Archibald Johnstone Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope, (born 22 April 1946) is a British

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

politician.

Education

Kirkwood was educated at Cranhill Secondary School in

Cranhill Cranhill is an inner city district and housing scheme in the north east of Glasgow, Scotland. Cranhill was developed from public funding in the early 1950s and was originally, chiefly composed of four-storey tenement blocks surrounding a patch ...

, Glasgow and studied pharmacy at

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

, gaining a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in 1971. He became a solicitor in

Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one of ...

and Notary public.

Parliamentary career

Kirkwood first joined parliament in 1971 as a parliamentary assistant as part of the

Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust {{Use British English, date=January 2018 The four Rowntree Trusts are funded from the legacies of the Quaker chocolate entrepreneurs and social reformers Joseph Rowntree and Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree. The trusts are based in the Rowntrees' home c ...

(now the

Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust {{Use British English, date=January 2018 The four Rowntree Trusts are funded from the legacies of the Quaker chocolate entrepreneurs and social reformers Joseph Rowntree and Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree. The trusts are based in the Rowntrees' home c ...

) Political Fellowship Scheme. In 1971 he worked for

David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...

MP in the office of the

Liberal Chief Whip The Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats is responsible for administering the whipping system in the party which ensures that members attend and vote in parliament when the party leadership requires a majority vote. Whips, of which two are appoin ...

. Kirkwood was the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, and later

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Roxburgh and Berwickshire from 1983 until 2005. In 1986 he with two other MPs

Simon Hughes Sir Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a former British politician. He is now the Chancellor of London South Bank University, an External Adviser to The Open University, and UK Strategic Adviser to Talgo. Hughes was Deputy Leader ...

MP and

Michael Meadowcroft Michael James Meadowcroft (born 6 March 1942) is a British author, politician and political affairs consultant. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds West from 1983 to 1987. Early life Meadowcroft was born in Halifax, West Yorks ...

MP and the

National League of Young Liberals National League of Young Liberals (NLYL), often just called the Young Liberals, was the youth wing of the British Liberal Party. It was in existence from 1903 to 1990. Together with the party's student wing, the Union of Liberal Students (ULS), ...

and other parts of the party produced the booklet ''Across the Divide: Liberal Values on Defence and Disarmament''. This was the rally call that defeated the party leadership in the debate over the issue of an independent nuclear deterrent. This led to Kirkwood and the other authors being jeered by other Liberal MPs and Peers at the 1986 Liberal Assembly. A Chair of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Work and Pensions, Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope, is listed in the House of Lords Register of Interests (Session 2006–2007) as the Chairman of the Unum Customer Advisory Panel for which he received payment from

Unum Unum Group is an American insurance company headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Founded as Union Mutual in 1848 and known as UnumProvident from 1999-2007, the company is part of the Fortune 500. Unum Group was created by the 1999 merger of ...

. He received additional payments for other work for Unum.

Personal life

Kirkwood was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

2003 New Year Honours The 2003 New Year's Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British monarch's honours system, where 1 January is marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of ot ...

, and dubbed by the Queen at the

Palace of Holyroodhouse The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh ...

on 3 July 2003. On 13 May 2005 it was announced that he would be created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

, and on 10 June 2005 he was created Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope, of Kirkhope in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

. He retired from the House of Lords on 2 September 2020. He married Rosemary Chester on 30 December 1972. Lady Kirkwood died on 22 October 2019. They have a son and daughter.

References

External links

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope
profile at the site of Liberal Democrats

TheyWorkForYou.com – Archy Kirkwood

The Public Whip – Archy Kirkwood
voting record
BBC News – Archy Kirkwood
profile 10 February 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkwood, Archy 1946 births Living people Politicians from Glasgow Scottish Liberal Party MPs Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs Kirkwood of Kirkhope UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Life peers created by Elizabeth II Politicians awarded knighthoods Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014