(Law, m.1969)

Lord Etherton was Master of the Rolls from 2016 to 2021, prior to which he was Chancellor of the High Court from 2013, making him the most senior openly gay judge in British history.

A statement issued by the Cabinet Office when Terence was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) recorded that:

​“In May 2022, he was appointed as the chair of the independent review into the impact of the historic ban on LGBT military personnel and veterans, which was published in July 2023. In writing his report, he personally read every testimony provided to the Review, over 1,400 pieces, some of considerable length. He met with veterans and charities throughout the UK, attended Prides throughout Britain, and met a range of ministers, other parliamentarians and military officers from the UK and abroad. He dedicated 15 months of his life, without pay or reward, to write and deliver the historic, ground-breaking report and the recommendations, which were fully accepted by the Government, are now being implemented in full. His work unveiled a culture of homophobia, bullying, blackmail, sexual assault, abusive investigations into sexual orientation and disgraceful medical examinations resulting in appalling consequences in terms of mental health and wellbeing, homelessness, employment, personal relationships and financial hardship. His commitment to the truth has helped draw a line under this unjust aspect of the history of the UK’s armed forces that persisted prior to 2000 but whose damaging consequences are still experienced by many LGBT veterans today."  

​In his valedictory speech upon retirement from the judiciary, Terence spoke of the discrimination he faced as Britain’s first openly gay senior judge, saying he hoped his decision to live a ‘totally open and honest life as a gay man in a court setting’ would inspire others to do the same. The Law Society Gazette reported:

“There was an ‘unwritten rule’ in the judiciary until the 1990s that gay men would not be appointed to the bench, purportedly because they would be vulnerable to blackmail. Etherton – who married his partner in 2014 – is the first ever Master of the Rolls to have a husband.