John David Drummond, 8th Earl of Perth, (13 May 1907 – 25 November 2002), styled Viscount Strathallan from 1937 to 1951, was a Scottish peer, banker and politician. Because of the complicated history of the earldom of Perth (attainder 1715, reversed 1853), he was sometimes deemed informally to be the 17th Earl of Perth. He was

Minister of State for Colonial Affairs The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State. Under-Secretaries of State for the Co ...

from 1957 to 1962.

Background and education

Drummond was the son of

Eric Drummond, 7th Earl of Perth James Eric Drummond, 7th Earl of Perth, (17 August 1876 – 15 December 1951), was a British politician and diplomat who was the first Secretary-General of the League of Nations (1920–1933). Quiet and unassuming, he succeeded in building an e ...

, and the Hon. Angela Mary Constable-Maxwell, a daughter of

Marmaduke Constable-Maxwell, 11th Lord Herries of Terregles Marmaduke Constable-Maxwell, 11th Lord Herries of Terregles, (4 October 1837 – 5 October 1908) was Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire from 1880 and Lord-Lieutenant of Kirkcudbrightshire from 1885 until his death. He was educated a ...

. A Roman Catholic, he was educated at

Downside School Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is located between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey. Originall ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. As his parents travelled for his father's work, David Drummond spent much of his childhood with his maternal aunt, the

Duchess of Norfolk Duchess of Norfolk is a title held by the wife of the Duke of Norfolk in the Peerage of England. The Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The first creation was in 1397. Du ...

Career

After beginning a banking career, during the

Second World War 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 ...

the young Drummond went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to help

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

in a propaganda office, then returned to London to work in the War Cabinet office and later at the

Ministry of Production The Ministry of Production was a British government department created in February 1942, initially under the title Ministry of War Production, but the following month "War" was dropped from the title. Its purpose was to fill a gap in the machinery ...

, having been recruited by

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achieving rapid promo ...

. In 1945, after the war, he joined

Schroders Schroders plc is a British multinational asset management company, founded in 1804. The company employs over 5,000 people worldwide in 32 locations around Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Headquartered in the City of London, it ...

and was a partner until 1956. On his father's death in December 1951, he succeeded him as Earl of Perth and was a

Representative peer In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

for Scotland from 1952 to 1963. In 1957, despite not being a member of the Conservative party, was appointed

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...

's government, a post he held until 1962. He was appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

in 1957. Perth was also First

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

Commissioner from 1962 to 1977, Chairman of the

Ditchley Foundation The Ditchley Foundation is a foundation that holds conferences, with a primary focus on British-American relations. It is based at Ditchley Park near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. It was established as a privately funded charity in 1958 by phil ...

from 1963 to 1966 and Chairman of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art from 1972 to 1976. He was a champion of Scottish arts and heritage, serving as a trustee of the

National Museums of Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; gd, Taighean-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections ...

and the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...

, and a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Personal life

In 1934 Perth married Nancy Fincke, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, in

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. They lived at Stobhall, near

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

in Tayside and had two sons. Lady Perth died in 1996, and Lord Perth in November 2002, aged 95. He was succeeded by his elder son, John Eric Drummond, 9th Earl of Perth, who is also the titular 15th Duke of Perth and 14th Viscount Strathallan in the unrecognized Jacobite peerage. He is sometimes deemed to be the 18th Earl of Perth, 12th Lord Drummond of Cromlix, 14th Lord Maderty and 22nd Lord Drummond. The present Earl of Perth was educated at Downside School and graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, with a B.A. degree and from Harvard University with an M.B.A. degree. On 7 January 1963 he married Margaret Anne Gordon, daughter of Robin Gordon. They had three children before divorcing in 1972. *Annabella Margaret Drummond (b. 18 Jun 1964, d. 21 Jun 1964) *James David Drummond, Viscount Strathallan (b. 24 Oct 1965) *Hon. Robert Eric Drummond (b. 7 May 1967) He married secondly in 1988 Mrs. Marion Verity Grey Elliot, née Eton.

References

Obituary:The Earl of Perth, Daily Telegraph, 29 November 2002

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perth, David, 8th Earl of 1907 births 2002 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Anglo-Scots British Roman Catholics David Drummond, 17th Earl of Perth Dukes of Perth Earls of Perth Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 People educated at Downside School Schroders people Scottish representative peers Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 20th-century antiquarians Hereditary peers removed under the House of Lords Act 1999