Roderick John MacLeod, Lord Minginish (

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

: ''Ruairidh Iain MacLeòid''; born ), also known as Roddy John, is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

. From 2014 until his retirement in December 2022, he was

Chairman of the Scottish Land Court The Scottish Land Court () is a Scottish court of law based in Edinburgh with subject-matter jurisdiction covering disputes between landlords and tenants relating to agricultural tenancies, and matters related to crofts and crofters. The S ...

and President of the

Lands Tribunal for Scotland The Lands Tribunal for Scotland () is a tribunal with jurisdiction over land and property in Scotland, relating to title obligations, compulsory purchase and other private rights. The Tribunal was established under the Lands Tribunal Act 194 ...

. He was the first Gaelic-speaking chair of the court.

Early life

MacLeod was born on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...

in about 1953. His parents, who were both from the outer-Hebridean isle of

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle ...

, moved in the 1920s to a 24 acre croft at Portnalong in Skye in the 1920s as part of a land settlement scheme. He was educated on Skye at Portnalong Junior Secondary School from 1957 to 1965, and at

Portree High School Portree High School ( Gaelic: ') is a state co-educational comprehensive school in Portree, Isle of Skye in Scotland. , the school enrols 494 pupils and employs 80 teachers and support staff. The school's catchment area draws from 15 primary sch ...

from 1965 to 1971. He then studied law 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 ...

, graduating with

LLB 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 ...

honours in 1975.

Career

MacLeod then undertook a two-year legal apprenticeship in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, before working for from 1977–78 in Gaelic-language broadcasting at

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

, where he presented current affairs programmes on television. He then completed his training in

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

, qualifying as a solicitor in 1980. He practised as a solicitor in Edinburgh until 1993, and in July 1994 he was admitted to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...

. In 2000, MacLeod was appointed as a

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Edinburgh Sheriff Court Edinburgh Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in Chambers Street in Edinburgh, within the sheriffdom of Edinburgh and Borders. History Until the mid-1990s, hearings took place in the Justiciary Building, Edinburgh, Old Sheriff Court in the Lawnma ...

. In 2013 he was appointed

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 ...

Land Court

Sheriff MacLeod became Deputy Chair of the Scottish Land Court in 2006, serving under Lord McGhie. In 2013, he accompanied Lord McGhie and High Court Judge Lord Bracadale to Skye to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the 1882

Battle of the Braes Camustianavaig (also English spelling: ''Camustinivaig'') is a crofting township on the island of Skye in Scotland. It is located on the shores of the Sound of Raasay, southeast of Portree. The ''Lòn Bàn'' watercourse flows from Loch Fada to ...

. The visit was to acknowledge that the court "stands on the shoulders" of the people of Braes who had resisted the attempted eviction of 12

crofters A croft is a traditional Scottish term for a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenan ...

. Their rebellion spread, and led to the

Napier Commission The Napier Commission, officially the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Condition of Crofters and Cottars in the Highlands and Islands was a royal commission and public inquiry into the condition of crofters and cottars in the Highlands and ...

and then the Crofters Act 1886, which gave crofters security of tenure. In September 2014, he was appointed by

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

to succeed McGhie as Chairman of the Land Court, taking the title Lord Minginish, after the parish of

Minginish Minginish () is a peninsula on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is situated on the west coast of the island and runs from Loch Scavaig in the south (which separates Minginish from the Strathaird Peninsula), along the western coast of Skye to Lo ...

in Skye, where he was raised. He was nominated by First Minister

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...

on the recommendation by the independent

Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland () is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for making recommendations on appointments to certain offices of the judiciary of Scotland. It was established ...

. Since 1978, the Chair of the Land Court has also held the office of President of the separate

, and Lord Minginish accordingly held both roles. Lord Minginish took office on 1 October 2014. On 17 October, he was installed in office at the Land Court's headquarters in George House, Edinburgh. The ceremony was led by

Lord Gill Brian Gill, Lord Gill, Order of St. Gregory the Great, KSG Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, FRSAMD Royal School of Church Music, FRSCM (born 25 February 1942) is a retired Scotland, Scottish ju ...

, who was then the

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General () is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. ...

and head of the Scottish judiciary. He retired in December 2022.

Other interests

Lord Minginish has since 2006 been director of

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (; ) is a public higher education college situated in the Sleat peninsula in the south of the Isle of Skye, Scotland with an associate campus at Bowmore on the island of Islay. Sabhal Mòr is an independent Academic Part ...

, the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, based on the Skye. He has been chair of the higher education college's board of directors since 2007. In 2010, he was a keynote speaker at An t-Alltan, an annual conference organised by Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig for teachers working in Gaelic medium education. He is also a member of the council of the

Royal Celtic Society Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

Personal life

Lord Minginish married in 1980. He lives in Edinburgh.

Notes

References

External links

The Scottish Land Court
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Roderick 1953 births Living people People from the Isle of Skye People educated at Portree High School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh

Scottish solicitors Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel BBC Scotland newsreaders and journalists Scottish sheriffs