William Warrender Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree (19 August 1860 – 5 May 1942), known as Sir William Mackenzie between 1918 and 1929, was a British barrister, public servant and Labour (later National Labour) politician. He served as

Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a secretary of state position in the British government that existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretary of State for Air was supported by ...

under

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

between 1930 and 1931. He later chaired the

Newfoundland Royal Commission The Newfoundland Royal Commission or Amulree Commission (as it came to be known) was a royal commission established on February 17, 1933 by the Government of the United Kingdom "to examine into the future of Newfoundland and in particular to report ...

, which reported on the future governance of the

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...

Early life

Amulree was the son of Robert (Robin) Mackenzie, of

Scone A scone ( or ) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often ...

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

, and Jean, daughter of Basil Menzies. He was educated 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 ...

and was

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 ...

from

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 1886. G. E. Cokayne, Vicary Gibbs, et al., ''

The Complete Peerage ''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant''); first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition re ...

'' (Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume XIII, page 472

Public career

Mackenzie published ''The Overseer's Handbook'' in 1889 and became a

King'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 1914. In 1918 he became Chairman of the Committee on Production, a position he held until 1919. He was then President of the Industrial Court between 1919 and 1926 and Chairman of the National Wages Board for Railways between 1920 and 1926, of the Industrial Delegation to Canada and the USA between 1926 and 1927, and of the Departmental Committee on the Shop Hours Act 1927. He was promoted within the Order of the British Empire to be a Knight Grand Cross (GBE).

Political career

In 1929 Mackenzie was raised to the peerage as Baron Amulree, of Strathbraan in the County of Perth, giving him a seat in the House of Lords and the possibility of joining the government. In October 1930, he was appointed as

's second Labour government, succeeding the deceased Lord Thomson, with a seat in the cabinet, and at the same time was sworn into the Privy Council. He was one of the few Labour politicians to follow MacDonald into the coalition National Government, in which he kept his post, although not his seat on the Cabinet, until the reconstruction of the government after the November 1931 general election. In 1933, Amulree chaired the

, which prepared a report on the future of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

as a

dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...

of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

Personal life

Amulree married Lilian, daughter of William Hardwck Bradbury, in 1897. She died at Cheam,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, in June 1916. Amulree died in May 1942, aged 81, and was succeeded in the barony by his son

Basil Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...

, who became a distinguished physician.

Honours

In 1917 Amulree was appointed as a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) and in 1918 promoted in the same

Order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

to a Knight Commander (KBE), making him Sir William Mackenzie.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amulree, William Warrender Mackenzie, 1st Baron 1860 births 1942 deaths Nobility from Perth and Kinross Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Secretaries of State for Air (UK) 1 British King's Counsel Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers 20th-century King's Counsel Barons created by George V