James Angus Graham, 7th Duke of Montrose ID (2 May 1907 – 10 February 1992), styled Earl of Kincardine until 1925 and Marquess of Graham between 1925 and 1954, was a British-born Rhodesian politician. Born in Scotland, he maintained a lifelong interest in politics and was a lover of all things Scottish. He lived in southern Africa for fifty-five years, serving as the Minister of Agriculture in Rhodesia under Ian Smith, was a signatory to Unilateral Declaration of Independence and farmed several properties.
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As Marquess of Graham, the Duke was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. He was in HMS Kandahar as part of Louis Mountbatten's flotilla in the North Sea and later served in the Mediterranean and at Aden.
The Marquis of Graham completed three years at Oxford and graduated Bachelor of Arts. He first went to Rhodesia in 1930, taking up a position with A.E.&I., the South African subsidiary of ICI. While he was on holiday in England in 1939, war with Germany was declared and he signed up with the Admiral Commanding Reserves and was appointed Lieutenant in the RNVR, joining HMS Kandahar.
In 1954 he inherited his father's titles and became Duke of Montrose. He enjoyed hunting trips in Kenya, where he met his second wife, Susan Semple. The family grew up on Derry Farm at Nyabira outside Salisbury, where the crops included maize and tobacco. A pedigree Brahman cattle stud was established after importing bloodstock from Texas. Although, in an article published in Illustrated Life Rhodesia in the mid-1970s, Montrose indicated that he saw his family remaining in Rhodesia for future generations, he and his family moved to South Africa in 1979 and then to Scotland, where he spent his final days. Always a keen Gaelic speaker with a great fondness for the Highlands and islands of Scotland, he lies buried in the family cemetery near Loch Lomond.[1]
He was first married to Isabel Veronia Sellar and had issue, both born in Southern Rhodesia:
He married secondly Susan Mary Joclyn Semple of Kenya and had issue:
His son and heir, the 8th Duke of Montrose, is currently a Conservative government minister.
| Peerage of Scotland | ||
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| Preceded by James Graham |
Duke of Montrose 1954–1992 |
Succeeded by James Graham |
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