James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas, (born 31 July 1942) is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

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 who served as

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 Edinburgh West and then as a

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The ad ...

(MSP) for the

Lothians Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sc ...

region. Since 1997 he has been a 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 ...

as 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 ...

Early life

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton was born to the 14th Duke of Hamilton and the former Lady Elizabeth Percy. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

where he was president of the Oxford Union, and thereafter at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Political career

He served as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

and an interim Procurator Fiscal Depute from 1968 to 1972. From 1972 to 1974, he was a councillor on Edinburgh District Council, and after unsuccessfully contesting

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

February 1974 The following events occurred in February 1974: February 1, 1974 (Friday) * A fire killed 177 people and injured 293 others in the 23-story Joelma Building at São Paulo in Brazil. Another 11 later died of their injuries. The blaze began on ...

, from October 1974 to 1997 he was

for Edinburgh West. During this time he served in the Scottish Office. He was briefly Falkland Pursuivant in the

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon (the Lyon Court) is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All A ...

in July 1973. In the years between 1987 and 1995 he served as Parliamentary

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 ...

, and thereafter as

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 ...

between 1995 and 1997. He had previously been a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury between 1979 and 1981. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor and

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1996. It was announced on 12 December 2011 that he would serve as

Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the Scottish monarch's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (the Kirk), reflecting the Church's role as the national church of ...

, who is the Sovereign's personal representative to the Annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, in 2012.

Peerage

In 1994 on the death of

George Nigel Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk Group Captain George Nigel "Geordie" Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk, (4 January 1906 – 24 November 1994) was a British nobleman and Conservative politician. Early life Born at Merly, Wimborne, Dorset, he was the second son of Nina M ...

, Selkirk inherited the earldom, although the succession was disputed, as Alasdair Douglas-Hamilton, a nephew of the 10th Earl, claimed it, ultimately without success. Due to the terms of the

Peerage Act 1963 The Peerage Act 1963 (c. 48) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permits women peeresses and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords and allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be disclaimed. Backgro ...

, Selkirk was considered to be unable to vote in the House of Commons until he had disclaimed the title, even though the succession to it had not been decided. As the Conservative government of the day had a small majority, he felt obliged to disclaim immediately. After losing his seat in the 1997 general election, he was elevated to the House of Lords as a

, being created Baron Selkirk of Douglas, of Cramond in the

City of Edinburgh The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

Scottish Parliament

From 1999 to 2007 he was a member of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

and was deputy Convener of its Education Committee. In November 2005, Lord Selkirk of Douglas announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2003–2007 session of the Scottish Parliament. He continues to sit in the

, taking a particular interest in British legislation as it affects Scotland.

Books

Lord Selkirk of Douglas has written a number of books, including ''Motive For a Mission: The Story Behind Hess's Flight to Britain'' about his father's meeting with

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...

when he landed in Scotland during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He later wrote a biography on Rudolf Hess entitled `The Truth About Rudolf Hess' (2016).

Family

In 1974 he married the Hon. (Priscilla) Susan Buchan, a granddaughter of the politician and novelist

John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. After a brief legal career ...

, and daughter of

Lord Tweedsmuir John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. After a brief legal career ...

and Baroness Tweedsmuir. They have four sons of whom the eldest, John Andrew Douglas-Hamilton, Lord Daer and Master of Selkirk (b 1978) is heir apparent to the disclaimed Earldom of Selkirk. Lord Selkirk of Douglas is also fifth in line to the

Dukedom of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Dukedom of Rothesay held by the Sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the premier peer of Sco ...

, after the sons and the brother of the present duke.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Selkirk Of Douglas, James Douglas-Hamilton, Baron 1942 births Living people Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Councillors in Edinburgh Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish King's Counsel Conservative MSPs Earls of Selkirk Conservative Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies Scottish Conservative Party MPs Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Presidents of the Oxford Union Presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association Alumni of the University of Edinburgh

James Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas, (born 31 July 1942) is a Scottish Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West and then as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the ...

Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Douglas-Hamilton, James Douglas-Hamilton, James Douglas-Hamilton, James Douglas-Hamilton, James Douglas-Hamilton, James UK MPs who inherited peerages Douglas-Hamilton, James Scottish Conservative Party councillors Scottish officers of arms

Douglas-Hamilton Douglas-Hamilton is the family surname of the Dukes of Hamilton and Earls of Selkirk. The name originates from the marriage of Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton to William Douglas, 1st Earl of Selkirk in 1656. Anne was Duchess in her own r ...

People educated at Eton College