Robin Macdonald Sinclair, 2nd Viscount Thurso, JP (24 December 1922 – 29 April 1995), was a Scottish landowner, businessman and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician. He was Lord Lieutenant of Caithness from 1973 until his death.

Background

Sinclair was born in

Kingston Vale Kingston Vale with Kingston Hill is a district in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in south-west London. It is a residential area between Richmond Park, the much smaller Putney Vale, Wimbledon Common, Coombe/Coombe Hill and the Norb ...

,Liberal Crusader by Gerard de Groot. the eldest son of the Leader of the Liberal Party,

Archibald Sinclair Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso, (22 October 1890 – 15 June 1970), known as Sir Archibald Sinclair between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Li ...

(who later became the 1st Viscount Thurso), and Marigold Forbes, the older daughter of

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and Colonel James Stewart Forbes. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, and

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

, where he was Captain of Boats at the University Boat Club from 1946 to 1947, winning a Green in 1946, and a Blue in 1947. In 1952 he married Margaret Beaumont (1918–2017). They had two sons and one daughter. He succeeded his father to the title of Viscount Thurso in 1970. He was succeeded by his son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

upon his death in 1995.‘THURSO’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 201
accessed 18 March 2015
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Professional career

Sinclair served in the RAF from 1941 to 1946. He was a Flight Lieutenant in 684 Squadron, 540 Squadron and he commanded the Edinburgh University Air Squadron in 1946. He was founder and first Chairman of Caithness Glass Ltd. He was Chairman of Sinclair Family Trust Ltd, Lochdhu Hotels Ltd and Thurso Fisheries Ltd. He was Director of Stephens (Plastics) Ltd.

Political career

Sinclair was elected as a Liberal to Caithness County Council in 1949. In 1957 he was elected to Thurso Town Council. He served on both the county and town councils until 1961 and then again from 1965 until 1973. He was a member of the Scottish Liberal Party Executive. He was Liberal candidate for the East Aberdeenshire division at the 1966 general election. The constituency had been safe Conservative in 1964 with the Liberals second. He managed to increase the Liberal vote and achieve a swing of 5.5%, however, the Conservative held onto the seat. He did not stand for the Commons again,British parliamentary election results 1950-1983, by F. W. S. Craig. but entered the House of Lords upon inheriting his father's peerage in 1970.

Electoral record

He was an active supporter of the

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...

. In 1959 he was appointed a Justice of the peace. In 1973 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Caithness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurso, Robin Sinclair, 2nd Viscount 1922 births 1995 deaths People from Thurso Nobility from Highland (council area) People educated at Eton College Liberal Party (UK) hereditary peers Lord-lieutenants of Caithness Alumni of New College, Oxford Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Robin Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 20th-century Scottish businesspeople