Although Lord Hooson was brought up on a farm on the outskirts of Denbigh he has lived most of his life in Montgomeryshire and represented the county for 17 years at the House of Parliament from 1962 - 1979.
He was educated at Denbigh Grammar School and then the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth, were he graduated in Law (1948). Two years later he married Shirley Margaret Wynne Hamer, and had two children.
Emlyn Hooson's interest in politics came during the time he served in the Royal Navy, from 1943 to 1946. During this time he became a dedicated Liberal, deciding to follow a political career.
At the age of 22, he was first adopted as a prospective Liberal candidate for the Caernarvon Boroughs. In the following years he became Chairman of the Liberal Party of Wales, and eventually succeeded in abolishing that body and bringing all the Liberal activities in Wales under the banner of the Welsh Liberal Party.
At the age of 35, Emlyn was made a Council for the Queen, the youngest barrister in Welsh history to win this status. He became a Liberal Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire from 1962 until 1979 before joining the House of Lords in 1979.
At various times, he was the party spokesman in the Commons on Defence, Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Legal matters, Agriculture and Welsh Affairs. He was also the Leader of the Welsh Liberal party from 1966 to 1979 and president between 1983 and 1986.
Most certainly it was Emlyn's close involvement with the cultural and musical life of Wales that led him to becoming the President of the National Eisteddfod at Newtown. He was also a member of the National Gorsedd of Bards, and became the President of the International Musical Eisteddfod held annually at Llangollen from 1987 until 1993.
In 1985, he became a non-executive director of Laura Ashley plc, and was later made Chairman in 1995. He was already Chairman of the Trustees of the Laura Ashley Foundation, a post he filled from 1986 to 1997.
In 2003 Hooson received a University of Wales honour for his excellence as a politician and his contribution to law and public life in Wales.
Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire for 17 years before joining the House of Lords in 1979.
