George Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie
George Mackie The Lord Mackie of Benshie CBE DSO DFC | |
---|---|
Born | George Yull Mackie July 10, 1919 |
Died | February 19, 2015 | (aged 95)
Cause of death | Stroke |
Nationality | Scottish |
Citizenship | Scotland |
Occupation(s) | Farmer RAF navigator Businessman Liberal |
Notable work | Flying Farming Politics - a liberal life (2004) |
Political party | Scottish Liberal Party |
Spouse(s) | Lindsay Sharp (1944-1985) Deceased Jacqueline Lane (1988) Widowed |
Children | Lindsay Jeannie Diana |
Parent(s) | Maitland Mackie (father) Mary (mother) |
Military career | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Air Force (RAF) |
Years of service | 1939 - 1945 |
Rank | Navigator/Observer |
Unit |
|
Commands | Officers’ Squadron at Brackla |
Battles/wars | World War II (WWII) |
Awards | |
Member of Parliament for Caithness and Sutherland | |
In office October 15, 1964 – March 31, 1966 | |
Preceded by | Sir David Robertson |
Succeeded by | Robert Maclennan |
Personal details | |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Liberal |
George Yull Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie CBE DSO[1] DFC[2] (10 July 1919 – 17 February 2015)[3] was a Scottish 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 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]
Sources
- Parliament.uk Biography, parliament.uk; accessed 17 February 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.
- ^ "No. 36745". The London Gazette. 13 October 1944.
- ^ "Scottish Liberal Lord Mackie of Benshie dies at 95". Liberal Democrat Voice.
- ^ a b c Notice of death of Lord Mackie of Benshie, heraldscotland.com; accessed 17 February 2015.
- ^ "No. 45262". The London Gazette (invalid
|supp=
(help)). 1 January 1971. - ^ "No. 46289". The London Gazette. 14 May 1974.
- ^ Lord Mackie of Benshie obituary, guardian.com; accessed 18 February 2015
External links
- 1919 births
- 2015 deaths
- Liberal Democrat life peers
- Rectors of the University of Dundee
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
- Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
- Scottish farmers
- Scottish Liberal Party MPs
- UK MPs 1964–66
- UK MP for Scotland stubs
- Liberal MP (UK) stubs
- Life peer stubs