Alma mater Christ Church, Oxford Name William 8th Children 2 sons, 1 daughter | Spouse(s) Pamela Occupation Barrister, politician Role Politician | |
Title 8th Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield Relatives Lancelot Carnegie (maternal grandfather) Died October 21, 2015, Perthshire Parents Mungo Murray, 7th Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield, Dorothea Helena Carnegie Education Eton College, Christ Church, Oxford | ||
William David Mungo James Murray, 8th Earl of Mansfield, 7th Earl of Mansfield DL, JP (7 July 1930 – 21 October 2015), styled Lord Scone until 1970, was a Scottish nobleman and Conservative politician.
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Biography
William Murray was born on 7 July 1930. He was the only son of Mungo Murray, 7th Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield, and his wife Dorothea Helena, younger daughter of Sir Lancelot Carnegie. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. He served with the Scots Guards in Malaya from 1949 to 1950. He was called to the bar, Inner Temple, in 1958.
Murray was a barrister from 1958 until 1971, when he succeeded his father as Earl of Mansfield.
He was a member of the British Delegation to the European Parliament from 1973 to 1975 (prior to the direct election of Members of the European Parliament), and was an opposition spokesman in the House of Lords from 1975 to 1979. He was a Minister of State in the Scottish Office from 1979 to 1983 and in the Northern Ireland Office from 1983 to 1984.
He was appointed an Honorary Sheriff for Perthshire in 1974, a Justice of the Peace in 1975 and a Deputy Lieutenant for Perth and Kinross in 1980.
Murray has also held a number of business and charitable appointments, such as serving as first president of the Federation of Hunting Associations of the European Communities (FACE) from 1977 to 1979.
He was the first President of the Scottish Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders and from 1985 to 1996 served as First Crown Estate Commissioner.
Marriage & Children
Murray married Pamela Joan Foster on 19 December 1955. They had three children:
The Countess is a Patroness of the Royal Caledonian Ball.
Death
Murray died on 21 October 2015 and his funeral and memorial service were held at St John's Kirk of Perth on 30 October 2015, with a reception at Scone Palace. He was succeeded by his son Alexander David Mungo Murray.