Jenkins, Roy Jenkins, Baron

Jenkins (of Hillhead), Roy (Harris) Jenkins, Baron

(born Nov. 11, 1920, Abersychan, Monmouthshire, Eng.—died Jan. 5, 2003, Oxfordshire) British politician. Elected to Parliament in 1948, he served in Labour Party governments (1964–70, 1974–76). A strong supporter of NATO and the European Community, he was president of the executive branch of the latter (1976–81). He resigned from the Labour Party, and in 1981, with other Labour dissidents, he formed the Social Democratic Party, which he led in 1982–83. After accepting a life peerage (1987), he became leader of the Social and Liberal Democratic Party in the House of Lords. He subsequently became chancellor of the University of Oxford.