Magnus Linklater
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Magnus Linklater (born 21 February 1942) is a Scottish journalist and former newspaper editor.
Linklater was born in Orkney, and is the son of Scottish writer Eric Linklater. He was brought up in Easter Ross, attending the local school at Nigg before moving to high school in Dunbar, East Lothian, then on to Eton College in England. He continued his studies with courses at Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg in Germany and the Sorbonne in Paris, before he studied a degree at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
Linklater's journalistic career began in 1964, as a reporter with the Daily Express. This was followed by a position at the Evening Standard, before he moved to The Sunday Times in 1969, where he remained until 1983. This was followed by three years at The Observer, before he was recruited to launch and edit the London Daily News, a shortlived newspaper owned by Robert Maxwell. Linklater returned to Scotland at the start of 1988 to become editor of The Scotsman, running the newspaper until 1994, when he left to become a freelance writer.
Following this, Linklater has regularly contributed to The Times, and, since 1998, has written a weekly column for The Scotsman's sister paper, Scotland on Sunday. Between 1994 and 1997 he presented the weekly discussion programme, Eye to Eye on BBC Radio Scotland, and has written a number of books, about Scottish history and politics.
He was appointed as chairman of the Scottish Arts Council in 1996, holding the post for five years, and is currently chairman of the Little Sparta Trust, which maintains Little Sparta, the garden of the late Ian Hamilton Finlay, in the Pentland Hills.
Linklater was a candidate for the position of Rector of Aberdeen University in 1999 and Lord Rector of Edinburgh University in the 2006 election, but finished second, behind Green politician Mark Ballard.
Linklater lives in the New Town of Edinburgh, with his wife Veronica, a Liberal Democrat Life peer. Their house was badly damaged by a fire on New Year's Day 2006, destroying much of his art collection, including valuable paintings by Samuel Peploe and William George Gillies.
