John Major

:This article is about the British politician. For the 15th-century Scottish philosopher called John Major, see John Mair. For the Canadian politician, see John C. Major.

Honours

In the New Year's Honours List of 1999, John Major was made a Companion of Honour for his work on the Northern Ireland Peace Process. On April 23, 2005, Major was made a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter by Queen Elizabeth II. He formally received the honor on June 13, along with Lady Soames and Lord Bingham of Cornhill. Membership of the Order of the Garter is an honour traditionally bestowed on former British prime ministers (though, since it is an order associated specifically with England, a Scottish prime minister would most likely be made a Knight of the Thistle). It is limited, however, to twenty-five people; the deaths of Lord Longford in 2001, the Duke of Devonshire late in 2004 and the former Labour prime minister James Callaghan in March 2005 reduced the number of members of the Order to twenty-two. This enabled Major and two others to be appointed on St George's Day, the traditional date of accessions to the Order. (Another vacancy was apparent in July 2005 after the death of Sir Edward Heath.)

Related Topics:
Companion of Honour - Northern Ireland - April 23 - 2005 - Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter - Queen Elizabeth II - June 13 - Lady Soames - Lord Bingham of Cornhill - Order of the Garter - England - Scottish - Knight of the Thistle - Lord Longford - 2001 - Duke of Devonshire - 2004 - James Callaghan - St George's Day - Edward Heath

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