Robert Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Lord Maclennan of Rogart
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Official portrait, 2018
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| President of the Liberal Democrats | |
| In office 1 January 1995 – 31 December 1998 |
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| Leader | Paddy Ashdown |
| Preceded by | Charles Kennedy |
| Succeeded by | Diana Maddock |
| Leader of the Liberal Democrats | |
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Acting
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| In office 3 March 1988 – 16 July 1988 Serving with David Steel
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Paddy Ashdown |
| Leader of Social Democratic Party | |
| In office 28 August 1987 – 16 July 1988 |
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| Preceded by | David Owen |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection | |
| In office 4 March 1974 – 4 May 1979 |
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| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
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| In office 19 July 2001 – 18 January 2020 Life peerage |
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| Member of Parliament for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Caithness and Sutherland (1966–1997) |
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| In office 31 March 1966 – 14 May 2001 |
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| Preceded by | George Mackie |
| Succeeded by | John Thurso |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Robert Adam Ross Maclennan
26 June 1936 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 18 January 2020 (aged 83) |
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| Spouse |
Helen Cutter Noyes
(m. 1968) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | |
Robert Adam Ross Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart, PC (26 June 1936 – 18 January 2020) was a British Liberal Democrat politician and life peer.
He was the last leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), serving during the negotiations that led to its merger with the Liberal Party in 1988. He then became joint interim leader of the new party, known as the Social and Liberal Democrats (SLD) and later as the Liberal Democrats. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1966 to 2001, when he was elevated to the House of Lords.
Early life
MacLennan's father, Sir Hector MacLennan, was a renowned gynaecologist and obstetrician. His mother, Isabel Margaret (née Adam), was a physician and public health activist. He was the brother of actor and director David MacLennan, actress and writer Elizabeth MacLennan, and Kenneth MacLennan.
He was educated at Glasgow Academy; Balliol College, Oxford; Trinity College, Cambridge; and Columbia University, New York City. He was called to the bar in 1962 at Gray's Inn and before entering parliament practised as an international lawyer based in London.
In Parliament
He became Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Caithness and Sutherland in 1966, and serving until 1997; and for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross after boundary changes, from 1997 to 2001.
He was first elected as a member of the Labour Party and served as a junior minister in the Labour government of 1974–1979, but in 1981 defected to become a founder member of the SDP. He was one of the few SDP MPs to keep their seats in the 1983 general election. After his stint as SDP Leader in 1988, he served as a front bench spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, and as their president from 1994 until 1998.
He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1997.
After his retirement at the 2001 general election, he was raised to the House of Lords, created a life peer as Baron Maclennan of Rogart, of Rogart in Sutherland. He was the party's Cabinet Office and Scotland spokesman in the House of Lords until 2015.
Personal life and death
Maclennan married Helen Noyes (née Cutter), an American teacher, in 1968, and they had two children, a son and a daughter in addition to a son from her previous marriage.
Maclennan died on 16 January 2020, at age 83.
