Ian Bruce Lang, Baron Lang of Monkton,
PC DL (born 27 June 1940) is a British
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
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 ...
who served as the
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 ...
for
Galloway
Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway.
A native or i ...
, and then
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, from 1979 to 1997.
On 29 September 1997 Lang was raised to the peerage. He was an active 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 ...
until his retirement on 30 June 2022, including being the
Chairman of the Constitution Committee. He also served as Chair of the
Advisory Committee on Business Appointments
The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was set up in 1975 to provide advice on applications from the most senior Crown servants who wish to take up outside appointments ...
from 2009 to 2014.
Early life
Lang was educated at
Lathallan School
Lathallan School is a co-educational all-through independent school at Brotherton Castle in Scotland, UK. It also offers outdoor learning programs on its 60-acre campus and an on-site farm.
History
Lathallan School, founded in 1930, was ...
, at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
from 1954 to 1958, and at
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge from 1959 to 1962, where he obtained a BA (Hons.) degree in History. He was also a member of the
Cambridge Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University.
History
Footlights' inaugural ...
.
Parliamentary career
Lang first stood for Parliament for
Central Ayrshire
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
in
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
, but was unsuccessful. In the
February 1974 general election he was defeated by
Labour's James White contesting
Glasgow Pollok.
Following this he became MP for
Galloway
Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway.
A native or i ...
from
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 ...
to
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
and for
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale from 1983 to 1997, and was a minister for a number of years. He served as Assistant Government Whip from 1981 to 1983 and as Government Whip from 1983 to 1986, before becoming
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 ...
for Employment in 1986. He then served as
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State rank) in the Government of the United Kingdom, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland. The post is also know ...
from 1986 to 1987, before rising to the position of
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...
for Scotland, which he held from 1987 to 1990. Lang then joined the
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
as
Secretary of State for Scotland
The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...
from 1990 to 1995, before becoming the
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a memb ...
and President of the Board of Trade from 1995 until 1997. He was closely involved in
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 ...
's re-election campaign as leader of the Conservative Party in July 1995.
Lang lost his seat in the
1997 general election, one of seven Cabinet members to do so (the others being
Malcolm Rifkind
Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind (born 21 June 1946) is a British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and most recently as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from 2 ...
,
Michael Portillo
Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Journ ...
,
Michael Forsyth,
Roger Freeman,
William Waldegrave and
Tony Newton).
House of Lords
Following the loss of his seat, Lang was raised to the peerage in the
1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours as Baron Lang of Monkton, ''of
Merrick and the
Rhinns of Kells in
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...
''. He has remained an active 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 ...
, including being
Chairman of the Constitution Committee between 2014 and 2017.
Previously Lang served as Chair of the
Advisory Committee on Business Appointments
The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was set up in 1975 to provide advice on applications from the most senior Crown servants who wish to take up outside appointments ...
from 2009 to 2014.
Since 1997, Lang has been a member of the
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
of
Marsh & McLennan Companies
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., doing business as Marsh McLennan, is a global professional services firm, headquartered in New York City with businesses in insurance brokerage, risk management, reinsurance services, talent management, investme ...
, becoming
Chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
in May 2011. Lang has also been a Non-Executive Director of Charlemagne Capital Limited since 2006, and Deputy Chairman of European Telecom PLC since 1997.
On 30 January 2014 Lang stated that if Scotland voted for independence, it would dishonour the sacrifice of those who died fighting for Great Britain in the First World War.
Arms
References
External links
*
Lord Lang of Monkton
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Ian
1940 births
Living people
People educated at Rugby School
Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
British Secretaries of State
Secretaries of State for Scotland
Lang of Monckton
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Scottish Conservative Party MPs
UK MPs 1979–1983
UK MPs 1983–1987
UK MPs 1987–1992
UK MPs 1992–1997
Presidents of the Board of Trade