James Hector Northey "Hamish" Gray, Baron Gray of Contin, (28 June 1927 – 14 March 2006) was a

Scottish Conservative The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons, 30 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Par ...

politician and

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 ...

. Gray was born in

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

and educated at the

Inverness Royal Academy Inverness Royal Academy is a comprehensive secondary school in the city of Inverness in the Highland area of Scotland. A former grammar school with a history dating back to the 13th century, the academy became a comprehensive in the mid-1970s ...

. His father owned an Inverness roofing firm. He was commissioned into the

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (the Duke of Albany's) to form ...

in 1945 and served in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, during partition. He married Judith Waite Brydon in 1953 and they had two sons and a daughter. He was elected as an Independent member of Inverness Council in 1965 and at the 1970 general election he was elected to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as the

Conservative and Unionist The Conservative and Unionist Party, commonly the Conservative Party and colloquially known as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. The party sits on the centre-right to right- ...

Party Member of Parliament (MP) for

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (), is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a Shires of Scotland, county. Historical ...

. He was appointed to the Whips' Office in 1971, and he served as a front bench Energy spokesman (1975–1979). Upon the Conservatives' return to government in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, he was appointed as the

Minister of State for Energy The Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero is a mid-level position in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in the Government of the United Kingdom. The role used to be part of the portfolio belonging to the secretary of s ...

under David Howell, where he remained until the

1983 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1983. Africa * 1983 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1983 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1983 Kenyan general election * 1983 Malagasy parliamentary election * 1983 Malawian general elec ...

, when he was defeated in the new

Ross, Cromarty and Skye Ross, Cromarty and Skye was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1997. The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election. It was formed ...

constituency by the SDP candidate

Charles Kennedy Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 19591 June 2015) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 to 2015. Kennedy wa ...

. He was made a life peer in 1983, taking the title Baron Gray of Contin, of

Contin Contin ( Gaelic: Cunndainn) is a Ross-shire village, and a civil parish and community council area between Strathpeffer and Garve in the Highland council area of Scotland. The parish has a population of 675.Ross Ross may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ross (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan Places Antarctica * Ross Sea ...

and

Cromarty Cromarty (; , ) is a town, civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish and former royal burgh in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland (council area), Highland area of Scotland. Situated at the tip of the Black Isle on the southern shore of the mout ...

, and was

Minister of State for Scotland The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State rank) in the Government of the United Kingdom, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland. The post is also kno ...

from 1983 to 1986. He served

as Deputy lieutenant (1989),

Vice Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

(1994) and

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

(1996–2002). He died on 14 March 2006 at a hospice in Inverness after a long battle with cancer.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Hamish 1927 births 2006 deaths Nobility from Highland (council area) Politicians from Inverness Deaths from cancer in Scotland Scottish Conservative MPs Gray of Contin Scottish Conservative councillors Lord-lieutenants of Inverness-shire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies People educated at Inverness Royal Academy Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders officers UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Highland constituencies Life peers created by Elizabeth II