Michael Antony Cristobal Noble, Baron Glenkinglas, PC (13 March 1913 – 15 May 1984) was a Scottish

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 Unionist politician. Noble was the youngest son of Sir John Noble, 1st Baronet, and the grandson of

Sir Andrew Noble, 1st Baronet Sir Andrew Noble, 1st Baronet (13 September 1831 – 22 October 1915) was a Scottish physicist noted for his work on ballistics and gunnery. Early life Born at Greenock, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy and at the Royal Military Academy, W ...

, and 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

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...

. A farmer, he was president of the Black Face Sheep Breeders' Association and the Highland Cattle Society. He was an

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

lor and a director of Associated Fisheries. From a by-election in June 1958 until his retirement in 1974 he was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

. Noble was a Scottish

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

from 1960 and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from 1961. He was

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

from 1962 to 1964 in the governments of

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as " Supermac", ...

and

Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who s ...

, taking over from John Maclay after the ''

Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (German: ), or the Röhm purge (German: ''Röhm-Putsch''), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: ''Unternehmen Kolibri''), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Ad ...

''. He returned to government as

President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. This is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th century, that evolved gradually into a government ...

in 1970 and as Minister for Trade from 1970 to 1972 under Edward Heath. As Scottish Secretary, he presided over the last execution in Scotland when Henry John Burnett was hanged at Craiginches Prison in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

on the morning of 15 August 1963 by the hangman Harry Allen for the murder of merchant seaman Thomas Guyan. On 3 May 1974 Noble was elevated with a life peerage as Baron Glenkinglas, of Cairndow in the County of

. Although he was a good 25 years younger than the architectural historian

Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel (1887 in Cambridge – 21 June 1959 in Westminster, London) was a British architect, writer and musician. Life Harry Stuart Goodhart was born on 29 May 1887 in Cambridge, England. He added the additional name Rende ...

, the two had a very friendly feud. Noble is said to have joked that they were "best of enemies." He died in May 1984, aged 71.

References

Bibliography

*Torrance, David, ''The Scottish Secretaries'' (Birlinn 2006) *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, ,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noble, Michael British Secretaries of State UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs who were granted peerages Scottish Conservative Party MPs Unionist Party (Scotland) councillors Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 1913 births 1984 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Glenkinglas Younger sons of baronets Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Presidents of the Board of Trade Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 Life peers created by Elizabeth II