Alister William Jack, Baron Jack of Courance (born 7 July 1963) is a Scottish politician who served as

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

from 2019 to 2024. A member of the

Scottish Conservatives The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Ki ...

, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

from 2017 to 2024, before being made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in 2025.

Early life and career

Alister Jack was born on 7 July 1963 in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

, Scotland. to David and Jean Jack. His mother Jean was Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries from 2006 to 2016. He was raised in Dalbeattie and Kippford, and was educated at Dalbeattie Primary School, at Crawfordton House – a private prep school near Moniaive, 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. T ...

, an all-boys private boarding school. He then attended

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () 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 was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

. 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 in Courance, near

Lockerbie Lockerbie (, ) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, located in south-western Scotland. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town had an estimated population of in . The town came to international attention in December 1988 when ...

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

Parliamentary career

At the 1997 general election, Jack stood in Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, coming third with 22.1% of the vote behind the Liberal Democrat candidate

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

and the Labour candidate. Jack was elected to Parliament at the snap 2017 general election as MP for

with 43.3% of the vote and a majority of 5,643. Once in Parliament, Jack 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 committee is responsible for examining and scrutinizing the ...

from 2017-2019. On 16 February 2018, he signed a letter to

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; 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 as Home Secretar ...

, 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 Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. Jack was appointed parliamentary private secretary (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, a role in the Government Whips Office.

Secretary of State for Scotland

Jack was appointed as

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

on 24 July 2019. Jack was the first MP of the 2017 intake to join the Cabinet. At the 2019 general election, Jack was re-elected as MP for Dumfries and Galloway with an increased vote share of 44.1% and a decreased majority of 1,805. He was reappointed to the Truss ministry 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, Jack and fellow Cabinet Minister Ben Wallace stood vigil at Queen Elizabeth II's coffin. On 17 January 2023, Jack exercised the Section 35 power granted to him as Secretary of State for Scotland in the 1998 Scotland Act and stopped the Scottish Government's Gender Recognition Reform Bill from proceeding to Royal Assent. On 17 May 2023, he announced he would stand down at the 2024 general election. Appearing at the COVID-19 Inquiry in Edinburgh on 1 February 2024, Jack was asked about Nicola Sturgeon's testimony, where she became emotional, that she was able to put aside her views on Scottish independence when making decisions during the pandemic. He dismissed this and responded that he did not believe her. Jack went on to remark that Nicola Sturgeon "could cry from one eye if she wanted to".

House of Lords

In April 2025, Jack was nominated for a

age as part of the 2024 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours. He was created as ''Baron Jack of Courance, of Courance in the County of Dumfriesshire'' on 9 May 2025 and took his seat in the House of Lords three days later.

Personal life

Jack married Ann Hodgson in 1987. They have a son and two daughters.

Honours

Jack was sworn as a member of the Privy Council on 25 July 2019, on his appointment as Secretary of State for Scotland. He is a former deputy lieutenant for the

lieutenancy area Lieutenancy areas (), officially counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, are the separate areas of the United Kingdom that are appointed to a lord-lieutenant – a representative of the British monarch. In many cases they have s ...

. On 4 July 2024, Jack was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE) in the 2024 Dissolution Honours for political and public service.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jack, Alister 1963 births Living people Scottish Conservative MPs UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 21st-century Scottish farmers People from Dumfries People educated at Glenalmond College Secretaries of State for Scotland Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 21st-century Scottish businesspeople Deputy lieutenants of Dumfries Members of the Royal Company of Archers