Norman Somerville Macfarlane, Baron Macfarlane of Bearsden, (5 March 1926 – 5 November 2021) was a Scottish industrialist and member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

who sat as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

.Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden

Biography

Educated at the

High School of Glasgow The High School of Glasgow is an independent, co-educational day school in Glasgow, Scotland. The original High School of Glasgow was founded as the choir school of Glasgow Cathedral in around 1124, and is the oldest school in Scotland, and the ...

and later a

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

in the British military personnel of the

Palestine Emergency A successful paramilitary campaign was carried out by Zionist underground groups against British rule in Mandatory Palestine from 1944 to 1948. The tensions between the Zionist underground and the British mandatory authorities rose from 1938 an ...

, Macfarlane was a Member of the Council of the

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a UK business organisation, which in total claims to speak for 190,000 businesses, this is made up of around 1,500 direct members and 188,500 non-members. The non members are represented through the 1 ...

(Scotland) from 1975 to 1981, a Board Member of the

Scottish Development Agency 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 ...

from 1979 to 1987, and a Member of the

Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland The Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland was a Scottish public body. It was appointed in 1927 "to enquire into such questions of public amenity or of artistic importance relating to Scotland as may be referred to them by any of our Department ...

from 1980 to 1982. Macfarlane received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

on 9 February

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, was a Deputy Lieutenant and was created a life peer with the title Baron Macfarlane of Bearsden, in the District of Bearsden and

Milngavie Milngavie ( ; gd, Muileann-Ghaidh) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland and a suburb of Glasgow. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden. Mi ...

, for the

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 ...

, on 29 July 1991 and made a Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle on 3 December 1996. He retired from the

on 21 July 2016. Macfarlane was

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 ...

in 1992, 1993 and 1997. He had been a member of Glasgow Art Club since 1969. In 1991, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Macfarlane was Honorary Patron of Queen's Park Football Club.

Death

Macfarlane died on 5 November 2021, at the age of 95.

Arms

References

Macfarlane, Normane Macfarlane, Normane British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency Macfarlane of Bearsden Knights Bachelor Knights of the Thistle Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland People educated at the High School of Glasgow Royal Artillery officers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{life-peer-stub