Robin Macdonald Sinclair, 2nd Viscount Thurso, JP (24 December 1922 – 29 April 1995), was a Scottish landowner, businessman and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

politician. He was

Lord Lieutenant of Caithness The Lord Lieutenant of Caithness is the British monarch's personal representative in an area defined since 1975 as consisting of the local government district of Caithness, in Scotland. This definition was renewed by the Lord-Lieutenants (Scotla ...

from 1973 until his death.

Background

Sinclair was born in

Kingston Vale Kingston Vale with Kingston Hill is a district in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in south-west London. It is a residential area between Richmond Park, the much smaller Putney Vale, Wimbledon and Putney Commons, Wimbledon Common, Coomb ...

,Liberal Crusader by Gerard de Groot. the eldest son of the Leader of the Liberal Party,

Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso, (22 October 1890 – 15 June 1970), known as Sir Archibald Sinclair between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party. Backg ...

, and Marigold Forbes, the older daughter of Lady Angela and Colonel James Stewart Forbes. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

, and

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI i ...

, where he was Captain of Boats at the University Boat Club from 1946 to 1947, winning a Green in 1946, and a Blue in 1947. In 1952 he married Margaret Beaumont (1918–2017). They had two sons and one daughter. He succeeded his father to the title of Viscount Thurso in 1970. He was succeeded by his son John upon his death in 1995.‘THURSO’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 201
accessed 18 March 2015
/ref>

Professional career

Sinclair served in the RAF from 1941 to 1946. He was a Flight Lieutenant in 684 Squadron, 540 Squadron and he commanded the Edinburgh University Air Squadron in 1946. He was founder and first Chairman of Caithness Glass Ltd. He was Chairman of Sinclair Family Trust Ltd, Lochdhu Hotels Ltd and Thurso Fisheries Ltd. He was Director of Stephens (Plastics) Ltd.

Political career

Sinclair was elected as a Liberal to Caithness County Council in 1949. In 1957 he was elected to Thurso Town Council. He served on both the county and town councils until 1961 and then again from 1965 until 1973. He was a member of the Scottish Liberal Party Executive. He was Liberal candidate for the East Aberdeenshire division at the 1966 general election. The constituency had been safe Conservative in 1964 with the Liberals second. He managed to increase the Liberal vote and achieve a swing of 5.5%, however, the Conservative held onto the seat. He did not stand for parliament again.British parliamentary election results 1950-1983, by F. W. S. Craig.

Electoral record

He was an active supporter of the

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values. Following its inception ...

. In 1959 he was appointed a Justice of the peace. In 1973 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Caithness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurso, Robin Sinclair, 2nd Viscount 1922 births 1995 deaths Liberal Party (UK) hereditary peers Lord-Lieutenants of Caithness Alumni of New College, Oxford Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People from Thurso People educated at Eton College 20th-century Scottish businesspeople