William David Mungo James Murray, 8th Earl of Mansfield, 7th Earl of Mansfield, (7 July 1930 – 21 October 2015), styled Lord Scone until 1970, was a British nobleman and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician.

Biography

William Murray was born on 7 July 1930. He was the only son of

Mungo Murray, 7th Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield Mungo David Malcolm Murray, 7th Earl of Mansfield, 6th Earl of Mansfield FLS FZS FSAScot FRHS JP DL (9 August 1900 – 2 September 1971), styled Lord Scone from 1906 to 1935, was a Scottish Unionist Party politician. Early life Mansfiel ...

, and his wife Dorothea Helena, younger daughter of Sir Lancelot Carnegie. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He served with the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

from 1949 to 1950. He was called to the bar,

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

, in 1958. Murray was a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

from 1958 until 1971, when he succeeded his father as Earl of Mansfield. He was a member of the British Delegation to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

from 1973 to 1975 (prior to the direct election of

Members of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Comm ...

), and was an opposition spokesman 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 ...

from 1975 to 1979. He was a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

in the

Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the es ...

from 1979 to 1983 and in the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...

from 1983 to 1984. He was appointed an Honorary Sheriff of Perthshire in 1974, a Justice of the Peace in 1975 and a Deputy Lieutenant for Perth and Kinross in 1980. Murray has also held a number of business and charitable appointments, such as serving as first president of the Federation of Hunting Associations of the European Communities (FACE) from 1977 to 1979. He was the first President of the Scottish Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders and from 1985 to 1996 served as First

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

Commissioner. He succeeded as the 11th Lord Balvaird on 2 September 1971 and he succeeded as the 13th Lord Scone on 2 September 1971. He was also the feudal Baron of Balvaird.

Marriage and children

Murray married Pamela Joan Foster on 19 December 1955. They had three children: * Alexander David Mungo Murray, 9th Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield (born 17 October 1956) * Lady Georgina Dorothea Mary Murray (born 10 March 1967), married to John Bullough *

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People Given name * Cho Hŏn (1544–1592), Joseon militia leader * Ho Hon (1885–1951), North Korean politician Surname * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French fo ...

James William Murray (born 7 June 1969) The Countess was a Patroness of the

Royal Caledonian Ball The Royal Caledonian Ball is a ball held annually in London for the benefit of Scottish charities. With few exceptions, the Royal Caledonian Ball has been held annually since 1849, and is the oldest charity ball in the world. History The ball ...

. She died on 2 October 2022, at the age of 87.

Death

Murray died on 21 October 2015 and his funeral and memorial service were held at St John's Kirk of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

on 30 October 2015, with a wake at

Scone Palace Scone Palace is a Category A- listed historic house near the village of Scone and the city of Perth, Scotland. Ancestral seat of Earls of Mansfield, built in red sandstone with a castellated roof, it is an example of the Gothic Revival style ...

. He was succeeded by his son Alexander David Mungo Murray.

Ancestry

References

External links

* *
thepeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansfield and Mansfield, William Murray, 8th Earl Of 1930 births 2015 deaths Nobility from Perth and Kinross People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 8 Members of the Inner Temple Diplomatic peers

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Scots Guards officers Conservative Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for the United Kingdom 1973–1979 Deputy lieutenants in Scotland Dunbar, William Murray, 8th Earl of People associated with Perth and Kinross Northern Ireland Office junior ministers Scottish justices of the peace Scottish sheriffs

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...