John Farquharson Smith, Baron Kirkhill (7 May 1930 – 21 March 2023) was a British Labour politician,

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 ...

and 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 ...

. He was

Lord Provost of Aberdeen The Lord Provost of Aberdeen is the convener of the Aberdeen City Council in Scotland. They are elected by the city council and serve not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. They are equivalent in many ways ...

from 1971 to 1975 and served as

Minister 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 kno ...

from 8 August 1975 to 15 December 1978 in the governments of Wilson and Callaghan. Smith was created a

as Baron Kirkhill, of Kirkhill in the District of the City of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

on 17 July 1975.

Education and early career

John Smith was educated at

Robert Gordon's College Robert Gordon's College is a co-educational private school for day pupils in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery through to S6. History Background Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant, made his fortune in 18th cent ...

in Aberdeen, where he chaired a 'playground parliament' rather than play sport. Before entering politics Smith was manager of the Aberdeen branch of the

Dunfermline Building Society The Dunfermline Building Society was a building society and later a trading division of Nationwide Building Society, based in Dunfermline, Scotland. Before its 2009 merger with Nationwide, it was the largest building society in Scotland and the ...

. As a councillor he fought to save the listed 1842 New Market in Aberdeen, designed by Archibald Simpson. Kirkhill was Chairman of the

North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board (1943–1990) was founded to design, construct and manage hydroelectricity projects in the Highlands of Scotland. It is regarded as one of the major achievements of Scottish politician Thomas Johnston, ...

from 1979 to 1982. From 1987 to 2000 he was a delegate to the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe. He retired from the House of Lords on 30 April 2018. He was a life-long fan of

Aberdeen FC Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the and have never been relegated from the top division of the Scottish football league system since they were elected to the top ...

, having attended his first match aged 4 on his father's shoulders. In 1980 he spoke at a testimonial for

Joe Harper Joseph Montgomery Harper (born 11 January 1948) is a Scottish former footballer, mainly remembered for his two spells with Aberdeen, during which he won the three main domestic trophies once each and became the club's record goalscorer with 1 ...

, Aberdeen FC's forward. Kirkhill died on 21 March 2023, at the age of 92. He was survived by Lady Kirkhill (Frances Reid) and a step-daughter.

Sources

* Who's Who in Scotland, 2008

* http://biographies.parliament.uk/parliament/default.asp?id=26852

References

1930 births 2023 deaths People educated at Robert Gordon's College Nobility from Aberdeen Politicians from Aberdeen Labour Party (UK) life peers Lord provosts of Aberdeen Life peers created by Elizabeth II Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 {{Life-peer-stub