George Kenneth Hotson Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, Baron Younger of Prestwick, (22 September 1931 – 26 January 2003), was a British
Conservative Party politician and banker. He was the
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Ayr from 1964 to 1992. During the premiership of
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
, Younger served as
Secretary of State for Scotland
The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...
from 1979 to 1986, and as
Secretary of State for Defence
The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...
from 1986 to 1989.
Early life and career
Younger's forebear, George Younger (baptised 1722), was the founder of George Younger and Son of Alloa, the family's brewing business (not to be confused with
Younger's of Edinburgh). Younger's great-grandfather,
George Younger, was created Viscount Younger of Leckie in 1923. Younger was the eldest of the three sons of
Edward Younger, 3rd Viscount Younger of Leckie.
He was born in
Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
in 1931 and educated at
Cargilfield Preparatory School,
Winchester College
Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...
, and
New College, Oxford
New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...
, where he obtained a
Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
.
[ Joining the ]British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, he served in the Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
with the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. On 7 August 1954, he married Diana Tuck, daughter of a Royal Navy captain. They had four children, including James Younger, who succeeded his father to the Viscountcy.
Political career
He first stood for Parliament, unsuccessfully, in North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...
in the 1959 general election. Subsequently, he was initially selected to stand for the Kinross and West Perthshire seat in a by-election in late 1963, but agreed to stand aside to allow the new Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel ( ; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...
the chance to enter the House of Commons.[ He was viewed as a one-nation conservative.][
Following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather the 1st Viscount, Younger became Member of Parliament for Ayr in ]1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
and served as Margaret Thatcher's Secretary of State for Scotland
The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...
for seven years.[ He subsequently succeeded ]Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket Media Group in 1957. Heseltine se ...
as Secretary of State for Defence
The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...
in 1986 when Heseltine resigned from the cabinet over a dispute about helicopters known as the Westland affair.[ In the 1987 general election, as part of a considerable swing away from the Conservatives in Scotland, he retained his seat after three recounts, by a majority of just 182 votes (having been almost 8,000 votes in ]1983
1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
). Incidentally, it was held by his successor Phil Gallie by an even smaller majority of 85 votes in 1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
.
After parliament
Younger quit the cabinet in 1989, and joined the Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Sco ...
, becoming its chairman in 1992. He was created a 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 ...
as Baron Younger of Prestwick, of Ayr in the District of Kyle and Carrick, on 7 July 1992, five years before succeeding to the viscountcy. As such, he continued to sit 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 ...
after the passage of 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 ...
which expelled most of the hereditary peer
The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...
s. In 1995, the Queen appointed him a knight of the Order of the Thistle
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...
. Younger became Chancellor of Edinburgh's Napier University in 1993, and was Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2001 and 2002.
Younger died from cancer at his home in Gargunnock on 26 January 2003, at the age of 71."Obituary: Viscount Younger of Leckie"
''The Independent'', 9 April 2010.
Notes
References
Sources
* Torrance, David, ''The Scottish Secretaries'' (Birlinn 2006)
*''Burke's Peerage & Baronetage'' (106th edition, 1999). Editor-in-chief: Charles Mosley; publisher: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd.
External links
*
Lord Younger dies after cancer battle
– BBC News article, dated Sunday, 26 January 2003.
Lord Younger: A career in politics
– BBC News article, dated Sunday, 26 January 2003.
Tribute paid to 'Gentleman George'
– BBC News article, dated Sunday, 26 January 2003.
– IESIS website, retrieved 27 May 2012.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Younger of Leckie, George Younger, 4th Viscount
1931 births
2003 deaths
Nobility from Stirling (council area)
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