Donald James Mackay, 11th Lord Reay (22 December 1839 – 1 August 1921) (in the Netherlands: Donald Jacob, Baron Mackay, Lord of Ophemert and Zennewijnen) was a Dutch-born British administrator and

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 ...

politician.

Background

Mackay was born ''Donald Jacob baron Mackay'' in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

,Birth certificate, The Hague Municipal Archive
/ref> the son of

Aeneas Mackay, 10th Lord Reay In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

,thepeerage.com Sir Donald James Mackay, 11th Lord Reay
/ref> a Dutch member of Parliament, and

jonkvrouw (female equivalent: ; french: Écuyer; en, Squire) is an honorific in the Low Countries denoting the lowest rank within the nobility. In the Netherlands, this in general concerns a prefix used by the untitled nobility. In Belgium, this is the ...

Maria Catharina Anna Jacoba Fagel, daughter of mr. Jacob baron Fagel and jkvr. Maria Boreel, relative of the Boreel baronets.''Nederland's Adelsboek'' 88 (1999), p. 28.

Political career

Lord Reay succeeded his father in 1876 and was naturalised as a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

in 1877. He was created Baron Reay, of Durness in the County of Sutherland, in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

, in 1881. In 1885 he was appointed

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

, a post he held until 1890. He was appointed a

Knight Grand Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

in 1887 and a

Knight Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

in 1890. After his return to Britain he served as

Under-Secretary of State for India This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the period of British rule between 1858 and 1937 for India(and Burma by extension), and for India and Burma from 193 ...

between 1894 and 1895 in

Lord Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of ...

Liberal administration. He was also a British delegate at the Second Peace Conference which led to the signing of the Hague Convention 1907. Other British delegates included

Ernest Satow Sir Ernest Mason Satow, (30 June 1843 – 26 August 1929), was a British scholar, diplomat and Japanologist. Satow is better known in Japan than in Britain or the other countries in which he served, where he was known as . He was a key fig ...

and

Eyre Crowe Sir Eyre Alexander Barby Wichart Crowe (30 July 1864 – 28 April 1925) was a British diplomat, an expert on Germany in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He is best known for his vehement warning, in 1907, that Germany's expansionism was mo ...

. Perhaps his most memorable contribution to politics was during the crisis over the

People's Budget The 1909/1910 People's Budget was a proposal of the Liberal government that introduced unprecedented taxes on the lands and incomes of Britain's wealthy to fund new social welfare programmes. It passed the House of Commons in 1909 but was bloc ...

of 1909–10, where the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, violating a convention going back more than 200 years, rejected the Budget. Reay strongly opposed this act, and gave the memorable warning: "Oligarchies are seldom destroyed and more frequently commit suicide".

Other public appointments

Apart from his political and administrative career Lord Reay was

Rector of St Andrews University The Lord Rector of the University of St Andrews is the president of the University Court of the University of St Andrews; the University Court is the supreme governing body of the University. Overview The Rector is elected every three years by ...

from 1884 to 1886, Chairman of the

London School Board The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 was the first to provide for ...

(1897–1904), President of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

(1893–1921) and

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, and the first President of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

from 1902 to 1907. He was also

Lord Lieutenant of Roxburghshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Roxburghshire. The office was replaced by the Lord Lieutenant of Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale in 1975. *John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe 17 March 1794 – 19 March 1804 *Henry ...

from 1892 to 1918 and served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the first day of the 1882

Co-operative Congress The Co-operative Congress is the national conference of the UK Co-operative Movement. The first of the modern congresses took place in 1869 following a series of meetings called the "Owenite Congress" in the 1830s. Members of Co-operatives UK ...

. He was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1906 and made a

Knight of the Thistle 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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

in 1911. He received an honorary doctorate (

LL.D Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...

) from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

during their 450th jubilee celebrations in June 1901. He remained in contact with the Dutch community and attended the reception and spoke with the famous Dutch writer

Louis Couperus Louis Marie-Anne Couperus (10 June 1863 – 16 July 1923) was a Dutch novelist and poet. His oeuvre contains a wide variety of genres: lyric poetry, psychological and historical novels, novellas, short stories, fairy tales, feuilletons and ske ...

(1863–1923) on the occasion of his visit to London in June 1921, being invited by the Dutch ambassador in London,

René de Marees van Swinderen Jonkheer, Jhr. Reneke (René) de Marees van Swinderen (6 October 1860, in Groningen (city), Groningen – 17 January 1955, in London) was a Dutch people, Dutch diplomat and politician. He married Elizabeth Lindsay Glover 21 December 1904 in Washin ...

(1860–1955), and which visit was mainly organised by his translator

Alexander Teixeira de Mattos Alexander Louis Teixeira de Mattos (April 9, 1865 – December 5, 1921), known as Alexander Teixeira de Mattos, was a Dutch-English journalist, literary critic and publisher, who gained his greatest fame as a translator. Early life The Teix ...

(1865–1921).Ronald Breugelmans, ''Louis Couperus. Lion of the season''. Raamsdonk, De Roofpers, 1982

Family

Lord Reay married Fanny Georgiana Jane, daughter of Richard Hasler, of Aldingbourne,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, in 1877. They had no children. He died in August 1921, aged 81. On his death the barony of 1881 became extinct while he was succeeded in the Scottish title by his cousin Eric baron Mackay (1870–1921) who was succeeded only three months later by his son Sir Aeneas Alexander baron Mackay (1905–1963), 13th Lord Reay, member of the House of Lords (1955–1959).

References

External links

Photograph of Lord Reay at the National Portrait Gallery
* Papers of Lord Reay from his time as Governor of Bombay

umbai Umbai is a mukim and town in Jasin District in the Malaysian state of Malacca. Tourist attractions * Sultan Ali of Johor Mausoleum ( ms, Makam Sultan Ali Johor) * Umbai Floating Ikan Bakar Village ( ms, Perkampungan Ikan Bakar Terapung Umbai) ...

are held at https://www.soas.ac.uk/library/archives/collections/a-z/r/. {{DEFAULTSORT:Reay, Donald Mackay, 11th Lord 1839 births 1921 deaths Academics of University College London Mackay, Donald Mackay, Donald Dutch people of Scottish descent Governors of Bombay Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights of the Thistle Lord-Lieutenants of Roxburghshire Members of the London School Board Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Delegates to the Hague Peace Conferences Presidents of Co-operative Congress Presidents of the British Academy Rectors of the University of St Andrews Administrators in British India Presidents of the Royal Asiatic Society Members of the Bombay Legislative Council Fellows of the British Academy Scottish justices of the peace Lords Reay Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria Deputy Lieutenants