Background
Williams was born near Prestatyn, in North Wales, a son of Albert Thomas Williams and his wife Selina, née Evans.
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Williams was born near Prestatyn, in North Wales, a son of Albert Thomas Williams and his wife Selina, née Evans.
He was educated at Rhyl Grammar School and at Queens" College, Cambridge.
He had a successful legal career, becoming a Queen"s Counsel, Recorder, Deputy High Court Judge and Chairman of the Bar Council. He was created a life peer on 20 July 1992 as Baron Williams of Mostyn, of Great Tew in the County of Oxfordshire and became an opposition spokesman in the House of Lords on Legal Affairs, and later Northern Ireland. After Labour"s election victory he appointed a Home Office minister, and in 1999 became Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland.
He was appointed Leader of the House of Lords in 2001, initially with the sinecure office of Lord Privy Seal, for which Lord President of the Council was substituted in 2003.
He collapsed and died suddenly at his home in Gloucestershire, at the age of 62. In his book A View from the Foothills Chris Mullin wrote that he thought that Gareth Williams was most likely to succeed Derry Irvine as Lord Chancellor.
The position was ultimately fulfilled by Charles Falconer.
As part of the celebrations to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Life Peerages Acting, Lord Williams was voted by the current members of the House of Lords as the outstanding life peer since the creation of the life peerage.