Jonathan Clive Marks, Baron Marks of Henley-on-Thames, QC is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

 and Liberal Democrat

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...

 life peer

Life peer

In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...

 in the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

.

Born on 19 October 1952, Marks was called to the bar

Call to the bar

The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...

 by Inner Temple

Inner Temple

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

 in 1975, practicing on the Western Circuit. During the 1980s and early 1990s he was a visiting lecturer in advocacy

Advocate

An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...

 at the University of Malaya

University of Malaya

The University of Malaya is located on a campus near the centre of Kuala Lumpur, and is the oldest university in Malaysia. It was founded in 1905 as a public-funded tertiary institution...

, Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

, the University of Mauritius and Sri Lanka Law College

Sri Lanka Law College

Sri Lanka Law College was established as the Ceylon Law College under the Council of Legal Education in 1874 in order to impart a formal legal education to those who wished to be lawyers in Ceylon...

. He was appointed QC

Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

 in 1995. He has been a Freeman of the City of London since 1975 and is a member of the Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers

Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers

The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Pattenmakers, who were incorporated by Royal Charter in 1670, were makers of wooden-soled overshoes. Pattens were helpful in walking through the muddy streets of London. However, with the advent of...

.

Marks joined the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party (UK)

The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...

 on its foundation in 1981. He contested Weston-super-Mare

Weston-super-Mare (UK Parliament constituency)

Weston-super-Mare is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

 at the 1983 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1983

The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...

 and Falmouth and Camborne

Falmouth and Camborne

Falmouth and Camborne was, from 1950 until 2010, a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...

 at the 1987 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1987

The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...

 as well as Cornwall and Plymouth at the 1984 European election.

Following the creation of the Liberal Democrats Marks served as a member of the party's Committee for England in 1988-9. He has been a member of the Federal Policy Committee from 2004 to 2010 and was chairman of the Lib Dem Lawyers Association from 2001-7.

On 19 November 2010, it was announced that Marks would be created a life peer. He was created Baron Marks of Henley-on-Thames, of Henley-on-Thames in the County of Oxfordshire, on 13 January 2011.