Tory grandee Michael Ancram dies aged 79

Michael Ancram, a leading aristocrat who became a Tory MP, senior government minister, party chairman, deputy leader and grandee, has died aged 79

As minister of state for Northern Ireland under John Major, he was an architect in the peace process which eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement signed by Tony Blair.

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One of Mr Major's most trusted allies, he was the first representative of the UK government to take part in negotiations with the IRA, a move that was highly controversial at the time.

Announcing his death, the Conservative Party said Lord Lothian passed away in the early hours of Tuesday, dying peacefully in hospital after a short illness, surrounded by his close family.

"A stalwart of the Conservative Party and a respected figure in British politics, Lord Lothian's passing marks the end of a distinguished career spanning over five decades," the party said.

His family said in a statement: "Beyond his political achievements, Lord Lothian was known for his intellectual curiosity and his passion for the arts, particularly country and folk music.

"He was often seen playing the acoustic guitar at Conservative Party conferences, bringing a touch of levity to the often serious world of politics, and on stage performing - on more than once occasion with one or both of his daughters singing alongside him - in the Macmillan Cancer Support Parliamentary Palace of Varieties.

"He was a keen ski racer; captain of both the Oxford University and British Universities ski teams."

The family's statement added: "Lord Lothian's aristocratic heritage, together with his personal humility and geniality, and his modern conservative values made him a unique figure in public life."

After the Conservatives' defeat in 1997, Mr Ancram became Tory chairman under William Hague and after standing for the party leadership in 2001 he was deputy leader under Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard until David Cameron became leader in 2005.

Born into an aristocratic Roman Catholic family as the Earl of Ancram, he later became the Marchioness of Lothian in 2004 and after he returned to the House of Lords in 2010 he was known as Lord Kerr of Monteviot until his death.

Lord Lothian is survived by his wife, Lady Jane Fitzalan-Howard, daughter of the 16th Duke of Norfolk, who he married in 1975, two daughters and three grandchildren.

After Ampleforth College and Oxford and Edinburgh universities, Mr Ancram became an advocate at the Scottish Bar and first stood to become an MP, unsuccessfully, in West Lothian in 1970.

He was elected as MP for Berwickshire and East Lothian in the general election in February 1974 but lost the seat in the October election the same year.

He was then elected MP for Edinburgh South in 1979, defeating a young Labour firebrand called Gordon Brown, the future prime minister. His first ministerial job was as a junior Scottish Office minister from 1983 until he lost his seat in the 1987 election.

He returned to the Commons in 1992 as MP for the safe Conservative seat of Devizes in Wiltshire. A year later he became a junior minister at the Northern Ireland Office and was then promoted to minister of state in 1994.

After the 1997 Labour landslide he joined Mr Hague's shadow cabinet as constitutional affairs spokesman until he became Tory chairman from 1998 until the 2001 election.

After Mr Hague's crushing defeat, Mr Ancram was a leadership candidate along with Mr Duncan Smith, Michael Portillo, Kenneth Clarke and David Davis.

He was swiftly eliminated, but backed Mr Duncan Smith and was rewarded with the post of deputy leader and shadow foreign secretary, remaining in both posts when IDS was ousted and Michael Howard became leader.

He stood down from the opposition front bench when Mr Cameron became leader in 2005 and in 2006 was appointed to Parliament's powerful Intelligence and Security Committee.

He was criticised over his claims in the 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal and stood down from the Commons at the 2010 election, before returning to the House of Lords