His Grace The Duke of Montrose ID |
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The Duke of Montrose ca. 1967
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Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 1966–1968 |
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Prime Minister | Ian Smith |
Preceded by | Ian Smith |
Succeeded by | John H. Howman |
Ministry of Agriculture and Lands | |
In office 16 December 1962 – 1963 |
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Prime Minister | Winston Field |
Preceded by | Ian Smith |
Succeeded by | John H. Howman |
Personal details | |
Born |
James Angus Graham 2 May 1907 Stirlingshire, Scotland, UK |
Died | 10 February 1992 Stirlingshire, Scotland, UK |
(aged 84)
Spouse(s) |
Isabel Veronia Sellar (m. 1930; div. 1950) Susan Semple (m. 1952) |
Children | Fiona James Cairistiona Donald Calum Lilias |
Religion | Anglicanism |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/branch | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1939–1945 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
James Angus Graham, 7th Duke of Montrose ID (2 May 1907 – 10 February 1992), styled Earl of Kincardine until 1925 and Marquess of Graham between 1925 and 1954, was a Rhodesian politician of British origin. Born in Scotland, he maintained a lifelong interest in politics and was a lover of all things Scottish. He lived in southern Africa for fifty-five years, farming several properties. He served as Minister of Agriculture in the Rhodesian government of Ian Smith, and in 1965 was a signatory to Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
As Marquess of Graham, the Duke was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. He was in HMS Kandahar as part of Lord Louis Mountbatten's flotilla in the North Sea and later served in the Mediterranean and at Aden.
The Marquess of Graham completed three years at Oxford and graduated Bachelor of Arts. Lord Graham (as he then was) first went to Southern Rhodesia in 1930, taking up a position with A.E. & I., the South African subsidiary of ICI. While he was on holiday in England in 1939, war with Germany was declared and he signed up with the Admiral Commanding Reserves and was appointed Lieutenant in the RNVR, joining HMS Kandahar.
In 1954 he inherited his father's titles and became The 7th Duke of Montrose. He enjoyed hunting trips in Kenya, where he met his second wife, Susan Semple. The family grew up on Derry Farm at Nyabira outside Salisbury, where the crops included maize and tobacco. A pedigree Brahman cattle stud was established after importing bloodstock from Texas. Although, in an article published in Illustrated Life Rhodesia in the mid-1970s, Montrose indicated that he saw his family remaining in Rhodesia for future generations, he and his family moved to South Africa in 1979 and then to Scotland, where he spent his final days. Always a keen Gaelic speaker with a great fondness for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, he lies buried in the family cemetery near Loch Lomond.