Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Seymour Hector Russell Hale Monro (born 7 May 1950) is a former officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and current Lord Lieutenant of Moray.

Earliest life and education

Monro is the eldest son of

Hector Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm Hector Seymour Peter Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm, AE, PC (4 October 1922 – 30 August 2006), was a Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for Dumfriesshire for over 32 years, from 1964 to 1997, and ...

, and was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland on 7 May 1950. He was educated at

Cargilfield Preparatory School Cargilfield Preparatory School is a private co-educational prep school in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1873. It is a day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 3–13 and caters for approximately 300 pupils. It prepares pupils mai ...

and

Glenalmond College Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. T ...

, both

private schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

in Scotland.

Career

Military service

He was commissioned into the

Queen's Own Highlanders The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons), officially abbreviated "QO HLDRS," was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. It was in existence from 1961 to 1994. History 1961–1970 The regiment was f ...

in 1970 from RMA Sandhurst and was awarded the Sword of Honour. He commanded the 1st Battalion Queens Own Highlanders in Belfast and in the First Gulf War. Subsequently, he commanded the 39 Infantry Brigade in Belfast and later was the United Kingdom's Director of Infantry. His last military appointment was as Deputy Commander of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps, in Italy.

Business career

Monro later became Executive Director of the Atlantic Salmon Trust and Adjutant of The Queen's Body Guard for Scotland and later Chairman of the Highlanders’ Museum at Fort George where he was responsible for its £2.75 million upgrade project. He has also been Chairman of the Prince's Trust in the Highlands and of the Findhorn, Nairn and Lossie Fisheries’ trust. He served on the board of Cairngorm Mountain Ltd. He was instrumental in establishing The Highland Military Tattoo at Fort George in 2014 and was its Executive Chairman and Tattoo Director until it ceased in 2017. He was also Honorary Air Commodore of 2622 (Highland) Squadron The Royal Auxiliary Air Force at RAF Lossiemouth from 2008 to 2019. He is currently Chairman of the Northern Meeting Piping Trust. He is also Honorary President of Forres and District Pipe Band, of the Forres Branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland, of Forres in Bloom and of the Brisbane Observatory Trust in Largs. He is also Chairman (Designate) of the Leanchoil Trust which will turn the former cottage hospital in Forres into a Veterans’ Activity Centre and a local community health and wellbeing hub.

Honours

Monro is appointed as Her Majesty The Queen's Lord-Lieutenant for Moray to succeed Lieutenant Colonel Grenville Johnston CVO OBE TD, who retired on 28 January 2020. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 1996, and was appointed

Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(LVO) in 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monro, Seymour 1950 births Living people People educated at Cargilfield School People educated at Glenalmond College Lord-Lieutenants of Moray Queen's Own Highlanders officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order Sons of life peers British Army generals British Army personnel of the Gulf War Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Military personnel from Edinburgh Members of the Royal Company of Archers