James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas, (31 July 1942 – 28 November 2023) was a Scottish Conservative politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh West and then as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothians region. Between 1997 and 2023 he was a member of the House of Lords as a life peer.
In 1994, he was briefly Earl of Selkirk, but disclaimed that peerage to remain in the House of Commons.
Early life
James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton was born at Dungavel House on 31 July 1942, to the 14th Duke of Hamilton and the former Lady Elizabeth Percy. He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, where he was president of the Oxford Union, and thereafter at the University of Edinburgh, earning a Bachelor of Laws degree.
In the years between 1987 and 1995 he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, and thereafter as Minister of State between 1995 and 1997. He had previously been a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury between 1979 and 1981. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor and Queen's Counsel in 1996. that he would serve as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (as well as to the Free Church of Scotland), who is the Sovereign's personal representative to the Annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, in 2012. He also served the same role at the 2013 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland.
Peerage
In 1994 on the death of George Nigel Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk, Selkirk inherited the earldom, although the succession was disputed, as Alasdair Douglas-Hamilton, a nephew of the 10th Earl, claimed it, ultimately without success. Lord Selkirk retired from the House of Lords on 27 July 2023.
Scottish Parliament
From 1999 to 2007 he was a member of the Scottish Parliament and was deputy Convener of its Education Committee. In November 2005, Lord Selkirk of Douglas announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2003–2007 session of the Scottish Parliament. He continued to sit in the House of Lords, taking a particular interest in British legislation as it affects Scotland.
Books
Lord Selkirk of Douglas wrote a number of books, including Motive for a Mission: The Story Behind Hess's Flight to Britain about his father's meeting with Rudolf Hess when he landed in Scotland during World War II. He later wrote a biography on Rudolf Hess entitled The Truth About Rudolf Hess (1993).
James was an officer in the Cameronian Company of 1/52 Lowland Volunteers in the early 1970s
See also
- Commission on Scottish Devolution