George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie

"George Younger" redirects here. For the Unionist Party chairman, see George Younger, 1st Viscount Younger of Leckie.

The Right Honourable The Viscount Younger of Leckie KT KCVO TD PC


Secretary of State for Defence
In office 7 January 1986 – 24 July 1989
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Michael Heseltine
Succeeded by	Tom King
Secretary of State for Scotland
In office 4 May 1979 – 7 January 1986
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Bruce Millan
Succeeded by	Malcolm Rifkind
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
In office 18 February 1975 – 15 January 1976
Leader	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Peter Walker
Succeeded by	Ian Gilmour
Minister of State for Defence
In office 8 January 1974 – 4 March 1974
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Ian Gilmour
Succeeded by	William Rodgers
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
In office 24 June 1970 – 8 January 1974
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Bruce Millan
Succeeded by	Teddy Taylor
Member of Parliament for Ayr
In office 15 October 1964 – 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Thomas Moore
Succeeded by	Phil Gallie
Personal details
Born	(1931-09-22)22 September 1931 Stirling, Scotland
Died	26 January 2003(2003-01-26) (aged 71)^[1] Leckie House, Gargunnock, Scotland
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Diana Tuck (1932 - 2015)
Children	4
Alma mater	New College, Oxford
Profession	Businessman (Brewing)
Military service
Service/branch	British Army • Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Battles/wars	Korean War

George Kenneth Hotson Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie KT KCVO TD PC (22 September 1931 – 26 January 2003) was a British politician and banker, born in Stirling, Scotland.

Early life and career

Younger's great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, George Younger (baptised 1722), was the founder of George Younger and Son of Alloa, the family's brewing business (not to be confused with Younger's of Edinburgh). Younger's great-grandfather, George Younger, was created Viscount Younger of Leckie in 1923. Younger was the eldest of the three sons of Edward Younger, 3rd Viscount Younger of Leckie.

He was educated at Cargilfield Preparatory School, Winchester College, and New College, Oxford, where he obtained a Master's degree. Joining the British Army, he served in the Korean War with the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. On 7 August 1954, he married Diana Tuck, daughter of a Royal Navy captain; they had 4 children.^[2]

Political career

He first stood for Parliament, unsuccessfully, in North Lanarkshire in the 1959 General Election. Subsequently, he was initially selected to stand for the Kinross and West Perthshire 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 the House of Commons.

Following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather the 1st Viscount, Younger became Member of Parliament for Ayr in 1964. He succeeded Michael Heseltine as Secretary of State for Defence in 1986 when Heseltine resigned from the cabinet over a dispute about helicopters known as the Westland crisis.

Later years

Younger quit the cabinet in 1989, and joined the Royal Bank of Scotland, becoming its chairman in 1992. He was created a life peer as Baron Younger of Prestwick of Ayr in the District of Kyle and Carrick on 7 July 1992, five years before succeeding to the viscountcy. As such, he continued to sit in the House of Lords after the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999 which expelled most of the hereditary peers.

References

Sources

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

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by George Younger
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
Marlow (Scotland) Lectures – IESIS Website, accessed 27 May 2012

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Thomas Moore	Member of Parliament for Ayr 1964–1992	Succeeded by Phil Gallie
Political offices
Preceded by Bruce Millan	Secretary of State for Scotland 1979–1986	Succeeded by Malcolm Rifkind
Preceded by Michael Heseltine	Secretary of State for Defence 1986–1989	Succeeded by Tom King
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Edward Younger	Viscount Younger of Leckie 1997–2003	Succeeded by James Younger

Defence Secretaries of the United Kingdom

Ministers for Defence	Winston Churchill Clement Attlee A. V. Alexander Manny Shinwell Winston Churchill The Earl Alexander of Tunis Harold Macmillan Selwyn Lloyd Sir Walter Monckton Anthony Head Duncan Sandys Harold Watkinson Peter Thorneycroft

Secretaries of State for Defence	Peter Thorneycroft Denis Healey The Lord Carrington Ian Gilmour Roy Mason Fred Mulley Francis Pym John Nott Michael Heseltine George Younger Tom King Malcolm Rifkind Michael Portillo George Robertson Geoff Hoon John Reid Des Browne John Hutton Bob Ainsworth Liam Fox Philip Hammond Michael Fallon

Secretaries of State for Scotland

Scotland Office

Secretary of State for Scotland 1707–1746	Erskine Douglas Erskine Graham Ker Vacant Hay

Secretary for Scotland 1885–1926	Gordon-Lennox Trevelyan Ramsay Balfour Kerr Trevelyan Bruce Murray Hope Sinclair McKinnon-Wood Tennant Munro Munro Ferguson Adamson Gilmour

Secretary of State for Scotland 1926–1999	Gilmour Adamson Sinclair Collins Elliot Colville Brown Johnston Primrose Westwood Woodburn McNeil Stuart Maclay Noble Ross Campbell Ross Millan Younger Rifkind Lang Forsyth Dewar

Secretary of State for Scotland 1999–present	Reid Liddell Darling* Alexander* Browne** Murphy Alexander Moore Carmichael Mundell

Also Secretary of State for Transport; *Secretary of State for Defence

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 81482431 GND: 137267819

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