Colin MOYNIHAN

The coxswain to the silver medal winning British rowing eight in the Moscow Olympics, his sporting career began at Monmouth School and flourished at University College, Oxford. He coxed the victorious Oxford crew in the 1977 Oxford-Cambridge boat race. Despite being a prospective candidate for Mrs. Thatcher’s Conservative party he rallied support against the decision of the Amateur Rowing Association to boycott the Moscow Games of 1980, a vote by the rowers themselves eventually overturning the decision. As well as a an Olympic silver he won a world championship silver medal in 1981 and represented Great Britain in the 1984 Games.

Elected to the British Parliament in 1983, it came as a surprise when he was appointed Minister for Sport in 1987; it was a post he was to hold for three years. Losing his place in the House of Commons following the 1992 general election, he started a career in business.

Moynihan was involved in a lengthy legal case following the death of his brother, the 3rd Baron Moynihan. He eventually won the legal right to the title of 4th Baron Moynihan when it was proved that other claimants did not have a legitimate claim to title. He is currently a member of the House of Lords and was the Shadow Minister of Sport from 2003-2005.

In 2005 he was elected chairman of the British Olympic Association.