The Right Honourable Alexander Andrew Mackay Irvine, Baron Irvine of Lairg, PC, QC (born 23 June 1940) is a British lawyer and political figure who served as Lord Chancellor under his former barrister pupil Tony Blair. The Right Honourable (abbreviated The Rt Hon. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... Queens Counsel (postnominal QC), during the reign of a male Sovereign known as Kings Counsel (KC), are barristers or, in Scotland, advocates appointed by letters patent to be one of Her Majestys Counsel learned in the law. They do not constitute a separate order or degree of... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... In the United States, a lawyer is a person licensed by the state to advise clients in legal matters and represent them in courts of law and in other forms of dispute resolution. ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and in former times Chancellor of England, is one of the most senior and important functionaries in the government of the United Kingdom. ... The Right Honourable Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service. ...

Born in Inverness, he studied Scottish law at the University of Glasgow and English lawat Christ's College, Cambridge. He taught law briefly at the London School of Economics and was called to the English bar in 1967. in the late 1960s Donald Dewar's wife Alison left him for Irvine and the two men remained unreconciled even though they were later to serve in the same Cabinet. He joined chambers headed by Morris Finer QC (later as a Judge, Sir Morris Finer). In 1970 he fought Hendon North as a Labour Party candidate. He became a QC in 1978 and head of chambers in 1981. Among his pupil barristers were Tony Blair and Cherie Booth, and at their wedding he dubbed himself "Cupid QC" for having introduced them. During the 1980s he also became a Recorder, and then a Deputy High Court Judge. Inverness (Inbhir Nis in Scottish Gaelic) is the only city in the Scottish Highlands. ... The University of Glasgow, founded in 1451, is the largest of the three universities in Glasgow, Scotland. ... Full name Christs College Motto Souvent me Souvient I Often Remember Named after Christ Previous names Gods-house (1437), Christs College (1505) Established 1505 Sister College Wadham College Master Prof. ... The London School of Economics and Political Science, often referred to as the London School of Economics or simply the LSE, is a specialist university in London and is regarded as the worlds most prestigious social science institution. ... A bar association is a body of lawyers who, in some jurisdictions, are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Statue of Donald Dewar in Glasgows Buchanan Street The Right Honourable Donald Campbell Dewar (August 21, 1937 – October 11, 2000) was a Scottish politician and the first First Minister of Scotland after devolution in 1999. ... A Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ... Sir Morris Finer QC (1917-1974) was a lawyer and judge. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Hendon is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. ... The Labour Party is the principal centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics). ... Queens Counsel (postnominal QC), during the reign of a male Sovereign known as Kings Counsel (KC), are barristers or, in Scotland, advocates appointed by letters patent to be one of Her Majestys Counsel learned in the law. They do not constitute a separate order or degree of... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The examples and perspective in this article do not represent a worldwide view. ... The Right Honourable Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service. ... Cherie Blair QC (born in Bury, Greater Manchester on September 23, 1954), better known as the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, is also a successful lawyer, in which capacity she uses her maiden name Cherie Booth. ... The 1980s, in its most obvious sense, was the decade between 1980 and 1989. ...

He was a legal adviser to the Labour Party through the 1980s, which included advice on how to expel members of the Militant Tendency, and he was given a life peerage in 1987. His appointment as Lord Chancellor after Blair's election victory in 1997 was widely expected after he had served for five years as Shadow Lord Chancellor. The highlight of his period in office was the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into United Kingdom law. Irvine devised a measure to maintain the supremacy of Parliament while allowing Judges to declare Acts of Parliament not to be in compliance with the Convention. The Militant Tendency was a Trotskyist faction within the Labour Party in the United Kingdom, accused of entryist tactics. ... In the United Kingdom, Life Peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles may not be inherited (those whose titles are inheritable are known as hereditary peers). ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, also known as the European Convention on Human Rights, was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe in 1950 to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. ...

In addition to his traditional role of supervising the legal system, in 2001 he gained responsibility for a wide range of constitutional issues including human rights and freedom of information. This was interpreted as a move away from a strong freedom of information law, as Irvine was thought not to be a firm believer in the concept. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

Irvine's reputation derives from his skills as a lawyer rather than as a politician, and he regularly faced controversy as Lord Chancellor. Soon after his appointment, the Lord Chancellor's official residence in the Palace of Westminster was redecorated at a cost to the taxpayer of over half a million pounds (the hand-printed wallpaper accounted for £59,000). Although the decision had been taken by an all-party House of Lords Committee before the election, much of the criticism devolved on him. The Palace of Westminster, known also as the Houses of Parliament, is where the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (the House of Lords and the House of Commons) conduct their sittings. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ...

Early in 2003 he was awarded a pay rise of £22,691 as a result of a formula designed to keep his salary ahead of that of the Lord Chief Justice. After an outcry he accepted a more modest rise. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, and the presiding judge of Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal, and of the Queens Bench Division of the High Court. ...

Following his retirement in June 2003, his successor was named as Lord Falconer of Thoroton. At the same time it was announced that the post of Lord Chancellor would be abolished, made certain by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. Irvine was known to be against such a policy and it was widely speculated that his departure had not been voluntary. Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, PC (born November 19, 1951), is a British lawyer and Labour Party politician. ... Bold textLodgey makes out with stephanie The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (2005 c. ...