John Ruaridh Grant Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Cromartie (born 12 June 1948) 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 ...

engineer and peer. He is the current

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

of Clan Mackenzie.

Early life

He is the only child of Roderick Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Cromartie and his second wife, the former Olga (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Laurence) Mendoza (d. 1996). His mother, who was previously married to Peter Mendoza, was a daughter of Stuart Laurance of

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 ...

. From his father's first marriage to Dorothy Downing Porter, he has two elder half-sisters, Lady Julia Blunt-Mackenzie and Lady Gilean Blunt-Mackenzie. His paternal grandmother was Lady Sibell Lilian Mackenzie, '' suo jure'' Countess of Cromartie, who married his grandfather, Lt.-Col. Edward Walter Blunt later Blunt-Mackenzie DL (the eldest son of Maj.-Gen. Charles Harris Blunt of Adderbury Manor). He was educated at Rannoch School,

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

and at Strathclyde University,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Career

Lord Cromartie is registered as a Member of the Institution of Explosives Engineers (M.I.Exp.E.) as an explosives engineer. He has held the position of Chief of Clan Mackenzie since 1980, wrote the book ''Selected Climbs in Skye'', published in 1982. He succeeded to the titles of 5th

Baron Castlehaven Earl of Cromartie () is a title that has been created twice, both for members of the Mackenzie family. It was first created as Earl of Cromarty in the Peerage of Scotland in 1703 for Sir George Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet, but his titles were forfe ...

, of Castlehaven, 5th Viscount Tarbat, of Tarbat, 5th Baron MacLeod of Castle Leod, and 5th

Earl of Cromartie Earl of Cromartie () is a title that has been created twice, both for members of the Mackenzie family. It was first created as Earl of Cromarty in the Peerage of Scotland in 1703 for Sir George Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet, but his titles were forfei ...

on 13 December 1989. The seat of the Earl is at

Castle Leod Castle Leod is the seat of the Clan Mackenzie. It is a category A listed building, and the grounds are listed in the ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes of Scotland'', the national listing of significant gardens. It is located near S ...

Strathpeffer Strathpeffer ( gd, Srath Pheofhair) is a village and spa town in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland, with a population of 1,469. Geography It lies in a strath west of Dingwall, with the elevation ranging from above sea level. Sheltered on ...

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of ...

Personal life

Cromartie married firstly Helen Murray, daughter of John Murray, a

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

worker at

, in 1973, and divorced in 1983, by whom he had an only son: * Hon. Kenneth Mackenzie (1980–1980), who died in infancy. He married secondly Janet Clare Harley, daughter of Christopher James Harley of

, Ross-shire, in 1985. They have two sons: * Colin Ruaridh Mackenzie, Viscount Tarbat (b. 1987) * Hon. Alasdair Kenelm Stuart Mackenzie (b. 1989)

References

Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Scottish engineers British geologists Living people People from Ross and Cromarty 1948 births Explosives engineers Earls of Cromartie (1861) {{Scotland-earl-stub