Prime Minister Ian Douglas Smith Died February 10, 1992 Deposed date 1992 Name James 7th Service/branch Royal Navy | Allegiance United Kingdom Coronation date 1954 Party Rhodesian Front | |
 | ||
Full Name James Angus Graham Born 2 May 1907 ( 1907-05-02 ) Spouse(s) Isabel Veronia Sellar
(m. 1930; div. 1950)
Susan Semple
(m. 1952–92; his death) Children Lady Fiona Hannon
James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose
Lady Cairistiona Saggers
Lord Donald Graham
Lord Calum Graham
Lady Lilias Bell Education Eton College, Christ Church, Oxford | ||
Prime Minister Winston Joseph Field | ||
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 Rhodesian politician of British origin. 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, farming several properties. He served as Minister of Agriculture in the Rhodesian government of Ian Smith, and in 1965 was a signatory to Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
Contents
Early life
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 Lord Louis Mountbatten's flotilla in the North Sea and later served in the Mediterranean and at Aden.
Life
The Marquess of Graham completed three years at Oxford and graduated Bachelor of Arts. Lord Graham (as he then was) first went to Southern 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 The 7th 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.
Family
Graham 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.