John Jackson Mackay, Baron Mackay of Ardbrecknish (15 November 1938 – 21 February 2001) was a Scottish

Conservative and Unionist Party 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 (UK), Labour Party. The party sits on the Cent ...

politician.

Early life

Mackay was born in 1938, the son of Jackson and Jean Mackay, and was educated at Campbeltown Grammar School, the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

(BSc) and Jordanhill College of Education, where he graduated with a Diploma in Education. Mackay started his career as a mathematics teacher, becoming Head of Mathematics at Oban High School.

Political career

He was a Tory candidate for the

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in the February 1974 election having, in the climate of the era, accepted he could realise his original Liberal Parliamentary ambitions only by joining the Conservatives. He contested

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

in October 1974 and was Member of Parliament for the constituency from 1979 to 1983, and after boundary changes, for

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

from 1983 to 1987, when he lost the seat to the Liberal candidate Ray Michie – the daughter of Lord Bannerman, a local Liberal. Mackay was 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 ...

from 1982 to 1987 with responsibility for Health and Social Work and was Commons Scottish spokesman on Agriculture (which was the responsibility of the Earl of Mansfield sitting in the Lords). Against the advice of officials he supported a Private Member's Bill on solvent abuse, a scourge of the time, which became law in 1983. In Health he threw himself into the 1982 NHS strikes and a modernisation of mental health legislation.

House of Lords

Following his defeat, he was given a

life peerage 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 Mackay of Ardbrecknish, of Tayvallich in the District of

. He rejoined the government as a Lord in Waiting in 1993. In January 1994, he joined the

Department of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, being promoted later that year to become Minister of State at the

Department of Social Security A ministry of social security or department of social security is a government entity responsible for social security affairs. It may be a ministry office, a department, or, as in the United States, a nominally independent agency. Notable ones ar ...

, a post he held until 1997. During this time he was held in high regard by both the civil servants who worked with him and by the ex-Service community with whom he had regular contact in his role as War Pensions Minister. In addition, he was sworn of the Privy Council in the 1996 Birthday Honours and was appointed to be a deputy lieutenant of the city of Glasgow on 7 January 1997. In opposition, he served as deputy leader of the Conservative peers.

Death

He died in 2001 in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

at the age of 62.

References

Sources

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons 1983'' (London: Times Books, 1984). *''Times Guide to the House of Commons 1987'' (London: Times Books, 1988). * * *Roth, Andrew
Obituary: Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish
, ''

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''. Retrieved 24 May 2013.

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackay, John Jackson 1938 births 2001 deaths Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 Mackay of Ardbrecknish People educated at Dunoon Grammar School Scottish Conservative MPs Life peers created by Elizabeth II Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom