John Mark Alexander Colville, 4th Viscount Colville of Culross (19 July 1933 – 8 April 2010), was a British judge and politician. He was one of the 92

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 elected to remain 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

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 ...

Early life and education

Colville was born in 1933, the son of Charles Colville, 3rd Viscount Colville of Culross, and his wife Kathleen Myrtle Gale. He succeeded to his father's viscountcy in 1945 at the age of twelve. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

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 graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in law in 1957, and with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1963.

Career

Colville served in the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

, reaching the rank of Lieutenant.

Called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1960, he became a

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 1978 and a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

in 1986. Between 1980 and 1983, he was the representative of the United Kingdom to the

United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the United Nations System, overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a ...

. Between 1983 and 1987, Colville was the

United Nations special rapporteur Special rapporteur (or independent expert) is the title given to independent human rights experts whose expertise is called upon by the United Nations (UN) to report or advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. De ...

on the situation of human rights in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. He also served in the British government as chair of the Mental Health Act Commission. He was chairman of the Parole Board for England and Wales from 1988 to 1992, Recorder from 1990 to 1993, and Judge of the South Eastern Circuit from 1993 to 1999. From 1996 to 2000, he was a member of the

United Nations Human Rights Committee The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per yea ...

. From 2001 he served as Assistant Surveillance Commissioner.

Marriages and children

Colville was married twice. He was married firstly to Mary Elizabeth Webb-Bowen on 4 October 1958. They had four sons: * Charles Mark Townshend Colville, 5th Viscount Colville of Culross (born 5 September 1959) * Hon. Richmond James Innys Colville (born 9 June 1961) * Hon. Alexander Fergus Gale Colville (born 9 July 1964) * Hon. Rupert George Streatfeild Colville (born 17 May 1966) After a divorce in 1973 Colville was married secondly to Margaret Birgitta Davidson, Viscountess Davidson (née Norton), former wife of Andrew Davidson, 2nd Viscount Davidson, in 1974. They had one son: * Hon. Edmund Carleton Colville (born 14 July 1978)

Death

Lord Colville died at the age of 76 in 2010. His funeral was held at St Nicholas' Church, West Lexham. He was succeeded in the viscountcy by his eldest son,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Notes

References

External links

* 1933 births 2010 deaths People educated at Rugby School Alumni of New College, Oxford British King's Counsel

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

20th-century English judges Grenadier Guards officers Members of Lincoln's Inn People associated with the University of East Anglia 20th-century King's Counsel United Nations Human Rights Committee members 4 British officials of the United Nations {{UK-viscount-stub Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999