George Kenneth Hotson Younger, Baron Younger of Prestwick, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie KT KCVO TD PC (September 22, 1931–January 26, 2003), known to many as "Gentleman George", was a Scottish politician whose long career as Conservative & Unionist MP for Ayr (1964–1992) included periods as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1979 to 1986, and Secretary of State for Defence from 1986 to 1989. James VII ordained the modern Order. ... Victoria founded the Royal Victorian Order. ... The Territorial Decoration (TD) is a United Kingdom military medal, also known as the Territorial Efficiency Decoration, which is given to officers for long service in the Territorial Army. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... The Scottish Unionist Party is a name of two organisations, one now subsumed into the UK Conservative Party, and the other being a recent creation in response to the Conservative Partys support of the Anglo-Irish Agreement. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... The Royal Burgh of Ayr (Scottish Gaelic, Inbhir Àir) in the south-west of Scotland is a burgh situated on the Firth of Clyde. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... The Secretary of State for Scotland (Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is the chief minister in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilites for Scotland, at the head of the Scotland Office (formerly The Scottish Office). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Family background

Lord Younger of Leckie came from a Scottish family which had been making money from brewing since the 18th century, and which entered the aristocracy in the early years of the 20th century. His great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, George Younger (baptised 1722), was the founder of the family's brewing business, George Younger and Son. This George Younger's great-great-grandson, also named George Younger (1851–1929), entered politics, and was created Viscount Younger of Leckie in 1923. This peerage has passed in an unbroken line from father to son ever since. A 16th century brewer A 21st century brewer This article concerns the production of alcoholic beverages. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... -1... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... George Younger, 1st Viscount Younger of Leckie (October 13, 1851 - April 29, 1929) was a British politician. ...

Birth and early life

Younger was the eldest of three sons of Edward Younger, 3rd Viscount Younger of Leckie (1906–1997) by his wife Evelyn Margaret, née McClure.

He was educated at Winchester College, and at New College, Oxford, where he obtained an MA degree. Winchester College is a boys public school in the city of Winchester in Hampshire, in the south of England. ... College name New College Named after Mary, mother of Jesus Established 1379 Sister College Kings College Warden Prof. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate (or graduate) course of one to three years in duration. ...

Political career

He was initially selected to stand for the Perth and Kinross seat in a by-election in late 1963, but agreed to stand aside to allow the new Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home the chance to enter Parliament. Following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather the 1st Viscount, Younger became Member of Parliament for Ayr in 1964. A summary of his political career follows: Perth was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 until 1950. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT,1 PC (July 2, 1903 – October 9, 1995), 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British politician, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a year from October, 1963 until October, 1964. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... Ayr was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 until 2005. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ...

• 1965–1967: Scottish Conservative Whip
• 1967–1970: Deputy-Chairman of the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Association
• 1970–1974: Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
• 1974: Minister of State for Defence
• 1974–1976: Chairman of the Conservative Party of Scotland (having been Deputy Chairman from 1967 to 1970)
• 1979–1986: Secretary of State for Scotland
• 1986–1989: Secretary of State for Defence
• 1987–1988: President of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations

He succeeded Michael Heseltine as Secretary of State for Defence when Heseltine resigned from the cabinet over a dispute about helicopters known as the Westland crisis. 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The (Parliamentary) Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior Ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State rank) in the United Kingdom government, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Michael Heseltine walks out of the cabinet meeting having resigned, January 9, 1986 Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC (born 21 March 1933) is a British Conservative politician and businessman. ... The Bell 206 of Canadian Helicopters Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors, Helicopters are classified as rotary-wing aircraft to distinguish them from conventional fixed-wing aircraft. ... The Westland affair was a political crisis for the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1986. ...

Later years

Younger quit the cabinet in 1989, and joined the Royal Bank of Scotland, being made a director in that year, and in 1992, he left life as an MP behind altogether, and became the Bank's chairman. 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC is one of Scotlands three national clearing banks and one of the oldest in the UK, founded in Edinburgh in 1727 by Royal Charter. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

That same year, he was made a life peer, becoming Baron Younger of Prestwick, of Ayr in the District of Kyle and Carrick. Upon the death of his father on June 25, 1997, he inherited the family's baronetcy and viscountcy, becoming the 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie. Kyle is a boys first name. ... Disambiguation: Carrick is also the name of a town in Tasmania, Australia, and the name of a former part of Ayrshire in Scotland. ... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

He died on January 26, 2003, after a battle with cancer, at the age of 71. Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. ...

References

• Torrance, David, The Scottish Secretaries (Birlinn 2006)
• Burke's Peerage & Baronetage (106th edition, 1999). Editor-in-chief: Charles Mosley; publisher: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd.

External links

• Lord Younger dies after cancer battle – BBC News article, dated Sun 26 Jan 2003
• Lord Younger: A career in politics – BBC News article, dated Sun 26 Jan 2003
• Tribute paid to 'Gentleman George' – BBC News article, dated Sun 26 Jan 2003