James Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Lord Selkirk of Douglas
Office:Minister of State for Scotland
Primeminister:John Major
Term Start:6 July 1995
Term End:2 May 1997
Predecessor:The Lord Fraser of Carmyllie
Successor:Brian Wilson
Office1:Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
Term Start1:13 June 1987
Term End1:6 July 1995
Predecessor1:Michael Ancram
Successor1:Raymond Robertson
Office2:Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
Primeminister2:Margaret Thatcher
Term Start2:7 May 1979
Term End2:1 October 1981
Predecessor2:Alfred Bates
Successor2:Tony Newton
Parliament3:Scottish
Term Start3:6 May 1999
Term End3:2 April 2007
Office4:Member of the House of Lords
Status4:Lord Temporal
Term Start4:29 September 1997
Term End4:27 July 2023
Term Label4:Life peerage
Parliament5:United Kingdom
Constituency Mp5:Edinburgh West
Term Start5:10 October 1974
Term End5:8 April 1997
Predecessor5:Anthony Stodart
Successor5:Donald Gorrie
Birth Name:James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton
Birth Date:31 July 1942
Birth Place:Dungavel House, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Party:Scottish Conservative
Children:4

James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas, (31 July 1942 – 28 November 2023) was a Scottish Conservative politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh West and then as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothians region. Between 1997 and 2023 he was a member of the House of Lords as a life peer.

In 1994, he was briefly Earl of Selkirk, but disclaimed that peerage to remain in the House of Commons.

Early life

James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton was born at Dungavel House on 31 July 1942, to the 14th Duke of Hamilton and the former Lady Elizabeth Percy.[1] He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, where he was president of the Oxford Union, and thereafter at the University of Edinburgh, earning a Bachelor of Laws degree.[1]

Political career

Douglas-Hamilton served as an advocate and an interim Procurator Fiscal Depute from 1968 to 1972.[1] From 1972 to 1974, he was a councillor on Edinburgh District Council, and after unsuccessfully contesting Hamilton in February 1974, from October 1974 to 1997 he was Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West. During this time he served in the Scottish Office.[1] He was briefly Falkland Pursuivant in the Court of the Lord Lyon in July 1973.

In the years between 1987 and 1995 he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, and thereafter as Minister of State between 1995 and 1997. He had previously been a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury between 1979 and 1981. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor and Queen's Counsel in 1996.[1]

It was announced on 12 December 2011[2] that he would serve as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (as well as to the Free Church of Scotland), who is the Sovereign's personal representative to the Annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, in 2012.[1] [3] He also served the same role at the 2013 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland.[4]

Peerage

In 1994 on the death of George Nigel Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk, Selkirk inherited the earldom, although the succession was disputed, as Alasdair Douglas-Hamilton, a nephew of the 10th Earl, claimed it, ultimately without success.[1] Due to the terms of the Peerage Act 1963, Selkirk was considered to be unable to vote in the House of Commons until he had disclaimed the title, even though the succession to it had not been decided. As the Conservative government of the day had a small majority, he felt obliged to disclaim immediately.[1]

After losing his seat in the 1997 general election, he was elevated to the House of Lords as a life peer, being created Baron Selkirk of Douglas, of Cramond in the City of Edinburgh council area.[5] Lord Selkirk retired from the House of Lords on 27 July 2023.[6]

Scottish Parliament

From 1999 to 2007 he was a member of the Scottish Parliament and was deputy Convener of its Education Committee. In November 2005, Lord Selkirk of Douglas announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2003–2007 session of the Scottish Parliament. He continued to sit in the House of Lords, taking a particular interest in British legislation as it affects Scotland.[7]

Books

Lord Selkirk of Douglas wrote a number of books, including Motive For a Mission: The Story Behind Hess's Flight to Britain about his father's meeting with Rudolf Hess when he landed in Scotland during World War II. He later wrote a biography on Rudolf Hess entitled The Truth About Rudolf Hess (1993).[1]

Personal life

On 24 August 1974 Douglas-Hamilton married Priscilla Susan Buchan, daughter of John Buchan, 2nd Baron Tweedsmuir, and Priscilla Jean Fortescue Thomson, and granddaughter of the politician and novelist John Buchan. They had four sons - John, 12th Earl of Selkirk, Charles, Jamie, and Harry.[1]

Douglas-Hamilton was fifth in line to the Dukedom of Hamilton, after the sons and the brother of the 16th Duke.

He died of pneumonia on 28 November 2023, at the age of 81.[8] [9]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Lord Selkirk of Douglas, Edinburgh Tory MP who was a courteous and able politician – obituary. 29 November 2023. 29 November 2023. The Daily Telegraph. subscription.
  2. Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly Of The Church Of Scotland 2012 . Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street . 12 December 2011 .
  3. Web site: Free Church of Scotland 2012 General Assembly Concludes . 2024-04-19 . theaquilareport.com.
  4. Web site: General Assembly 2013 . 2024-04-19 . www.lifeandwork.org . en.
  5. News: Crown Office. The Edinburgh Gazette. 2506. 24274. 3 October 1997.
  6. Web site: Retirement of One Member (Retirement List) . 16 May 2023 . UK Parliament.
  7. Web site: Lord James to quit Holyrood and take up seat with peers. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070325193545/http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2325642005. 25 March 2007. 30 November 2005. Scotsman.com News.
  8. Web site: James Douglas-Hamilton obituary . 29 November 2023 . The Times.
  9. News: Learmonth . Andrew . 29 November 2023 . Tributes paid to James Douglas-Hamilton, former Tory MP and MSP . The Herald . 29 November 2023.