Robert Adam Ross "Bob" Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart, (26 June 1936 – 18 January 2020) was a British Liberal Democrat politician and

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 ...

. He was the last leader of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SDP), serving during the negotiations that led to its merger with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in 1988. He then became joint interim leader of the new party, known as the Social and Liberal Democrats (SLD) and later as the Liberal Democrats. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1966 to 2001, when he was elevated to the House of Lords.

Early life

MacLennan was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1936. His father, Sir Hector MacLennan, was a renowned gynaecologist and obstetrician. His mother, Isabel Margaret (née Adam), was a physician and public health activist. He was the brother of actor and director David MacLennan, actress and writer

Elizabeth MacLennan Elizabeth Margaret Ross MacLennan (16 March 1938 – 23 June 2015) was a Scottish actress, writer and radical popular theatre practitioner. Early life Elizabeth MacLennan was born in Glasgow, Scotland, daughter of Sir Hector MacLennan and I ...

, and Kenneth MacLennan. He was educated at Glasgow Academy;

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

;

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

; and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, New York City. He was called to the bar in 1962 at

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and before entering parliament practised as an international lawyer based in London. From 1963 to 1964, he worked at

Sullivan & Cromwell Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1879 by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson Cromwell, the firm advised on the creation of Edison General Electric and the formation o ...

in New York.

In Parliament

He became Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Caithness and Sutherland in 1966, and serving until 1997; and for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross after boundary changes, from 1997 to 2001. He was first elected as a member of the Labour Party, where he was described as a "gentle Jenkinsite" and served as a junior minister in the

Labour government of 1974–1979 Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy, where one or more Fetus, fetuses exits the Womb, internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery o ...

. In 1981 defected to become a founder member of the SDP, co-founded by Jenkins. Maclennan helped write the party's constitution. He was one of the few SDP MPs to keep their seats in the 1983 general election. Following his stint as SDP Leader in 1988, he served as a

front bench In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kno ...

spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, and as their president from 1994 until 1998. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1997. After his retirement at the 2001 general election, he was raised to the House of Lords, created a life peer as Baron Maclennan of Rogart, ''of Rogart in

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

''. He was the party's

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and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

spokesman in 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 ...

until 2015.

Personal life and death

In 1968, Maclennan married Helen Noyes (née Cutter), daughter of Justice Richard Ammi Cutter of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.For Justice Cutter's stature as an American judge, see a transcript of the court memorial session on the state of Massachusetts's government website accessed March 17, 2024. https://www.mass.gov/person/richard-ammi-cutter As Maclennan's spouse she was Lady Maclennan of Rogart. She had one son from a previous marriage, and a son and a daughter with Maclennan. Maclennan died at his home in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

on 18 January 2020, at age 83.

References

External links

*
Lord Maclennan of Rogart
profile at the site of Liberal Democrats , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maclennan, Bob, Baron 1936 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Scottish lawyers Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British expatriates in the United States Leaders of the Liberal Democrats (UK) Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Members of the Fabian Society Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Highland constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Nobility from Glasgow People educated at the Glasgow Academy Politicians from Glasgow Presidents of the Liberal Democrats (UK) Scottish Labour MPs Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs Scottish barristers Social Democratic Party (UK) MPs for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001