House of Lords
Strathclyde entered the House of Lords in 1986,becoming a Junior Whip in 1988,then Minister for Tourism in 1989. Between 1990 and 1992,he was Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries in the Scottish Office. He then served in the Department of the Environment and the Department of Trade and Industry,before being appointed the Conservative Party Chief Whip in the House of Lords in 1994,succeeding Lord Ullswater. The next year,he was sworn of the Privy Council.
In 1998 Strathclyde,along with the Conservative front bench in the Lords,threatened to tender his resignation if the party refused to accept a proposed compromise plan for reform of the Lords that had been negotiated with the Labour Party by Lord Cranborne,the Conservatives' leader in the Lords,unbeknown to the Leader of the Opposition (in the Commons) William Hague,and to his annoyance. Hague,however,accepted the proposals,dismissing Cranborne for the conduct in negotiations,and Strathclyde was appointed to succeed him. Under his leadership,the House of Lords Act 1999 passed:under this,Strathclyde was elected by other peers as one of the 92 hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords.
He won Channel 4 Peer of the Year 2000,and Spectator Peer of the Year 2004.
When the Conservatives formed a coalition government under David Cameron in May 2010,Strathclyde became Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster,with a seat in the Cabinet.
On 7 January 2013,Strathclyde announced that he would be stepping down as Leader of the House of Lords,and resigning from the Cabinet with immediate effect,to pursue a second business career. [4] He was succeeded by Lord Hill of Oareford. He was subsequently appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for his services to the Lords. [5]
Marriage and children
Strathclyde married Jane Skinner,elder daughter of John Skinner,in 1992. They have three daughters: [1]
- The Hon. Elizabeth Ida Skinner Galbraith (born 1 December 1993)
- The Hon. Annabel Jane Simone Skinner Galbraith (born 15 May 1996)
- The Hon. Rose Marie Louise Skinner Galbraith (born 27 January 1999)
The family lives in Westminster and at the Galbraith family estate in Mauchline,Ayrshire.
As Strathclyde has no sons,the heir presumptive to the peerage is his younger brother,the Hon. Charles William du Roy de Blicquy Galbraith (born 1962). [1]
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