James Stuart Gordon, Baron Gordon of Strathblane, (17 May 1936 – 31 March 2020) was a Scottish business executive and member of the House of Lords.

Early life

A kinsman of the

Marquess of Huntly Marquess of Huntly (traditionally spelled Marquis in Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: ''Coileach Strath Bhalgaidh'') is a title in the Peerage of Scotland that was created on 17 April 1599 for George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly. It is the oldest existin ...

, he was the son of James Gordon and Elsie ''née'' Riach. Gordon was educated at the

St Aloysius' College, Glasgow St Aloysius' College is a selective fee-paying, independent, Jesuit day school in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1859 by the Jesuits, who previously staffed the college, and named after Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Its strong Jesuit ethos emp ...

and the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where he graduated as a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in Classics in 1958.

Business career

Gordon worked as a political editor for STV between 1965 and 1973, and as managing director of Radio Clyde between 1973 and 1996. For

Scottish Radio Holdings Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH) was a Scottish media company which owned 22 radio stations, and around 30 local newspapers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. History SRH had its origins in the 1970s when Glasgow was awarded the third licence for ...

, Gordon was the Chief Executive from 1991 to 1996 and Chairman from 1996 to 2005; he was also Vice-Chairman of

Melody Radio Melody Radio was an Independent Local Radio station, broadcast to Greater London between 1990 and 1998, when it was purchased by media group Emap and rebranded as Magic 105.4. History Melody Radio launched on 9 July 1990 on 104.9 FM in ...

from 1991 to 1997, a director of Clydeport Holdings from 1992 to 1998 and Chairman of the

Scottish Tourist Board VisitScotland, formerly the Scottish Tourist Board, is a national tourism organisation for Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, and other ...

from 1998 to 2001. From 1990, Gordon was a member of the Scottish Advisory Board of British Petroleum, and since 1996 a director of Johnston Press plc as well as Chairman of AIM Trust plc (now Active Capital Trust). He also served as Chairman of Radio Audience Research (RAJAR) from 2003. Gordon was a member of the

Scottish Development Agency Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

between 1981 and 1990 and Chairman of the

Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre The SEC Centre (originally known as the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre until 2017) is Scotland's largest exhibition centre, locate ...

between 1983 and 1989. He was a member of the

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

of the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 1984 to 1997 and of the Committee of Enquiry into Teachers' Pay and Conditions in 1986. Lord Gordon joined the

in 1997, serving as its Chairman between 1998 and 2001. From 1997 to 1998, Gordon was also Chairman of the Advisory Group on Listed Events, and from 1998 to 1999, a member of the Independent Review Panel on Funding of BBC and then from 1998 to 2001 board member of the

British Tourist Authority VisitBritain is the name used by the British Tourist Authority, the tourist board of Great Britain incorporated under the Development of Tourism Act 1969. Under memoranda of understanding with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and the offshore is ...

Political career

At the 1964 general election Gordon contested

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire ( sco, Aest Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas ...

for Labour. Gordon was further a Trustee of the National Galleries of Scotland between 1998 and 2001 and a Trustee of the John Smith Memorial Trust from 1995. From 1995 to 1997 he was Chairman of the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Common Purpose The doctrine of common purpose, common design, joint enterprise, joint criminal enterprise or parasitic accessory liability is a common law legal doctrine that imputes criminal liability to the participants in a criminal enterprise for all reaso ...

organization. Appointed

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in HM 1984 Birthday Honours, Gordon later received a

Sony Award The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...

for his outstanding services to radio. On 4 October 1997, he was created a Life Peer taking the title Baron Gordon of Strathblane, ''of Deil's Craig in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

shire''. Elected a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Radio Academy The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to "the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production". It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, with a chair and a deputy chair ...

in 1994, Lord Gordon then received the Lord Provost's Award for Public Service as well as

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

s as

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

(Hon DLitt) from the

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...

, and

Doctor of the University An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

(DUniv) from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1998.

Personal life

Gordon married Margaret Anne Stevenson in 1971, by whom he had a daughter and two sons. Gordon died on 31 March 2020 at

Glasgow Royal Infirmary The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around , and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city cen ...

after contracting

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 quickly ...

. In a tribute, the Radio Academy of Scotland called him the 'Father of Scottish radio.'

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, James 1936 births 2020 deaths People from Stirling People educated at St Aloysius' College, Glasgow Alumni of Glasgow Caledonian University Alumni of the University of Glasgow Gordon of Strathblane Life peers created by Elizabeth II Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Scottish chief executives

Early life

Business career

Political career

Personal life

See also

References

Sources