Hector Monro

Hector Seymour Peter Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm (born October 4, 1922 in Craigcleuch / Langholm , † August 30, 2006 in Dumfries ) was a Scottish MP and Minister of the Conservative Party .

School and military time

The son of the captain of the "Cameron Highlander", Alastair Monro, spent his school years at the Cranford School and at King's College in Cambridge , where he was also a member of the University Air Squadron.

In 1941 he joined the RAF and, after training periods at the coastal command in Sunderland and in Catalinas in the USA, was finally used on reconnaissance flights in the Far East .

After returning from Hong Kong in 1946 in the rank of flight lieutenant, he settled in his hometown Craigcleuch as a farmer. However, he retained his interest in flying as a pilot of the 603rd Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force in Edinburgh from 1947 to 1954.

Member of the House of Commons

After twelve years as a member of the County Council of Dumfries from 1952 to 1964, he represented the constituency of Dumfries as a member of the House of Commons from 1964 to 1997 . In this constituency he succeeded the former Solicitor General David Anderson , who retired from the House of Commons after only eight months.

While he was one of 23 other conservative Scottish MPs (" Tories ") when he was first elected , he was the only Conservative who represented Scotland's interests in the House of Commons when he withdrew from Parliament in 1997. He represented alongside the other two Conservative MPs Alick Buchanan-Smith and George Younger , the so-called trio of the "One Nation" - Conservatives for Scotland, the interests in part against the opinion represented by the entire Tory faction.

After a PanAm plane crashed in Lockerbie near his home in 1988 , the former pilot helped the rescue workers for several hours, looked after the victims' relatives and later attended the US President Bill Clinton commemoration ceremony Arlington National Cemetery .

While he was a member of parliament, he was also whip ("whip") of the Scottish Conservatives from 1967 to 1970 , a kind of assistant to the parliamentary director. During the opposition period from 1974 to 1979 he worked as an opposition spokesman for Scottish affairs and also for sport. In addition, he was chairman and member of various parliamentary committees.

Member of the government

In the cabinet of the Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath (1970–1974), Hector Monro was Undersecretary of State in the Scotland Ministry in 1971. He held this office until the "Tories" were voted out of office in 1974.

In 1979 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher appointed him Minister of Sport. This office was retained until the first major government reshuffle in 1981.

Other activities

During his parliamentary term, Hector Monro was also President of the Scottish Rugby Union and Honorary Inspector of the General Royal Auxiliary Air Force for several years . He was also a member of the Regional Executive Committee of the National Farmers Union of Scotland, the National Trust of Scotland, the Queen's Body Guard for Scotland and the Royal Company of Archers. He also served as President of the National Small Bore Rifle Association and a member of the Nature Conservancy Council.

Awards

For his services, Hector Monro was first beaten to Knight Bachelor ("Sir") in 1981 . He also became a member of the Privy Council in 1995 .

In 1997, Hector Monro was finally raised as Baron Monro of Langholm , of Westerkirk in Dumfries and Galloway, to a life peer and thus at the same time a member of the House of Lords .

In addition, he was honored with the "Air Efficiency Award (AE)" for his war merits.

family

Lord Monro was married twice and had two sons: the major general a. D. Seymour Monro and Brigadier General Hughie Monro , who had come from Baghdad to his father's bedside.

Web links

• Short biography and obituary on the Margaret Thatcher Foundation website
• Article on the death of Lord Monro in The Guardian newspaper
• Article on the death of Lord Monro in the newspaper "The Independent"