Hector Uisdean MacKenzie, Baron MacKenzie of Culkein (born 25 February 1940) is a Scottish nurse and former

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

official. The son of George MacKenzie and Williamina Sutherland was educated on the Isle of Erraid Public School, in

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

, the Aird Public School on the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis ( gd, Eilean Leòdhais) or simply Lewis ( gd, Leòdhas, ) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as ...

, the

Nicolson Institute The Nicolson Institute ( Gaelic: ''Àrd-sgoil MhicNeacail'') in Stornoway, is the largest school in the Western Isles, Scotland. The Nicolson is the only six-year secondary school in Lewis. With the Sir E. Scott School in Harris, they provide ...

in Stornoway and the

Portree High School Portree High School ( Gaelic: ') is a state co-educational comprehensive school in Portree, Isle of Skye in Scotland. , the school enrols 490 pupils and employs 80 teachers and support staff. The school's catchment area draws from 15 primary sch ...

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

. He went then to the Leverndale School of Nursing in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and the

West Cumberland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...

School of Nursing in

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

. MacKenzie was student nurse at the

Leverndale Hospital Leverndale Hospital is a mental health facility at Crookston, Glasgow, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The , which has been taken out of use, is Category A listed. History The hospital, which was designed by Malcolm Star ...

from 1958 to 1961 and

West Cumberland Hospital West Cumberland Hospital is a hospital in Hensingham, a suburb of Whitehaven in Cumbria, England, and was the first district general hospital to be built in England following the creation of the National Health Service. It is managed by the Nort ...

from 1964 to 1966. Since 1969, he had worked for the

Confederation of Health Service Employees The Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) was a United Kingdom trade union representing workers primarily in the National Health Service. History The union was founded in 1946 with the merger of the Mental Hospital and Institutional ...

, first as assistant regional secretary, then from 1970 to 1974 as regional secretary for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

. He was national officer from 1974 to 1983, assistant general secretary from 1983 to 1987 and

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

from 1987 to 1993. MacKenzie is a member of

UNISON In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm. Definition Unison or per ...

, had been associate general secretary between 1993 and 2000. In 1966 he received the Lindsay Robertson Gold Medal for Nurse of the Year, and in 1999 he was 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 ...

as Baron MacKenzie of Culkein, of Assynt in

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

Lord MacKenzie of Culkein was married to Anna Morrison from 1961 to 1991; they have one son and three daughters.

References

* 1940 births Living people General Secretaries of the Confederation of Health Service Employees British trade union leaders Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Presidents of the Trades Union Congress Mackenzie of Culkein People educated at Portree High School People educated at the Nicolson Institute Scottish nurses Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{Life-peer-stub