James Hector Northey "Hamish" Gray, Baron Gray of Contin, (28 June 1927 – 14 March 2006) was a

Scottish Conservative The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...

politician and

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 ...

. Gray was born in

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

and educated at the

Inverness Royal Academy Inverness Royal Academy is a comprehensive secondary school in the city of Inverness in the Highland area of Scotland. A former grammar school with a history dating back to the 13th century, the Academy became a comprehensive in the mid-1970 ...

. His father owned an Inverness roofing firm. He was commissioned into the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in 1945 and served in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, during partition. He married Judith Waite Brydon in 1953 and they had two sons and a daughter. He was elected as an Independent member of Inverness Council in 1965 and at the 1970 general election he was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as the

Conservative and Unionist The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It is the current governing party, ...

Party

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 ...

(MP) for

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latt ...

. He was appointed to the Whips' Office in 1971, and he served as a front bench Energy spokesman (1975–1979). Upon the Conservatives' return to government in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, he was appointed as the

Minister of State for Energy The minister of state for energy and climate is a mid-level position in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the Government of the United Kingdom. It is currently held by Graham Stuart. The role used to be part of the p ...

under David Howell, where he remained until the 1983 general election, when he was defeated in the new Ross, Cromarty and Skye constituency by the SDP candidate Charles Kennedy. He was made a life peer in 1983, taking the title Baron Gray of Contin, of Contin, in the District of

Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...

and Cromarty, and was Minister of State for Scotland from 1983 to 1986. He served

as Deputy lieutenant (1989),

Vice Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

(1994) and

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

(1996–2002). He died on 14 March 2006 at a hospice in Inverness after a long battle with cancer.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Hamish 1927 births 2006 deaths Deaths from cancer in Scotland Scottish Conservative Party MPs Gray of Contin Scottish Conservative Party councillors Lord-Lieutenants of Inverness-shire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies People educated at Inverness Royal Academy People from Inverness Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders officers UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Highland constituencies