James Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas
James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas, (born 31 July 1942) is a Scottish Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West and then as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothians region. Between 1997 and 2023 he was a member of the House of Lords as a life peer. In 1994, he was briefly Earl of Selkirk, but disclaimed that peerage to remain in the House of Commons. Early life Lord James Douglas-Hamilton was born to the 14th Duke of Hamilton and the former Lady Elizabeth Percy. He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford where he was president of the Oxford Union, and thereafter at the University of Edinburgh. Political career He served as an advocate and an interim Procurator Fiscal Depute from 1968 to 1972. From 1972 to 1974, he was a councillor on Edinburgh District Council, and after unsuccessfully contesting Hamilton in February 1974, from October 1974 to 1997 he was Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West. During this time he served in the Scottish Office. He was briefly Falkland Pursuivant in the Court of the Lord Lyon in July 1973. In the years between 1987 and 1995