Lawrence Dundas, 1st Marquess of Zetland

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The marquess as Earl of Zetland, by Leslie Ward, 1886.
The marquess as Earl of Zetland, by Leslie Ward, 1886.

Lawrence Dundas, 1st Marquess of Zetland, KT (16 August 184411 March 1929) was a British Conservative politician and statesman. He was born in London and educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge, being commissioned as a Cornet in the Royal Horse Guards in 1866. By 1869 a Lieutenant, Dundas retired from the British Army in 1872 and was elected Member of Parliament for Richmond, North Yorkshire that same year. However, he sat in the House of Commons for less than a year before succeeding his uncle as third Earl of Zetland.

A Lord in Waiting from May to September 1880, Lord Zetland subsequently moved from supporting the Liberals to joining the Conservative Party in 1884. In 1889 he was sent to Ireland as Lord Lieutenant, a post in which he proved both successful and popular, and remained there until the Liberals returned to power in 1892. On Lord Salisbury's recommendation, he was that same year created Marquess of Zetland and Earl of Ronaldshay.

In the 1890s Lord Zetland became more involved in local politics, becoming an alderman on the North Riding of Yorkshire County Council in 1894 and being elected Mayor of Richmond in 1895 and 1896. In 1900 he was made a Knight of the Thistle.

Like his uncle and grandfather a freemason, Zetland was the society's provinicial Grand Master in the North and East Riding of Yorkshire from 1874 to 1923. He was also an enthusiastic sportsman, and was Master of the Zetland Hunt for thirty-five years. He died aged 84 at Aske Hall, Yorkshire, and was buried there.

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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sir Roundell Palmer
Member of Parliament for Richmond
1872–1873
Succeeded by
Hon. John Dundas
Political offices
Preceded by
The Marquess of Londonderry
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1889–1892
Succeeded by
The Lord Houghton
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Thomas Dundas
Earl of Zetland
1873–1929
Succeeded by
Lawrence Dundas
Preceded by
(new creation)
Marquess of Zetland
1892–1929