James Michael Leathes Prior was born on 11 October 1927 and grew up in Norwich. He was educated at Charterhouse School, Surrey and Pembroke College, Cambridge. In 1954 he married Jane Gifford.
At Cambridge, Prior did not join the Union or a political party. He became a professional farmer, and had little political experience when, on his first attempt, he was elected to represent Lowestoft in 1959. He became Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1970-1972) and Leader of the House of Commons (1972-1974). During Margaret Thatcher’s government he was Secretary of State for Employment (1979-1981) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1981-1984), although he was regarded as out of sympathy with some of the views of the Prime Minister and the right of the conservative party.
He stood down from the House of Commons in 1987 and was made a life peer as Baron Prior of Brampton in the County of Suffolk. Jim Prior passed away on 12 December 2016.