Lord Mackay of Clashfern
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The Right Honourable The Lord Mackay of Clashfern KT PC QC |
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| Lord Clerk Register | |
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Assumed office 27 April 2007 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Wemyss |
| Shadow Lord Chancellor | |
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In office 2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997 |
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| Leader | John Major |
| Preceded by | The Lord Irvine of Lairg |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Kingsland |
| Lord Chancellor | |
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In office 28 October 1987 – 2 May 1997 |
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| Prime Minister |
Margaret Thatcher John Major |
| Preceded by | The Lord Havers |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Irvine of Lairg |
| Lord of Appeal in Ordinary | |
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In office 1 October 1985 – 28 October 1987 |
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| Preceded by | The Lord Fraser of Tullybelton |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Jauncey of Tullichettle |
| Lord Advocate | |
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In office 1979–1984 |
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| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Ronald King Murray |
| Succeeded by | Lord Cameron of Lochbroom |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
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Assumed office 6 July 1979 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
2 July 1927 Edinburgh, Scotland, UK |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater |
University of Edinburgh Trinity College, Cambridge |
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Styles of The Baron Mackay of Clashfern KT QC L.D. |
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| Reference style | His Lordship |
| Spoken style | Your Lordship |
| Alternative style | Sir |
James Peter Hymers Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, KT, PC, QC (born 2 July 1927) is a British advocate. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Lord Advocate, and Lord Chancellor (1987–1997). He is an active member of the House of Lords where he sits as a Conservative.
Mackay was born in Edinburgh, the son of railway signalman James Mackay (who came from Claisfearn near Tarbet in Sutherland) and his wife Janet Hymers. He won a scholarship to George Heriot's School, and then studied mathematics and physics at the University of Edinburgh, receiving a joint MA in 1948. He taught mathematics for two years at the University of St Andrews before moving to Trinity College, Cambridge on a scholarship, from which he obtained a BA in mathematics in 1952.
He then returned to Edinburgh University where he studied law, receiving an LLB (with distinction) in 1955.
Mackay was elected to the Faculty of Advocates in 1955. He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1965. He was Sheriff Principal for Renfrew and Argyll from 1972 to 1974. In 1973 he became Vice-Dean of the Faculty on Advocates and from 1976 until 1979 served as its Dean, the leader of the Scots bar.
In 1979, Mackay was appointed Lord Advocate, the senior law officer in Scotland, and was created a life peer as Baron Mackay of Clashfern, of Eddrachillis in the District of Sutherland, taking his territorial designation from his father's birthplace, a cottage beside Loch na Claise Fearna. Although an eminent lawyer in his own right (and leader of the Scots bar), Mackay was not a member of the newly elected Conservative Party. Convention was that governments appointed as Lord Advocate a QC of their own party. At the time the only eligible Conservative Scottish QC was Nicholas Fairbairn, a colourful and sometimes controversial figure. At the suggestion of Lord Emslie, Lord President of the Court of Session, incoming Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher appointed Mackay Lord Advocate, with Fairbairn taking the second-ranking position of Solicitor-General for Scotland. Mackay joined the Conservative Party on taking up the office.
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