William Douglas Weir, 1st Viscount Weir
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The Right Honourable The Viscount Weir GCB PC |
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Weir in 1918
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| President of the Air Board | |
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In office 26 April 1918 – 10 January 1919 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
| Preceded by | The Lord Rothermere |
| Succeeded by | J. E. B. Seely |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Douglas Weir 12 May 1877 Crosshill, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 2 July 1959 (aged 82) Giffnock, Renfrewshire, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | Industrialist |
William Douglas Weir, 1st Viscount Weir GCB PC (12 May 1877 – 2 July 1959) was a Scottish industrialist and politician, who served as President of the Air Council in 1918.
Weir was born in Glasgow in 1877, the eldest child of James Weir (1842/3–1920) and his wife, Mary Richmond (1848–1931). He attended Allan Glen's School and the High School of Glasgow before entering an apprenticeship in the business established by his father and his uncle, G. and J. Weir, manufacturers of condensers, pumps, and evaporators. His brother was J S Weir
He married Alice Blanche MacConnachie (1882–1959), the daughter of John MacConnachie on 2 June 1904.
Weir rose to become a director of G. and J. Weir, before serving as managing director between 1902 and 1915, and as chairman from 1910 to 1953. During World War I, he converted his factories to produce explosive shells.
He went on to hold a number of other directorships, including Lloyds Bank (1928–38), Imperial Chemical Industries (1928–53), International Nickel (1928–59), and Shell Transport and Trading (1939). He was also chairman of the Anglo-Scottish Sugar Beet Corporation.
David Lloyd George appointed him to the unpaid position of director of munitions in Scotland in July 1915, he joined the Air Board in December 1916 and was made a Knight Bachelor in February 1917. He joined the Air Council in November 1917 and became its President in April 1918, resigning in December that year after the end of the war. He was appointed to the Privy Council in April and was raised to the peerage as Baron Weir, of Eastwood in the County of Renfrew, in the summer.
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