George Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie
The Lord Mackie of Benshie | |
|---|---|
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 15 May 1974 – 17 February 2015 Life Peerage | |
| Member of Parliament for Caithness and Sutherland | |
| In office 16 October 1964 – 10 March 1966 | |
| Preceded by | Sir David Robertson |
| Succeeded by | Bob Maclennan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George Yull Mackie 10 July 1919 Tarves, Scotland |
| Died | 19 February 2015 (aged 95) Dundee, Scotland |
| Cause of death | Stroke |
| Citizenship | British |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Scottish Liberal Party |
| Spouse(s) | Lindsay Sharp (1944-1985) Deceased Jacqueline Lane (1988) Widowed |
| Children | Lindsay Jeannie Diana |
| Parents | Maitland Mackie (father) Mary (mother) |
| Occupation | Farmer RAF navigator Businessman Liberal |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Air Force (RAF) |
| Years of service | 1939–1945 |
| Rank | Squadron Leader |
| Unit | |
| Commands held | Officers’ Squadron |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | |
George Yull Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie CBE DSO[1] DFC[2] (10 July 1919 – 17 February 2015)[3] was a British Liberal Party politician.
After World War II in which he served as a decorated airman with RAF Bomber Command, Mackie took over a farm at Benshie, Angus, and subsequently set up a cattle ranch at Braeroy, Inverness-shire, near Spean Bridge.[4] Having first contested South Angus in 1959, he was elected Member of Parliament for Caithness and Sutherland in 1964. In the Commons he served as Scottish Liberal whip. He lost his seat in 1966, when he was defeated by Labour candidate Robert Maclennan. Maclennan eventually became a senior Social Democrat Party/Liberal Democrat politician in the 1980s. Mackie contested Caithness and Sutherland again in 1970, but lost by a wider margin.
Having been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1971,[5] he was given a life peerage, as Baron Mackie of Benshie, of Kirriemuir in the County of Angus on 10 May 1974.[6] In the House of Lords, he served as Agriculture and Scottish Affairs spokesman for the Liberals and their successor parties between 1975 and 2000. Having been Chair of the Scottish Liberal Party from 1965 to 1970, he was its president between 1983 and 1988. In 1980, he was elected to serve a term as Rector of the University of Dundee.
His older brothers were Sir Maitland Mackie and John Mackie, Baron John-Mackie.
Until his death, Mackie was the oldest living person to have served as a Liberal Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom.[4] His death was announced on 17 February 2015. He was 95 years old.[4][7]
Lord Mackie's papers are held by Archive Services at the University of Dundee.[8]
Mackie married firstly, in 1944, Lindsay, daughter of lawyer Alexander Sharp, of Aberdeen. They had three daughters, the eldest of whom, Lindsay, married the journalist Alan Rusbridger.[9][10] Mackie married secondly, in 1988, Jacqueline, daughter of Colonel Marcel Rauch, of the French Air Force.[11]
Sources[]
- Parliament.uk Biography, parliament.uk; accessed 15 November 2015.
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [self-published source][better source needed]
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
References[]
- ^ "No. 36374". The London Gazette. 8 February 1944. p. 737.
- ^ "No. 36745". The London Gazette. 13 October 1944. p. 4692.
- ^ "Scottish Liberal Lord Mackie of Benshie dies at 95". Liberal Democrat Voice.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Notice of death of Lord Mackie of Benshie, heraldscotland.com; accessed 17 February 2015.
- ^ "No. 45262". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1971. p. 8.
- ^ "No. 46289". The London Gazette. 14 May 1974. p. 5851.
- ^ Lord Mackie of Benshie obituary, guardian.com; accessed 18 February 2015
- ^ "MS 404 George Mackie, Lord Mackie of Benshie". Archive Services Online Catalogue. University of Dundee. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
- ^ "Lord Mackie of Benshie obituary". 17 February 2015.
- ^ "Lord Mackie of Benshie".
- ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 2507
External links[]
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by George Mackie
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- 1919 births
- 2015 deaths
- Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers
- Rectors of the University of Dundee
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Highland constituencies
- Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
- Scottish farmers
- Scottish Liberal Party MPs
- UK MPs 1964–1966
- UK MPs who were granted peerages
- Royal Air Force squadron leaders