The Lord Alness | |
|---|---|
 Robert Munro in 1915 | |
| Lord Advocate | |
| In office 30 October 1913 – 5 December 1916 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | Alexander Ure |
| Succeeded by | James Avon Clyde |
| Secretary for Scotland | |
| In office 10 December 1916 – 19 October 1922 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
| Preceded by | Harold Tennant |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Novar |
| Lord Justice Clerk | |
| In office 1922–1933 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Preceded by | The Lord Dickson |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Aitchison |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1868-05-28)28 May 1868 |
| Died | 6 October 1955(1955-10-06) (aged 87) |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Political party | Liberal Liberal National |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Edith Evans (d. 1920) (2) Olga Grumler |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
Robert Munro, 1st Baron Alness, (28 May 1868 – 6 October 1955), was a Scottish lawyer, judge andLiberal Party politician. He served asSecretary for Scotland between 1916 and 1922 inDavid Lloyd George'scoalition government and asLord Justice Clerk between 1922 and 1933.
Munro was born inAlness,Ross-shire, the son of Margaret (née Sinclair), daughter of the Reverend John Sinclair, and the Reverend Alexander Rose Munro. He was educated atAberdeen Grammar School and theUniversity of Edinburgh.[1]
Munro was admitted to theScottish Bar as anAdvocate in 1893. He was a Counsel to the Board ofInland Revenue and became aKing's Counsel in 1910.[1] At this point he lived at 15Heriot Row: a huge Georgian townhouse in the centre of Edinburgh.[2][3]
In theJanuary 1910 general election he was elected as aLiberalMember of Parliament forWick Burghs, holding the seat until its abolition for the1918 election.[1] He was then returned to theHouse of Commons as MP for the newRoxburgh and Selkirk constituency, holding the seat until 1922.[1]
In 1913 Munro was sworn of thePrivy Council[4] and appointedLord Advocate[5][6] byH. H. Asquith. WhenDavid Lloyd George became Prime Minister in December 1916, Munro entered the cabinet asSecretary for Scotland,[7] a post he held until the end of thecoalition government in October 1922. The latter year he was appointed to the bench asLord Justice Clerk and President of Second Division of theCourt of Session,[8] taking the judicial title Lord Alness. He was appointed an honorary bencher ofLincoln's Inn in 1924.[1]
Following his retirement from the bench in 1933, he was raised to the peerage asBaron Alness, of Alness in the County of Ross and Cromarty, on 27 June 1934.[9] He returned to political office in May 1940 whenWinston Churchill appointed him aLord-in-waiting (government whip) in the newly formedwar coalition,[10] sitting as aLiberal National.[citation needed] He retained this post (as one of few non-Conservatives) in Churchill's brief1945 caretaker government. In 1946 he was invested as aKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire.[11]
Lord Alness was also aDeputy Lieutenant ofEdinburgh.[12]
Lord Alness was twice married. He married firstly Edith Gwladys Evans, daughter of the Reverend John Llewellyn Evans, in 1898. After her death in September 1920 he married secondly Olga Marie Grumler, daughter of Jeanes Georges Grumler, in October 1921.[1] Both marriages were childless. Lord Alness died in October 1955, aged 87, when the barony became extinct.[13]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWick Burghs January 1910–1918 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forRoxburgh and Selkirk 1918–1922 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Advocate 1913–1916 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Justice Clerk 1922–1933 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary for Scotland 1916–1922 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Alness 1934–1955 | Extinct |
| Secretaries of state for Scotland 1707–1746 | .svg) | |
|---|---|---|
| Secretaries for Scotland 1885–1926 | ||
| Secretaries of state for Scotland (pre-devolution) 1926–1999 | ||
| Secretaries of state for Scotland (post-devolution) 1999–present | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
