Raymond Asquith, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Asquith


Raymond Benedict Bartholomew Michael Asquith, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Asquith, is a British former diplomat and hereditary peer. Styled Viscount Asquith until he succeeded to his father's peerage titles on 16 January 2011, the earldom of Oxford and Asquith was created for his paternal great-grandfather, H. H. Asquith, a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Early life

Lord Oxford is the elder son of the Countess Anne and 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith. He was named after his paternal grandfather Raymond Asquith, a scholar and Army officer, who was killed in action during the First World War.
He was educated at Farleigh School and Ampleforth College, and subsequently obtained an MA degree at Balliol College, Oxford.

Career

Raymond Asquith joined HM Diplomatic Service in 1980 as a career diplomat, serving until 1997. As well as postings in London at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and to the Cabinet Office, he served as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Moscow from 1983–85, and Counsellor at HM Embassy in Kiev from 1992–97. According to the Daily Telegraph, he was MI6 station commander in Moscow and was personally responsible for exfiltrating the KGB officer and British agent Oleg Gordievsky concealed in his car.
Asquith was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for "diplomatic services" in 1992. Other family members who served as British diplomats include his father, his brother Sir Dominic Asquith, and his maternal grandfather Sir Michael Palairet.
He is currently a company director of the Ukrainian corporation owned by Dmytro Firtash, and is also active in various organizations working for or promoting charitable activities in Ukraine.
In October 2014, the Earl of Oxford and Asquith was elected in the House of Lords by-election to replace the late Lord Methuen and to sit as a Liberal Democrat, alongside his cousin Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury on the government benches in the House of Lords.

Personal life

In 1978, Asquith married the author and scholar Clare Pollen. The Earl and Countess of Oxford and Asquith have a son and four daughters.
The son, Mark Julian Asquith styled Viscount Asquith, is heir apparent to the family titles.
The senior branch of the Asquith family has been Roman Catholic since Katharine Asquith converted after the death of her husband. Lord Oxford's mother was also a Catholic, as is his wife.