Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean

The Right Honourable The Lord Forsyth of Drumlean PC Kt
Secretary of State for Scotland
In office 5 June 1995 – 1 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Ian Lang
Succeeded by	Donald Dewar
Member of Parliament for Stirling
In office 7 June 1983 – 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Anne McGuire
Personal details
Born	16 October 1954 (1954-10-16) Montrose, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	University of St Andrews

Michael Bruce Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean PC, Kt (born 16 October 1954) is a British financier and politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stirling from 1983 to 1997 and served in the cabinet of John Major as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1995 to 1997. He is Deputy Chairman of Evercore Partners International, a Director of J&J Denholm and NBNK Investments, and a former Deputy Chairman of JPMorgan UK. He was knighted in 1997 and appointed to the House of Lords in 1999. He is a member of the Privy Council and the Development Board at the Royal Society.

Early life

Forsyth was born in Montrose, in Angus, Scotland. He was educated at Arbroath High School and the University of St Andrews (1972—76). He was President of the Conservative Association at St Andrews University from 1973—76. At St Andrews Forsyth developed a passion for debating, history, science and campaigning.

Parliamentary career

After leaving university Forsyth was first elected to Westminster City Council from 1978—83. He was then elected at the 1983 General Election as the MP for the Stirling constituency. His first job in government was as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the then Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe from 1986—87. In 1987 he was allocated to the Scotland Office, first as an Under-Secretary of State (1987—90), then as Minister of State (1990—92) with responsibility over health, education, social work and sport. He was also the chair of the Scottish Conservative Party from 1989—1990. In 1996 he was named Parliamentarian of the Year.

After working at the Department of Employment (1992—94), then the Home Office (1994—95), he became a member of John Major's cabinet in 1995 as Secretary of State for Scotland. In 1996, as Scottish Secretary, Forsyth was credited with transferring the Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny, from Westminster Abbey to (ultimately) Edinburgh Castle.

In 1992 Forsyth won the backing of his Stirling constituency and was re-elected, despite Conservative losses across the country. Forsyth left government in the United Kingdom general election, 1997. Altogether he represented Stirling in the House of Commons for 14 years.

Independence in Scotland

Forsyth campaigned against the Scottish Parliament having the power to vary the basic rate of income tax by up to three pence in the pound, which he dubbed the "Tartan Tax". Forsyth's persistence was widely credited with prompting the Labour Party's unexpected decision – bitterly criticised by the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party – to separate out the tax-varying issue in a two-question referendum on devolution.

In 2009—10 he was a member of the Sanderson Commission that reported on Conservative Party organisation, and in 2010—11 a member of the independent Philips inquiry into the 1994 Scotland RAF Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre, established by the Secretary of State for Defence.

In 2011, Forsyth criticized the plans of Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser to disband the Scottish Conservatives and establish a wholly new centre-right party, should he win the forthcoming leadership election. Forsyth later declared his backing for a rival candidate, Ruth Davidson.

House of Lords

Forsyth was nominated to the Privy Council in 1995, was knighted in 1997 and entered the House of Lords as Baron Forsyth of Drumlean (a town near Stirling) in 1999. Following his elevation to the Lords, he has held a number of positions. He was a member of the Commission on Strengthening Parliament (1999—2000), the Select Committee on the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, the Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament on Reform of the House of Lords, and the Select Committee on the Barnett Formula. From October 2005 to October 2006, he was Chairman of the Conservative Party's Tax Reform Commission — established by then Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP. He is also a member of the Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs and he is on the Development Board of the Royal Society.

Business Career

After leaving the House of Commons Forsyth has become a prominent figure in the City of London. He joined Flemings as a director of Corporate Finance and, following the bank's sale to JPMorgan Chase he became Vice-Chairman Investment Banking Europe at JPMorgan (1999—2001) and then Deputy Chairman of JPMorgan (2002—2005). He is now Deputy Chairman of Evercore Partners International LLP, a leading investment bank. He also holds non-executive directorships at J&J Denholm Ltd, the Centre for Policy Studies and NBNK Investments PLC.

Philanthropy and personal life

Forsyth is married to Susan (1977) and they have three grown-up children. He is the founder of the Pimlico Tree and Preservation Trust, now the Westminster Tree Trust, and is patron of the British branch of Child In Need India (CINI UK); his wife is the organisation's deputy chairman. Recently, he climbed the highest mountain in Antarctica — Mount Vinson — in support of CINI and Marie Curie Cancer Care having already climbed Mount Aconcagua and Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountains in the Americas and Africa respectively. His charity fund-raising achievements are substantial and include £220,000 for DebRA for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, £420,000 for CINI and Marie Curie Cancer Care for climbing Mount Vinson, and £500,000 to support the families of victims of 9/11 through organising a dinner in the City of London.

Publications

Publications include: 'Reservicing Britain' and 'The Myths of Privatisation'.

Bibliography

• Torrance, David, The Scottish Secretaries (Birlinn 2006)

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Michael Forsyth
• Tax Reform Commission

Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Stirling 1983 – 1997	Succeeded by Anne McGuire
Political offices
Preceded by Ian Lang	Secretary of State for Scotland 1995–1997	Succeeded by Donald Dewar