James Thorne Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar and 16th Earl of Kellie, Baron Erskine of Alloa Tower, (born 10 March 1949) is a Scottish peer and former Liberal Democrat member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Educated at Eton, he was

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to Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in 1962 and 1963. He proceeded to Moray House College of Education, Edinburgh, before embarking on a career in social work with various Scottish local authorities. He has also worked as a boatbuilder, and has served with the

Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces ( Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary re ...

and Royal Naval Auxiliary Service. Having succeeded to the titles the previous year, the earl took his seat in the House of Lords in 1994, choosing to sit on the Liberal Democrat benches. He lost his seat after 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 ...

. However, on 19 April 2000, 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Erskine of Alloa Tower, ''of

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...

in the County of

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...

'', enabling him to return to the House. He was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the constituency of Ochil in the

1999 Scottish Parliament election The first election to the devolved Scottish Parliament, to fill 129 seats, took place on 6 May 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parlia ...

, but was not elected. He retired from the House of Lords on 30 June 2017. As the 16th Viscount Fentoun, he is Premier

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

in the Peerage of Scotland. He is also Chief of the Name and Arms of Erskine. Since 1991, he has been a Deputy Lieutenant of

. Owing to a dispute in the nineteenth century, there is another Earldom of Mar, held by Margaret Alison of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar. Precedence as determined by the Decreet of Ranking is Countess of Mar, 4th (created 1404) and Earl of Mar and Kellie, 10th (created 1619). As the Earl of Mar does not have any children, his heir presumptive is his younger brother the Hon. Alexander David Erskine.

References

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External links

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Earl of Mar and Kellie
House of Lords

House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 19 April 2000
The Edinburgh Gazette announcing the title of Baron Erskine of Alloa Tower, of Alloa in Clackmannanshire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mar and Kellie, James Erskine, Earl of 1949 births Living people Nobility from Clackmannanshire People educated at Eton College Kellie, James Erskine, earl of Mar and Earls of Kellie Liberal Democrats (UK) hereditary peers Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers James Scottish clan chiefs Deputy lieutenants of Clackmannanshire Erskine Life peers created by Elizabeth II Mar and Kellie Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014