Chance Encounters

Tim Razzall was born in 1943 into a political family, his father being a Liberal candidate in the 1945 general election. Razzall quali fied as a solicitor in 1969 and worked for Frere Cholmeley, becoming a partner in 1973. The following year he moved into politics, contesting the Mortlake ward in Richmond, which he won and held for the next twenty-four years. Razzall later went on to become the joint treasurer of the Liberal Party and then of the newly merged Liberal Democrats. He was also president of the Liberal Democrat Councillors in the '90 s, playing a crucial role in both of the decade's general elections. Despite being chosen as European Lawyer of the Year, Razzall left the law to set up his own business advice company, Argonaut Associates. He was appointed CBE in 1993, made a life peer in 1997, and is now co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Committee on Treasury matters.