William Warrender Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree (19 August 1860 – 5 May 1942), known as Sir William Mackenzie between 1918 and 1929, was a British barrister, public servant and Labour (later National Labour) politician. He served as Secretary of State for Air under Ramsay MacDonald between 1930 and 1931.
He later chaired the Newfoundland Royal Commission, which reported on the future governance of the Dominion of Newfoundland.
Early life
Amulree was the son of Robert (Robin) Mackenzie, of Scone, Perthshire, and Jean, daughter of Basil Menzies. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh and was called to the Bar from Lincoln's Inn in 1886.
Public career
Mackenzie published The Overseer's Handbook in 1889 and became a King's Counsel in 1914. In 1918 he became Chairman of the Committee on Production, a position he held until 1919. He was then President of the Industrial Court between 1919 and 1926 and Chairman of the National Wages Board for Railways between 1920 and 1926, of the Industrial Delegation to Canada and the USA between 1926 and 1927, and of the Departmental Committee on the Shop Hours Act 1927. He was promoted within the Order of the British Empire to be a Knight Grand Cross (GBE).
Political career
In 1929 Mackenzie was raised to the peerage as Baron Amulree, of Strathbraan in the County of Perth, giving him a seat in the House of Lords and the possibility of joining the government. In October 1930, he was appointed as Secretary of State for Air in Ramsay MacDonald's second Labour government, succeeding the deceased Lord Thomson, with a seat in the cabinet, and at the same time was sworn into the Privy Council.
Personal life
Amulree married Lilian, daughter of William Hardwck Bradbury, in 1897. They had a son, Basil, born in South Kensington, London on 25 July 1900. In 2019, the author Ajay Close worked with Perth Academy students to produce a play about the life of Lilian Mackenzie.
Amulree died in May 1942, aged 81, and was succeeded in the barony by his son Basil, who became a distinguished physician.