Charles William Harley Hay, 16th Earl of Kinnoull, (born 20 December 1962), styled Viscount Dupplin until 2013, is a Scottish

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsidi ...

and non-affiliated 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 Westminst ...

, serving as Chair of the

European Union Committee The European Union Committee is a select committee of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its terms of reference are "To consider European Union documents and other matters relating to the European Union", as well as "to ...

Biography

Viscount Dupplin was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and studied chemistry at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniq ...

. where he was an open scholar. A qualified

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

, called to the Bar in 1990 (Middle Temple) he has worked for

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

provider Hiscox for 25 years. He also farms in

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 nort ...

. He succeeded his father as Earl of Kinnoull following the latter's death on 7 June 2013. The Earl was elected to sit in the House of Lords at a crossbench hereditary peers' by-election on 4 February 2015, following the resignation of Lady Saltoun of Abernethy. On 19 March 2015, he made his maiden speech in the House of Lords on a report of the Science & Technology Committee. In June 2015 he was appointed to the Select Committee on Social Mobility. In 2016, he served on the Select Committee on the Trade Union Bill. In May 2016 he was appointed to the Select Committee on the European Union and also the Justice Sub-Committee. In September 2019 he became Chair of the

, and Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords; he therefore left the

Crossbenches A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

, and became a

non-affiliated peer Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords are peers who do not belong to any parliamentary group. They do not take a political party's whip, nor affiliate to the crossbench group, nor are they Lords Spiritual (bishops). Formerly, the Lords ...

. He has served as a Deputy Speaker since becoming Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees. In January 2022 he was appointed Vice Chair of the UK delegation to the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, the new joint body between the European and UK Parliaments. As such he is the leader of the House of Lords delegation. In June 2017 he was promoted to Lt Col and became commanding officer of the

Atholl Highlanders The Atholl Highlanders is a Scottish ceremonial infantry regiment. They are the only remaining private army in Europe, and act as the personal bodyguard to the Duke of Atholl, chieftain of the Clan Murray, a family that has thrived in Perthshire ...

. He has been a member of The Queen's Bodyguard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers) since 2000. In January 2018 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Perth and Kinross.

Family

He is the son of the Arthur Hay, 15th Earl of Kinnoull and Ann (''née'' Lowson), daughter of

Sir Denys Lowson, 1st Baronet Sir Denys Colquhoun Flowerdew Lowson, 1st Baronet, (22 January 1906 – 10 September 1975) was a British barrister and financier who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1950–51. Early life and education Lowson was born at Snitterfield House, Wa ...

. In 2002, he married Clare, daughter of the circuit judge William Hamilton Crawford, QC, and his wife, Marilyn Jean Colville. The couple have four children: *Lady Alice Hay (b. 25 Sep 2003) *Lady Catriona Hay (b. 25 Sep 2003) *Lady Auriol Hay (b. 15 Mar 2007) *William Hay, Viscount Dupplin (b. 24 Jun 2011)

Charity

The earl serves as president of the Royal Caledonian Ball Trust, which organises an annual ball to benefit Scottish charities. He is the chairman of the

Red Squirrel The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent. In Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy numbe ...

Survival Trust, a wildlife conservation trust. He is also the chair of Culture Perth & Kinross, which is a Trust running the museums and libraries.

References

External links

Biography at Parliament.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinnoull 1962 births Living people People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Crossbench hereditary peers 16 Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999