James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas, (31 July 1942 – 28 November 2023) 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 who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh West and then as a

member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...

(MSP) for the

Lothians Lothian (; ; ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other signific ...

region. Between 1997 and 2023 he was a member of 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 ...

as 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 ...

. In 1994, he was briefly

Earl of Selkirk Earl of Selkirk is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, used since 1646. It has rules of inheritance subject to unusual and unique provisions. History The title was created on 14 August 1646 for William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, Lord W ...

, but disclaimed that peerage to remain in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

Early life

James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton was born at

Dungavel House Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre is an immigration detention facility in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, near the town of Strathaven that is also known as Dungavel Castle or Dungavel House. It is operated by Mitie Care and Custody, under contrac ...

on 31 July 1942, to the 14th Duke of Hamilton and the former Lady Elizabeth Percy. He was educated at Eton and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, where he was president of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...

, and thereafter at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree.

Political career

Douglas-Hamilton served as an advocate and an interim

Procurator Fiscal A procurator fiscal (pl. ''procurators fiscal''), sometimes called PF or fiscal (), is a public prosecutor in Scotland, who has the power to impose fiscal fines. They investigate all sudden and suspicious deaths in Scotland (similar to a corone ...

Depute from 1968 to 1972. From 1972 to 1974, he was a councillor on

Edinburgh District Council The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...

, and after unsuccessfully contesting

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

in February 1974, from October 1974 to 1997 he was Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West. During this time, he served in the

Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the es ...

. He was briefly

Falkland Pursuivant Falkland Pursuivant of Arms is a Scotland, Scottish pursuivant, pursuivant of arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon. The title was first mentioned in 1493 and it is derived from Falkland Palace, the Royal Palace of the same name located in Fife. The ...

in the

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon, or Lyon Court, is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All ...

in July 1973. In the years between 1987 and 1995 he served as Parliamentary

Under-Secretary 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 kn ...

, and thereafter as

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

between 1995 and 1997. He had previously been a

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second ...

between 1979 and 1981. He was appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

and

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1996. It was announced on 12 December 2011 that he would serve as

Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the monarch's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (the Kirk), reflecting the Church's role as the national church of Scotla ...

(as well as to the Free Church of Scotland), who is the Sovereign's personal representative to the Annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, in 2012. He also served the same role at the 2013 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland.

Peerage

In 1994 on the death of George Nigel Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk, Selkirk inherited the earldom, although the succession was disputed, as Alasdair Douglas-Hamilton, a nephew of the 10th Earl, claimed it, ultimately without success. Due to the terms of the

Peerage Act 1963 The Peerage Act 1963 (c. 48) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permits female hereditary peers and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords and allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be disclaimed. ...

, Selkirk was considered to be unable to vote in the

until he had disclaimed the title, even though the succession to it had not been decided. As the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government of the day had a small majority, he felt obliged to disclaim immediately. After losing his seat in the 1997 general election, he was elevated to the House of Lords as a

, being created Baron Selkirk of Douglas, of

Cramond Cramond Village (; ) is a village and suburb in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth. The Cramond area has evidence of Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Roman activity. In modern ...

in the

City of Edinburgh council area The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up are ...

. Lord Selkirk retired from the House of Lords on 27 July 2023.

Scottish Parliament

From 1999 to 2007 he was a member of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

and was deputy Convener of its Education Committee. In November 2005, Lord Selkirk of Douglas announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2003–2007 session of the Scottish Parliament. He continued to sit in the

, taking a particular interest in British legislation as it affects Scotland.

Books

Lord Selkirk of Douglas wrote a number of books, including ''Motive for a Mission: The Story Behind Hess's Flight to Britain'' about his father's meeting with

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician, Nuremberg trials, convicted war criminal and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer ( ...

when he landed in Scotland during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He later wrote a biography on Rudolf Hess entitled ''The Truth About Rudolf Hess'' (1993).

Personal life

On 24 August 1974 Douglas-Hamilton married Priscilla Susan Buchan, daughter of John Buchan, 2nd Baron Tweedsmuir, and Priscilla Jean Fortescue Thomson, and granddaughter of the politician and novelist

John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, British Army officer, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. As a ...

. They had four sons – John, 12th Earl of Selkirk, Charles, Jamie, and Harry. Douglas-Hamilton was fifth in line to the Dukedom of Hamilton, after the sons and the brother of the 16th Duke. His aunt was the pioneer aviator Audrey Sale-Barker, later Countess of Selkirk. Douglas-Hamilton died of pneumonia on 28 November 2023, at the age of 81.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Selkirk of Douglas, James Douglas-Hamilton, Baron 1942 births 2023 deaths Nobility from South Lanarkshire 20th-century King's Counsel Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Edinburgh

Douglas-Hamilton Douglas-Hamilton is the family surname of the Dukes of Hamilton and Earls of Selkirk. Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton, was the only child of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, who survived him. After the death in 1651 of her uncle, ...

Conservative MSPs Conservative Party (UK) life peers Councillors in Edinburgh 11 James Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas Life peers created by Elizabeth II Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Members of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 People educated at Eton College Selkirk Presidents of the Oxford Union Presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association Scottish Conservative MPs Scottish Conservative councillors Scottish King's Counsel Scottish officers of arms UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs who inherited peerages UK MPs who were granted peerages Douglas-Hamilton, James