Ronald Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar
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The Right Honourable The Viscount Novar KT, GCMG, PC |
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| Secretary for Scotland | |
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In office 24 October 1922 – 22 January 1924 |
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| Prime Minister |
Andrew Bonar Law (1922–23) Stanley Baldwin (1923–24) |
| Preceded by | Robert Munro |
| Succeeded by | William Adamson |
| 6th Governor-General of Australia | |
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In office 18 May 1914 – 6 October 1920 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister |
Joseph Cook (1914) Andrew Fisher (1914–15) Billy Hughes (1915–20) |
| Preceded by | The Lord Denman |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Forster |
| Member of Parliament for Leith Burghs |
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In office 21 August 1886 – 1 February 1914 |
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| Preceded by |
William Ewart Gladstone Never took seat |
| Succeeded by | George Welsh Currie |
| Member of Parliament for Ross and Cromarty |
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In office 11 August 1884 – 19 December 1885 |
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| Preceded by | Sir Alexander Matheson, Bt |
| Succeeded by | Roderick Macdonald |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
6 March 1860 Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland |
| Died | 30 March 1934 (aged 74) Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland |
| Spouse(s) | Lady Helen Hermione Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood (1889–1934; his death) |
Ronald Craufurd Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar KT, GCMG, PC (6 March 1860 – 30 March 1934) was a Scottish politician and colonial governor. He served as the sixth Governor-General of Australia (1914–1920), and is considered probably the most politically influential holder of this post. After his return to Britain, he was Secretary for Scotland (1922–24). Laconic, suave, urbane and highly intelligent, Munro Ferguson's easy-going aristocratic airs and graces made him likeable and charming. In the diplomatic corps, he made a success of Governorship of Australia as surprisingly communicative and at ease with the rough miner heritage of the diaspora. A strong Scottish character and careful attention to detail backed up by method and judgment made him one of the most productive of the Imperial Viceroys. However, his strong sense of principle was always vulnerable in the febrile atmosphere of the Westminster cauldron.
Munro Ferguson was born Ronald Craufurd Ferguson at his family home in the Raith area near Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, the son and eldest child of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Ferguson, a wealthy member of the Commons of old Scottish descent. His mother was Emma Eliza, daughter of James Henry Mandeville of Merton, Surrey. He was a grandson of General Richard C Ferguson. In 1864 his father inherited the estates of Novar in Ross-shire and Muirton, Morayshire, and took the additional surname Munro.
Educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he pursued a military career until 1884. Ferguson joined the 1st Fife Light Horse in 1875: a militia regiment of gentlemen. Three years later, he entered RMA Sandhurst. On the officer's course for a year, he was gazetted to the Grenadier Guards with a commission. He served in the army for a short service limited commission, leaving in 1884 on returning from India. Ferguson joined the Oswald of Dunnikier Lodge 468 on the 24th December 1888.
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