Alister William Jack (born 7 July 1963) is a British politician serving as

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

since 2019. A member of the

Scottish Conservatives The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...

, he has been the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkc ...

since

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Early life

Jack was born on 7 July 1963 in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from t ...

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

, in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

to David and Jean Jack (who was

Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Dumfries. *William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry 17 March 1794 –1797 *Charles Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch 17 November 1797 – 20 April 1819 *Charles Douglas, 6 ...

between 2006 and 2016). He was raised in Dalbeattie and

Kippford Kippford (; otherwise Scaur)
Gazetteer for Scotland is a small village along the Crawfordton House Crawfordton House is a category B listed 19th-century country house, situated close to Moniaive Moniaive ( 'monny-IVE'; gd, Am Moine Naomh, ''"The Holy Moor"'') is a village in the Parish of Glencairn, in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Sco ...

– a private prep school near

Moniaive Moniaive ( 'monny-IVE'; gd, Am Moine Naomh, ''"The Holy Moor"'') is a village in the Parish of Glencairn, in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. It stands on the Cairn and Dalwhat Waters, north-west of the town of Dumfries. Moniaive has ...

, Dumfriesshire – and then at

Glenalmond College Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. ...

, at that time an all-boys

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

. He later attended

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

Business career

Alister Jack is a businessman, having founded tent-hire and self-storage companies, the latter building his fortune of £20 million. He currently owns a farm of 1,200 acres in Courance, near

Lockerbie Lockerbie (, gd, Locarbaidh) is a small town in Dumfries and Galloway, south-western Scotland. It is about from Glasgow, and from the border with England. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town came to international atte ...

. He formerly chaired the River Annan Fishery Board and Trust, Fisheries Management Scotland and Galloway Woodlands.

Political career

House of Commons

In the 1997 general election, Jack stood in Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, but came third, being defeated by the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

future

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

. Jack was elected to the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 ...

in the 2017 general election. He stood in the rural Scottish constituency of

and defeated incumbent

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from th ...

MP Richard Arkless. Jack was one of the 13

Scottish Conservative The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...

MPs elected to the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

being the highest number since the 1983 general election. He was a member of the

Treasury Select Committee The House of Commons Treasury Committee (often referred to as the Treasury Select Committee) is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administr ...

in the 57th Parliament. He signed a letter to the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

, on 16 February 2018, making suggestions about the way the United Kingdom should leave the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. Jack was appointed

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the ...

(PPS) to the Leader of the House of Lords on 31 August 2018, a position he held until he was appointed an Assistant Government Whip on 20 February 2019. On 23 April 2019 he was appointed

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

, a role in the Government Whips Office.

Secretary of State for Scotland

He was appointed as

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...

on 24 July 2019. Jack was the first MP of the 2017 intake to join the Cabinet. Jack retained his seat at the 2019 general election with an increased share of the vote but with a reduced majority. He was reappointed to the

Truss ministry Liz Truss was invited by Queen Elizabeth II—two days before the monarch's death—to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister of the United Kingdom on 6 September 2022. Johnson resigned as leader of the Conservative Party the previous day a ...

in September 2022. On 10 September 2022, Jack attended the Accession Council and Principal Proclamation for His Majesty King Charles III at St James's Palace, London. Jack signed the Official Proclamation and witnessed His Majesty's Oath relating to the security of the Church of Scotland. On 15 September 2022, as a member of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a per ...

, Jack and fellow Cabinet Minister Ben Wallace stood vigil at Queen Elizabeth II's coffin. He was retained by

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, lastly as ...

when he became prime minister on 25 October 2022.

Personal life

Jack is married to Ann (née Hodgson) and has three grown-up children. On 28 March 2020 he developed

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

symptoms and became the third Cabinet minister to begin self-isolating.

Honours

* He was sworn in as a member of

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of e ...

on 25 July 2019 at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

. This gave him the

Honorific Prefix An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' ( abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The ter ...

" for Life. * He was appointed as a deputy lieutenant for the

Lieutenancy A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

. This gave him the

Post Nominal Letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

"DL" for Life.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jack, Alister 1963 births Living people Scottish Conservative Party MPs UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Scottish farmers People from Dumfries People educated at Glenalmond College Secretaries of State for Scotland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 21st-century Scottish businesspeople Deputy Lieutenants of Dumfries Members of the Royal Company of Archers