James Erskine, Earl of Mar and Kellie

James Thorne Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar and 16th Earl of Kellie, Baron Erskine of Alloa Tower, DL (born 10 March 1949) is a Scottish peer and former Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.

The Right Honourable The Earl of Mar and Kellie DL
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
as a hereditary peer 23 December 1993 – 11 November 1999
Preceded by	The 13th Earl of Mar and 15th Earl of Kellie
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
as a life peer 19 April 2000 – 30 June 2017 ^[1]
Personal details
Born	(1949-03-10) 10 March 1949 (age 74)
Political party	Liberal Democrat

Educated at Eton, he was Page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth II in 1962 and 1963. He proceeded to Moray House College of Education, Edinburgh, before embarking on a career in social work with various Scottish local authorities. He has also worked as a boatbuilder, and has served with the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and Royal Naval Auxiliary Service.

Having succeeded to the titles the previous year, the earl took his seat in the House of Lords in 1994, choosing to sit on the Liberal Democrat benches. He lost his seat after the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999. However, on 19 April 2000, he was created a life peer as Baron Erskine of Alloa Tower, of Alloa in the County of Clackmannanshire,^[2] enabling him to return to the House. He was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the constituency of Ochil in the 1999 Scottish Parliament election, but was not elected. He retired from the House of Lords on 30 June 2017.^[3]

As the 16th Viscount Fentoun, he is Premier Viscount in the Peerage of Scotland. He is also Chief of the Name and Arms of Erskine. Since 1991, he has been a Deputy Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire.^{[citation needed]}

Owing to a dispute in the nineteenth century, there is another Earldom of Mar, held by Margaret Alison of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar. Precedence as determined by the Decreet of Ranking is Countess of Mar, 4th (created 1404) and Earl of Mar and Kellie, 10th (created 1619).^{[citation needed]}

As the Earl of Mar does not have any children, his heir presumptive is his younger brother Hon. Alexander David Erskine.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. Retired under Section 1 of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.
2. "No. 55832". The London Gazette. 26 April 2000. p. 4623.
3. "The Earl of Mar and Kellie - Parliamentary career". members.parliament.uk.

• . Ochil Liberal Democrats. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
• "Mar and Kellie, Chief of Erskine". Burke's Peerage & Gentry. Retrieved 14 November 2007.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Mar and Kellie
• Earl of Mar and Kellie, House of Lords
• Announcement of his taking the oath under his new title at the House of Lords House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 19 April 2000
• The Edinburgh Gazette announcing the title of Baron Erskine of Alloa Tower, of Alloa in Clackmannanshire

Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by James Francis Hervey Erskine	Earl of Mar 1993–present	Incumbent
	Earl of Kellie 1993–present