Hugh William Mackay, 14th Lord Reay, Baron Mackay (19 July 1937 – 10 May 2013), was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

politician and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

member of 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 ...

. He was the only male

Lord of Parliament A Lord of Parliament ( sco, Laird o Pairlament) was the holder of the lowest form of peerage, entitled as of right to take part in sessions of the pre- Union Parliament of Scotland. Since that Union in 1707, it has been the lowest rank of the ...

to sit in the

following the abolition of the automatic right of all British hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords in 1999, the only female being The Lady Saltoun.

Biography

Lord Reay was the only son of Aeneas Alexander Mackay, 13th Lord Reay. 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 ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He succeeded to the title upon his father's death in 1963, sitting in the House of Lords first as a cross-bencher, then as a Liberal, and finally, from 1972, as a Conservative. He championed causes from the abolition of capital punishment to restrictions on onshore wind farms. He sat as an appointed

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

from 1973 until the first elections in 1979. He also served as a delegate to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

, living at the family's Dutch estates in

Ophemert Ophemert is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of West Betuwe, and lies about 5 km south of Tiel. Ophemert was a separate municipality between 1818 and 1978, when it was merged with Neerijnen. H ...

. He subsequently was appointed as a House of Lords whip in 1989 by

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

. In 1991, he was moved by her successor,

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

, to the Department of Trade and Industry as a

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister ...

, but he left the government at the 1992 general election. With the passage of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

, Lord Reay along with almost all other hereditary peers lost his automatic right to sit in the House of Lords, however, he was one of the 92 elected hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords pending completion of House of Lords reform. Lord Reay was the hereditary

Clan Chief The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard c ...

Clan Mackay Clan Mackay ( ; gd, Clann Mhic Aoidh ) is an ancient and once-powerful Highland Scottish clan from the far North of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old Kingdom of Moray. They supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish ...

, and Lord of

and

Zennewijnen Zennewijnen is a hamlet (place), hamlet in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Tiel, and lies about 3 km south of Tiel. It was first mentioned in 850 as Sinuinum. The etymology in unclear. The Pr ...

in the Netherlands.

Family

Lord Reay was married twice. With his first wife

Tessa Keswick Annabel Thérèse Keswick, Lady Keswick (née Fraser; 15 October 1942 – 13 September 2022), styled "The Honourable", was a Scottish lady from the Fraser family who married Lord Reay and then Sir Henry Keswick. She was influential in Britis ...

, (née the Honourable Annabel Terese Fraser), a daughter of

Lord Lovat Lord Lovat ( gd, Mac Shimidh) is a title of the rank Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser by summoning him to the Scottish Parliament as Lord Fraser of Lovat, although the holder is referred ...

(she is now wife of Henry Keswick), he had two sons and one daughter. With his second wife Victoria Isabella, youngest daughter of the late 1st Baron Bruntisfield, he had two daughters. He was succeeded by his elder son, Aeneas Mackay, Master of Reay (born 20 March 1965), a banker, who married, on 14 January 2010, Mia Ruulio, elder daughter of Markus Ruulio of

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. His heir is his son, the Honourable Alexander Shimi Markus Mackay (born 21 April 2010).

Links

Profile
, mapsstatsandpolitics.talktalk.net; accessed 26 March 2016.

thepeerage.com; accessed 26 March 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reay, Hugh Mackay, 14th Lord 1937 births 2013 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Conservative Party (UK) MEPs Crossbench hereditary peers Liberal Party (UK) hereditary peers Mackay, Hugh Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act MEPs for the United Kingdom 1973–1979 People educated at Eton College Lords Reay