Hon. Norman St. John-Stevas (1966-1967)

Norman St. John-Stevas was a Conservative politician, member of the British House of Commons, and a well-known writer and editor. After studying at a Roman Catholic seminary for six months, he studied law at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, and earned a PhD on Walter Bagehot from the University of London and a doctorate of laws from Yale, teaching after graduation both in the US and the UK. He first joined the British government in 1972 as an aide to Margaret Thatcher in her role as Minister of Education. When Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979, she made St. John-Stevas Leader of the House of Commons, with responsibility for managing the government’s agenda. After being expelled from Thatcher’s cabinet, he became a member of the House of Lords as Lord St. John of Fawsley in 1987. John-Stevas was also the author of numerous works on morality and the law, including Obscenity and the Law (1956), The Right to Life (1963), and Agonizing Choice: Birth Control, Religion, and the Law (1971). He also edited a 15-volume collection of 19th-century political commentator Walter Bagehot’s writings. After leaving his government position, he chaired the Royal Fine Arts Commission.