The Baroness Michie of Gallanach | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament forArgyll and Bute | |
| In office 11 June 1987 – 14 May 2001 | |
| Preceded by | John Mackay |
| Succeeded by | Alan Reid |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Janet Ray Bannerman (1934-02-04)4 February 1934 |
| Died | 6 May 2008(2008-05-06) (aged 74) |
| Political party | Liberal Democrat |
| Spouse | Iain Michie |
| Residence | Oban, Scotland |
| Alma mater | Edinburgh College of Speech Therapy |
Janet Ray Michie, Baroness Michie of Gallanach (néeBannerman; 4 February 1934 – 6 May 2008) was a Scottishspeech therapist andLiberal Democrat politician. She served as theMember of Parliament forArgyll and Bute for fourteen years, from 1987-2001, and then became alife peer in theHouse of Lords. She was the first peer to pledge theoath of allegiance in the House of Lords inGaelic.
Janet Ray Bannerman was born in the Old Manse,Balmaha, on the eastern shore ofLoch Lomond inStirlingshire, the second of four children of Jenny Murray (Ray) (née Mundell) andJohn Bannerman (later Lord Bannerman of Kildonan).[1]
Her father was a farm manager to theDuke of Montrose, a formerScotland rugby player andLiberal politician. In her youth, she spoke at political meetings while waiting for her father to arrive. He contestedArgyll at the1945 general election, andInverness at the1950 general election. He surprised many by narrowly losing the1954 Inverness by-election, coming close again at the general elections in1951 and1955. He narrowly lost the1961 Paisley by-election, and contestedPaisley again at the1964 general election, before becoming alife peer in December 1967.
Michie was educated atAberdeen High School for Girls, Lansdowne House School (Edinburgh), and the Edinburgh College of Speech Therapy. She married Iain Michie in 1957, and she followed his work with theRoyal Army Medical Corps for 16 years in the UK and overseas. They had three daughters. She continued as aspeech therapist after they settled inOban, working at the county hospital and becoming Area Speech Therapist for the Argyll and Clyde Health Board in 1977.[2]
Following in the footsteps of her father, she entered politics and became Chairman of Argyll Liberal Association from 1973–76, and then vice-Chairman of theScottish Liberal Party from 1977-79. She was theLiberal Party candidate for Argyll and Bute on three occasions, losing in1979 and1983, but ultimately defeating Conservative ministerJohn Mackay to secure election asMember of Parliament at the1987 general election, becoming the sole female Liberal MP.
She took theoath of allegiance in theHouse of Commons inGaelic, and joined theLiberal Democrats upon the party's formation in 1988. She increased her majority at the next two general elections, gaining the confidence of the voters in her scattered constituency of peninsulas and islands.[citation needed]
She was a Liberal Democrat spokesman on Transport and Rural Development from 1987–88, on Women's Issues from 1988–94, and on Scotland from 1988-97. She was an advocate ofhome rule for Scotland and the promotion of and development of theScottish Gaelic language. She was also chair of theScottish Liberal Democrats from 1992-93. She was appointed a member of the panel of chairmen bySpeakerBetty Boothroyd in her last term in the Commons; from 1997-2001. She supported the campaigns to end submarine operations of theRoyal Navy andUnited States Navy in theFirth of Clyde,[citation needed] to hold another inquiry into theChinook crash on theMull of Kintyre in 1994 in her constituency,[2] and the successful bid for the residents ofGigha to buy their own island.[2]
In 1992, Michie became a member of the House of Commons Select Committee on Scottish Affairs. Later, she also became a joint Vice-Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group on theWhisky Industry. She stood down from Parliament at the2001 general election, being replaced byAlan Reid. She was made alife peer asBaroness Michie of Gallanach, ofOban inArgyll and Bute on 14 July 2001.[3] She was the first peer to pledge the oath of allegiance inGaelic when being introduced to the Lords.[2]
At different points in her career, she was Vice-President of theRoyal College of Speech and Language Therapists, Honorary Associate of theNational Council of Women of Great Britain, and Honorary President of the Clyde Fishermen's Association, and also held honorary positions in theAn Comunn Gàidhealach, theScottish National Farmers' Union and theScottish Crofting Foundation, and was a participant in the early days of theScottish Constitutional Convention. She chaired the West Highland Health Services Solutions Group.
In August 2007, she was appointed to theScottish Broadcasting Commission established by theScottish Government. Before the Commission was able to report, Michie died at her home inOban after receiving treatment for cancer.[4] She died two days after her Liberal Democrat colleague in the House of Lords,Richard Holme. She was survived by two daughters, having been predeceased by her husband and a third daughter.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forArgyll and Bute 1987–2001 | Succeeded by |
