Former Conservative deputy leader Michael Ancram dies aged 79

Former Conservative Party deputy leader Michael Ancram has died at the age of 79, his family has announced.

The 13th Marquess of Lothian, as he was formally known, died in hospital after a short illness, surrounded by close family.

His political journey, which spanned five decades, began in 1974 when he was first elected to Parliament representing Berwickshire and East Lothian, returning to the House of Commons in 1979 as the Member for Edinburgh South.

Scottish Conservative party leader Russell Findlay paid tribute to the Conservative party, calling him “a first-class politician and a gentleman”.

Michael Ancram’s ministerial career included roles in the Scotland Office and the Northern Ireland Office.

Until 1997, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he played an important role in the early stages of the peace process in Northern Ireland.

In 1995, he became the first British minister to sit at the negotiating table in public talks with the IRA, despite having survived the Brighton bombing 11 years earlier.

He ran unsuccessfully for the party leadership in 2001, but when Iain Duncan Smith was elected instead he was appointed deputy leader.

He served in that role for five years under Duncan Smith and later Michael Howard.

Born on July 7, 1945, he was educated at the Catholic boarding school Ampleforth College before studying history at Oxford.

He went on to read law at the University of Edinburgh, later practicing as a barrister in Scotland and becoming a QC.

After being first elected to Parliament in 1974 representing Berwickshire and East Lothian at the age of 29, he lost the seat just eight months later when Labor leader Harold Wilson called a snap election.

But he returned to the House of Commons in 1979 as MP for Edinburgh South, defeating future Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Although he was seen as a one-nation Conservative, it was Margaret Thatcher who gave him his first ministerial post as undersecretary in the Scotland Office.

This role meant he was involved in the introduction of the poll tax in Scotland, where it was introduced a year earlier than in England and Wales.

After defeat at the 1987 election, he returned as MP for the West Country seat of Devizes in 1992 until retiring from the House of Commons in May 2010.

A few months later he entered the House of Lords as a peer.

Ancram became the 13th Marquess of Lothian after his father’s death in 2004, although he preferred not to use the title.

He was also the hereditary head of the Scottish Clan Kerr, a testament to his deep Scottish roots.

He is survived by his wife, Lady Jane Fitzalan-Howard.

The couple had three daughters, three grandchildren and five step-grandchildren.

His cousin, former Conservative MP and MSP Donald Cameron said: “Michael was a man of great warmth, humor and generosity.

“As an uncle, he was a huge support and inspiration to me. We will all miss him very much.”

A statement from his family said funeral arrangements will be announced in due course, with a private Requiem Mass in Scotland in the coming weeks, followed by a Thanksgiving service in London at a later date.