April 2020. June 2019. King's College London.
  13. Web site: Annabel Terese (Tessa) FRASER. Clement-Jones family - Person Sheet. 20 January 2020. 9 November 2008.