Mark Bonham Carter, Baron Bonham-Carter

Mark Raymond Bonham Carter, Baron Bonham-Carter, was born on 11 February 1922 and died on 4 September 1994. He was an English publisher and politician. He was a member of the Bonham-Carter family and was granted a life peerage in 1986.

Early Life and Education:

He was the son of Sir Maurice Bonham-Carter, a Liberal activist, and Lady Violet Asquith, daughter of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith. Bonham-Carter was the second of four children, with siblings named Helen, Laura, and Raymond. His education included attendance at Winchester College followed by studies at Balliol College, Oxford, where he read PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics). His university studies were interrupted by World War II.

Military Service:

In November 1941, Bonham-Carter was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards. During the war, he was captured in Tunisia in 1943 and was held as a prisoner in Italy. He escaped imprisonment and walked approximately four hundred miles to rejoin British lines, an act for which he was mentioned in dispatches.

Post-War Activities:

Following the war, Bonham-Carter ran as the Liberal candidate for Barnstaple in the 1945 general election but was not successful. He returned to complete his final year at Oxford University, then spent a year at the University of Chicago. Subsequently, he worked in publishing for the Collins publishing firm but left due to disagreements over his political activities.

Marriage and Family:

In 1955, he married Leslie, Lady St Just, who was previously married to Peter George Grenfell, 2nd Baron St Just. Leslie was the younger daughter of American magazine publisher Condé Nast. Bonham-Carter and Leslie had three daughters: Jane (who was later created Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury), Virginia, and Eliza. He also had a stepdaughter from Leslie's previous marriage.

Political Career:

Initially inclined towards the Conservative Party, Bonham-Carter’s political alignment shifted after the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the election of Jo Grimond as Liberal Party leader that same year. In the 1958 Torrington by-election, he was selected as the Liberal candidate and unexpectedly won the seat, overturning a 9,000-vote majority with a narrow margin of 219 votes. This victory marked a significant achievement for the Liberal Party, representing their first by-election gain since 1929 and signaling a Liberal revival. Despite this success, he narrowly lost the seat to the Conservatives in the 1959 general election. He remained a close adviser to Grimond and made two further attempts to regain the seat, including an unsuccessful run in the 1964 general election.

Later Life:

Bonham-Carter continued his involvement in politics and public service through various roles. He was a prominent member of the Collins publishing firm and maintained friendships with figures such as Roy Jenkins, who was reportedly his wife's lover. He served as a literary agent for Jenkins. His public service included being the first chairman of the Race Relations Board (1966–1971) and the Community Relations Commission (1971–1977).

In the arts, he was a director of the Royal Opera House (1958–1982), a Governor of the Royal Ballet (1960–1994) and served as vice-chairman of the BBC from 1975 to 1980, although he was vetoed as chairman by Margaret Thatcher. On 21 July 1986, Bonham-Carter was created a life peer as Baron Bonham-Carter, of Yarnbury in Wiltshire. In this capacity, he served as the Foreign Affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats. His final political campaign focused on obtaining British citizenship for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, a measure passed posthumously.

Death:

Mark Bonham-Carter died from a heart attack while on holiday in Italy on 4 September 1994. He is buried in St. John the Baptist Church in Stockton, Wiltshire. He was an uncle of actress Helena Bonham Carter.