David Russell Russell-Johnston, Baron Russell-Johnston, (28 July 1932 - 27 July 2008)[1] usually known as Russell Johnston, was a leading Scottish Liberal Democrat politician.
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Russell Johnston was born in Edinburgh and educated at Portree High School on the Isle of Skye. He later attended Edinburgh University (graduating with a Master of Arts in history in 1957) and Moray House College of Education, before working as a schoolteacher.
In 1961, he won The Observer Mace, speaking with David Harcus and respresenting The University of Edinburgh. In 1995, the competition was renamed the John Smith Memorial Mace and is now run by the English-Speaking Union.
He was elected to the House of Commons and represented Inverness for the Liberal Party (1964–1983) and Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Liberal Party (1983–1988) and for the Liberal Democrats (1988–1997). He also served as leader of the Scottish Liberal Party and as deputy leader of the [2]Liberal Democrats (1988–1992).
In October 1966, he proposed a bill of federal law in order to deal with the Scotland and Wales case.
He was knighted in 1985.[3]
In the 1992 election, he made history by holding his seat with just 26% of the vote -the lowest percentage ever for a winning candidate- in a close four-way battle with Labour, the SNP, and the Conservatives.
Upon his retirement from the House of Commons in 1997, he was created a life peer as Baron Russell-Johnston of Minginish in Highland, changing his surname by deed poll to allow his forename to be incorporated into his title.[3]
He was member of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly from 1985 to his death in 2008,[4] leading the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE-PACE) from 1994 to 1999, and sitting as the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 1999 until 2002.
He lived for some years in Dolphin Square in London.
Johnston married Joan Graham Menzies in 1967. They had three sons. At the time of his death, Lord and Lady Russell-Johnston had been estranged for over ten years, but remained close to one another.[5]
Lord Russell-Johnston died on the eve of his 76th birthday. He had been suffering from cancer, for which he was receiving chemotherapy, but had continued to work on human rights issues for the Council of Europe. He collapsed and died in a street in Paris.[5]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Neil McLean |
Member of Parliament for Inverness 1964–1983 |
Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber 1983–1997 |
Constituency abolished |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by George Mackie |
Chairman of the Scottish Liberal Party 1970–1974 |
Succeeded by Menzies Campbell |
| Preceded by ? |
Leader of the Scottish Liberal Party 1974–1988 |
Succeeded by Malcolm Bruce Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats |
| Preceded by Alan Beith Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party ? Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic Party |
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats 1988–1992 |
Succeeded by Alan Beith |
| Preceded by George Mackie as President of the Scottish Liberal Party |
President of the Scottish Liberal Democrats 1988–1994 |
Succeeded by ? |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Leni Fischer |
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 1999–2002 |
Succeeded by Peter Schieder |
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