Danus George Moncrieff Skene (2 April 1944 – 19 August 2016) was a Scottish teacher, educationalist and politician.

Early life

Skene was born in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, and brought up in Fife. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, then read African Studies at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

, Public Administration at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and Education at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

before becoming a schoolteacher in Elgin.''The Times Guide to the House of Commons: June 1987'', p.169 Skene's teaching career later included stints in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, work in the education department of

Tayside Tayside ( gd, Taobh Tatha) was one of the nine regions used for local government in Scotland from 15 May 1975 to 31 March 1996. The region was named for the River Tay. It was created by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, following recom ...

Regional Council, and also service on the board of the

Scottish Qualification Authority The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA; Gaelic: ''Ùghdarras Theisteanas na h-Alba'') is the executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educational awards. It is partly funded by the E ...

Political activity from the 1970s to the 2000s

Skene joined the Labour Party and stood unsuccessfully in Kinross and West Perthshire in both

February February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the ''leap day''. It is the first of five months not to have 31 days (th ...

and October 1974 general elections, and served on the party's Scottish Executive.John M. Bochel, ''The Referendum Experience: Scotland 1979'', p.62 In 1976, he was a founder of the

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...

(SLP), a split from the Labour Party. He wrote a paper on rural land policy for the party, and was the secretary of the northern "Yes for Scotland" campaign during the

1979 Scottish devolution referendum A post-legislative referendum was held in Scotland in 1979 to decide whether there was a sufficient support for a Scottish Assembly proposed in the Scotland Act 1978 among the Scottish electorate. This was an act to create a devolved deliberati ...

. However, shortly before the referendum, he joined the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He was elected to Perth and Kinross District Council as the Independent councillor for

Blair Atholl Blair Atholl (from the Scottish Gaelic: ''Blàr Athall'', originally ''Blàr Ath Fhodla'') is a village in Perthshire, Scotland, built about the confluence of the Rivers Tilt and Garry in one of the few areas of flat land in the midst of the Gr ...

and

Kinloch Rannoch Kinloch Rannoch (; Gaelic: ''Ceann Loch Raineach'') is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, at the eastern end of Loch Rannoch, 18 miles (29 km) west of Pitlochry, on the banks of the River Tummel. The village is a tourist and outdoor p ...

in 1980. Skene stood for the Liberals unsuccessfully in Tayside North at the 1983 general election, and lost his council seat the same year. In

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, he stood in

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

, taking fourth place with just over 10% of the vote. He remained active when the party became part of the Liberal Democrats, being on the party list for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

at the European Parliament election, 1999. However, by 2007, he was concerned that the party now regarded itself as

British unionist Unionism in the United Kingdom, also referred to as British unionism, is a political ideology favouring the continued unity of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as one sovereign state, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and North ...

, when he was a

Scottish nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, progressing into t ...

Chief of Clan Skene

Early in the 1990s, Skene was approached by American-based members of Clan Skene who believed that he might be head of the clan. This was confirmed by the

Lord Lyon The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

, and in 1994, Skene was confirmed as Chief of the Name and Arms of Skene.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The

Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) is the organisation that represents the Chiefs of many prominent Scottish Clans and Families. It describes itself as "the definitive and authoritative body for information on the Scottish Clan System ...

). Published in 1994. Pages 324 - 325.

SNP politician

By the 2010s, Skene was living in

Lerwick Lerwick (; non, Leirvik; nrn, Larvik) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. Centred off the north coast of the Scottish mainland ...

, where he was chair of Shetland Arts. He stood down from this post to contest Orkney and Shetland for the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

at the 2015 general election, in which he took a close second place, with 37.8% of the vote. He was also selected as the party's candidate for

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

at the

2016 Scottish Parliament election The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electi ...

, coming second to the sitting Liberal Democrat MSP,

Tavish Scott Tavish Hamilton Scott (born 6 May 1966) is a former Scottish politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland from 1999 to 2019, and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011. He stepped down as Lead ...

, with a share of 23.1% of the vote.

Death

Danus Skene died in the early hours of the morning in London on 19 August 2016 following surgery.Danus Skene dies following surgery in London
, ''

Shetland Times ''The Shetland Times'' is a weekly newspaper in Shetland, published on Fridays and based in Lerwick, the main town in the Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Sco ...

'', 19 August 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skene, Danus 1944 births 2016 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Sussex Scottish Liberal Party councillors Scottish Labour parliamentary candidates Liberal Democrats (UK) politicians People educated at Eton College People from Dundee Scottish clan chiefs Scottish Labour Party (1976) politicians Scottish National Party parliamentary candidates University of Chicago alumni Politicians from Dundee Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates 20th-century Scottish businesspeople