James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose (born 6 April 1935), known as Earl of Kincardine until 1954 and Marquess of Graham between 1954 and 1992, is a

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kno ...

-born hereditary peer of the Peerage of Scotland and a British

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 ...

politician.

Biography

Parents

The Duke was born in

, where his father, then the Marquess of Graham, was attempting to establish a farm.

Marriage

On 31 January 1970, as Marquess of Graham, he married Catherine Elizabeth MacDonell Young (d. 29 October 2014), of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. They have three children: * Lady Hermione Elizabeth Graham (born 20 July 1971), married 1998 Christopher John Thornhill ** John Graham Thornhill (born 1998) ** Grace Graham Thornhill (born 1998) * James Alexander Norman Graham, Marquess of Graham (born 16 August 1973), married 2004 Cecilia Manfredi, without issue * Lord Ronald John Christopher Graham (born 13 October 1975), married 24 September 2016 to Florence Mary Arbuthnott, in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. He is a practising lawyer with a firm in England and has two sons.

Education

The Duke attended boarding school in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, first in Aberdeenshire and after that at the

Loretto School Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 0 to 18. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. History The school was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. ...

near

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

Politics and international relations

The Duke considers himself 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 ...

and took his seat in 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 ...

on his father's death in 1992. He is one of four dukes to have re-entered the House (of the 24 non-royal dukes eligible) following the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

, having been one of the 90 peers chosen or elected by the others sitting. The other dukes in the upper house among these are The Duke of Somerset, who won a by-election in December 2014,

The Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

, who won a by-election in September 2015, and

The Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

who, as hereditary

Earl Marshal Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the U ...

and one of the

Great Officers of State Government in medieval monarchies generally comprised the king's companions, later becoming the Royal Household, from which the officers of state arose, initially having household and government duties. Later some of these officers became ...

, does not have to stand for election. The Duke of Montrose was a shadow minister for the

Scotland Office The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland ( gd, Oifis Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba), often referred to as, and formerly officially called, the Scotland Office, is a department of His Majesty's Government headed by the Secretary of Sta ...

before the 2010 general election. He has also spent some time in China promoting renewable energy and environmental measures, and he is a fluent speaker of

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

References

External links

James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose
Chief of the Grahams

thePeerage.com
Conservative Party website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montrose, James Graham, 8th Duke of Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers

208 Year 208 ( CCVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Geta (or, less frequently, year 961 ''Ab urbe condita' ...

Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1935 births Living people People educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...