George Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie

George Yull Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie CBE , DSO , DFC (born July 10, 1919 in Aberdeen , † February 17, 2015 in Dundee ), was a British politician ( Liberal Democrats ), farmer and businessman .

Life

Mackie was born on July 10, 1919 to Maitland Mackie. He had two brothers, John Mackie, Baron John-Mackie and Maitland Mackie , who were also politically active. George Mackie attended Aberdeen Grammar School, and later Aberdeen University . During World War II , he served in the RAF Bomber Command after joining the Royal Air Force in February 1940 . There he was trained as a navigator. In 1941 he joined the 15th squadron. He later served with the 148th Squadron in the Middle East , as well as the 149th and 115th in 1944, he became a member of the Air Staff . He was also involved in the operation via Berlin .

From 1945 to 1989 he worked as a farmer in Ballinshoe . In 1963 he published Policy for Scottish Agriculture .

In the general election in 1959 , he ran unsuccessfully for the constituency of South Angus . He was from 1965 to 1970 Chairman ( Chair ) of the Scottish Liberal Party and its President from 1983 to 1988. For the European Parliament Mackie 1979 unsuccessfully stood for Scotland North East . In the Scottish Liberal Party Mackie was 1965-1970 Chairman ( Chair ). From 1983 to 1988 he was president there when it became the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

He was chairman of Caithness Glass from 1966 to 1984 and of Caithness Pottery Co. Ltd from 1975 to 1984 . In 1980 he was elected Rector of the University of Dundee for a term ending in 1983. He was succeeded by Gordon Wilson . From 1983 to 1985 he was chairman of the Cotswold Wine Co. (UK) Ltd . He was chairman of The Benshie Cattle Co. Ltd since 1986.

In the Land & Timber Services Ltd he was from 1986 to 1988 Chairman ( Chairman ). Mackie was a member of the Executive Committee of the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union . In the Council of Europe he was a member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association from 1986 to 1998 and, during the same period, of the Western European Council. In 1991 he presented a report on the airport asylum procedure to the Council of Europe.

Mackie was a member of the RAF Club , the Farmers' Club, and the Garrick Club . He was the oldest living person to be a member of the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom. He lived in Angus .

Membership in the House of Commons

Mackie 1964 for the constituency of Caithness and Sutherland in the lower house elected. He lost his seat in 1966 when he was defeated by Labor candidate Robert Maclennan .

He gave his inaugural address on November 6, 1964. In the same year he spoke on the subjects of bank loans for agriculture and grain imports. Over the next two years, presentations on the tourism industry, milk, the coal industry and Scottish whiskey followed.

From 1964 to 1966 he was a Scottish Whip . In the 1970 general election , he ran again for the same constituency, but lost significantly.

Membership in the House of Lords

Mackie was named a Life Peer as Baron Mackie of Benshie, of Kirriemuir in the County of Angus on May 10, 1974 . The official introduction to the House of Lords took place on May 15, 1974 with the assistance of Frank Byers, Baron Byers and Rhys Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Kilgerran . He gave his inaugural address on June 19, 1974.

He cited agriculture as a subject of particular political interest.

In the 1970s he spoke about membership in the European Community , Rhodesia , forestry and speed limit control. He responded in the 1980s on topics including: former prisoners of war, the Falkland Islands , UN sanctions against South Africa and the treatment costs for AIDS . In the 1990s he spoke on the subject of Kurdish refugees from Iraq , the design of the banknotes, membership of UNESCO and Bosnia-Herzegovina . In the 2000s, he spoke out on Serbia , the health system, English tourism and House of Lords reform.

From 1975 to 2000 he was spokesman for the Liberal Democrats (initially the Liberals) on agricultural and Scottish affairs. He was a member of the EEC Scrutiny Committee and the shadow cabinet of the Liberals. From 1990 to 1997 he was a member and rapporteur of the Committee on Agricultural and Rural Development .

In 2004 he published his memoirs under the title Flying, Farming and Politics . On the occasion of the publication, an event was held in the upper house.

Honors

Mackie was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1944. He was also honored with the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1944 . He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1971 . In 1982 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in law (LLD).

He was an honorary member of the British Veterinary Association (BVA).

family

Mackie married Lindsay Lyall Sharp in 1944 († 1985). They had three daughters together. In 1988 he married Jacqueline Rauche Lane, with whom he remained married until his death on February 17, 2015 at the age of 95.

Publications

• Policy for Scottish Agriculture , publisher unknown, 1963, ISBN unknown
• Flying, Farming and Politics , Memoir Club, 2004, ISBN 978-1841040943

Web links

• George Mackie at Hansard (English)
• George Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie at theyworkforyou
• George Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie at The Public Whip
• The Rt Hon Lord Mackie of Benshie, CBE, DSO, DFC - biography at Debretts
• Lord Mackie of Benshie - obituary ; Obituary in: The Daily Telegraph, February 17, 2015
• Lord Mackie of Benshie obituary ; Obituary in: The Guardian, February 17, 2015

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Obituary: Lord John-Mackie Article in the Independent, May 27, 1994
2. ↑ Lord Mackie of Benshie ( Memento of the original from December 24, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Entry on the Liberal Democrats website , accessed August 25, 2012  
3. ↑ CRANSTON FINE ARTS - ONLINE SHOP Entry on the website of the Cranston Fine Arts Online Shop , accessed on August 25, 2012
4. ^ 'Ops' (Operations) comment on the Rafbombercommand website , accessed August 25, 2012
5. ↑ Results of the 1979 European elections ( Memento from July 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ CONCIL OF EUROPE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY FORTY THIRD ORDINARY SESSION Excerpts from Google Books , accessed August 25, 2012
7. ^ The airport asylum procedure according to [Paragraph 18a AsylVfG ] excerpts from Google Books , accessed on August 25, 2012
8. ↑ CAITHNESS & SUTHERLAND ( Memento of the original of July 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Entry on Leigh Rayment's website , accessed August 24, 2012 
9. ↑ I have some grand memories of two very different ladies article in the Northern Times on January 5, 2012
10. ↑ PEERAGE Entry on Leigh Rayment's website , accessed on August 24, 2012
11. ↑ ^{a b c d} George Yull Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie on thepeerage.com , accessed August 18, 2015.
12. ↑ Lord Mackie of Benshie Excerpt from the minutes of the House of Lords meeting , May 15, 1974
13. ↑ THE STIRLING PROJECT NEWSLETTER No. 6 (2003/04) ( Memento of the original dated August 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. THE STIRLING PROJECT NEWSLETTER No. 6 (2003/04) , accessed August 25, 2012  
14. ↑ List of honorary members ( Memento of the original from April 19, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Entry on the website of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) , accessed August 25, 2012  
15. ↑ Lord Mackie of Benshie - obituary. In: The Daily Telegraph, February 17, 2015 (accessed February 17, 2015).

predecessor	Office	successor
Sir David Robertson	Member of the House of Commons 1964–1966	Robert Maclennan

predecessor	Office	successor
John Bannerman	Chairman of the Scottish Liberal Party 1965–1970	David Russell Johnston

predecessor	Office	successor
?	President of the Scottish Liberal Party 1983–1988	David Russell Johnston

predecessor	Office	successor
Clement Freud	Rector of the University of Dundee 1983–1988	Gordon Wilson