This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jimbo Wales (talk | contribs) at 15:51, 9 July 2010 (for such a sensitive matter, it seems better to give a precise quote from the source). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 15:51, 9 July 2010 by Jimbo Wales (talk | contribs) (for such a sensitive matter, it seems better to give a precise quote from the source)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Malcolm Ian Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness, PC (born 3 November 1948) is a British Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords as one of the remaining hereditary peers. He is also chief of Clan Sinclair. The Earl was educated at Marlborough College and Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester.
Lord Caithness served as a House of Lords government whip under Margaret Thatcher from 1984 to 1985. He then moved to the Department of Transport as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, serving until 1986 when he became a Minister of State at the Home Office. In 1988 he was once again moved, this time to be Minister of State at the Department of Environment. In 1989, he became Paymaster-General.
In 1990, Lord Caithness was again shuffled to the Foreign Office as a Minister of State, and then in 1992 back to the Department of Transport. He married Diana Caroline Coke (1953–1994) in 1975. In January 1994, Lord Caithness resigned from the Government following the suicide of his wife, Diana Countess of Caithness, who according to the BBC "shot herself in despair at his relationship with another woman."
With the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999, Lord Caithness, along with most other hereditary peers, lost his automatic right to sit in the House of Lords. He was however elected as one of the 90 representative peers to remain in the House of Lords under the provisions of the Act.
He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1990. He is the Chief Executive of the Clan Sinclair Trust. He is an opponent of fractional-reserve banking.
References
- "The Major Scandal Sheet". BBC News. 27 October 1998. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- Hansard archives
Peerage of Scotland | ||
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Preceded byJames Sinclair | Earl of Caithness 1965— |
Incumbent Heir: Alexander Sinclair, Lord Berriedale |
Political offices | ||
Preceded byPeter Brooke | Paymaster-General 1989–1990 |
Succeeded byRichard Ryder |
Paymasters general of the United Kingdom | ||
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