William Bach, Baron Bach

William "Willy" Stephen Goulden Bach, Baron Bach (born 25 December, 1946) is a British Labour member of the House of Lords and currently a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice replacing Lord Hunt of Kings Heath.

Bach was educated at Westminster School and then New College, Oxford, before being called to the Bar in 1972. He served as a barrister and a local councillor in Leicester, and was made Head of Chambers at King Street Chambers in Leicester on the Midland Circuit in 1996.

In 1998, Bach was raised to the peerage, as Baron Bach, of Lutterworth in the County of Leicestershire, where he lives. He was appointed a Government whip in the Lords in 1999, and so officially one of Her Majesty's "Lords in Waiting".

From November 2000, Lord Bach served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Lord Chancellor's Department, until June 8 2001 when, after the general election, Lord Bach replaced The Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement – one of the most high-profile jobs in the Ministry of Defence.

During Lord Bach's tenure, the United Kingdom was involved in choosing between the Boeing X-32 and Lockheed X-35 designs for the Joint Strike Fighter project. Highlighting the level of British participation in the project, Lord Bach was present at the U.S. Department of Defense announcement that Lockheed Martin had won the competition. Lord Bach was also at the signing of "Type Acceptance" – essentially, the release into service – of the RAF's Typhoon platform.

Following the 2005 general election, Lord Drayson succeeded Lord Bach at the Ministry of Defence, and Lord Bach was transferred to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State responsible for Sustainable Farming and Food. He held this post until 2006, when he returned to the back benches. As of 5 October 2008, Lord Bach was brought back into government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice replacing former Lord Hunt of Kings Heath OBE.

Lord Bach was chairman of the SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems SpA Board of Directors from September 2006 until November 2007, when he [http://www.finmeccanica.com/EN/Common/files/Holding/Corporate/Sala_stampa/Comunicati_stampa/Anno_2007/ComFin__LordBach_09_11_07_ING.pdf resigned from the board] in order to return to his role as a government whip. In October 2008, Lord Bach was promoted to become a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice.

In "Who's Who", Lord Bach lists his interests as watching cricket and football (he is a supporter of Leicester City FC). He is married, with three children.

External links

* [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199798/minutes/980728/ldminute.htm Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords]