The Earl of Gowrie | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Nick Sinclair, 1992 | |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
| In office 11 September 1984 – 2 September 1985 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | The Lord Cockfield |
| Succeeded by | Norman Tebbit |
| Minister of State for the Arts | |
| In office 11 June 1983 – 2 September 1985 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Paul Channon |
| Succeeded by | Richard Luce |
| Minister of State for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 15 September 1981 – 10 June 1983 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Michael Alison |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Mansfield |
| Minister of State for Employment | |
| In office 7 May 1979 – 15 September 1981 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Harold Walker |
| Succeeded by | Michael Alison |
| Lord-in-waiting Government Whip | |
| In office 7 April 1972 – 4 March 1974 | |
| Prime Minister | Edward Heath |
| Preceded by | new appointment |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Jacques |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 27 November 1960 – 11 November 1999 Hereditary Peerage | |
| Preceded by | The 1st Earl of Gowrie |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alexander Patrick Greysteil Hore-Ruthven 26 November 1939 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 24 September 2021 (aged 81) Llanfechain, Wales |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents |
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| Alma mater | |
Alexander Patrick Greysteil Hore-Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie,[1] PC, FRSL (26 November 1939 – 24 September 2021), usually known as Grey Gowrie or Lord Gowrie, was an Irish-born British hereditary peer, politician, and businessman. Lord Gowrie was also the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Ruthven in Scotland. He was educated at Eton and Oxford, and held posts in academia for a period, in the US and London, including time working with poet Robert Lowell and at Harvard University.
Gowrie was a Conservative Party politician for some years, including a period in the British Cabinet. He held ministerial posts under Margaret Thatcher, in the areas of employment and Northern Ireland, and was Minister of State for the Arts, as well as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, with responsibility for Civil Service reform. Offered a promotion to full Secretary of State, with responsibility for education across the UK, he turned it down. Previously an arts dealer, he moved to Sotheby's for a reputed salary of around £150,000, chairing parts of the art auction business. He later chaired the Arts Council of England (1994–1998).
He published several volumes of poetry, with a collected edition released in 2014, and a volume on the artist Derek Hill; he was also a contributing author for a book on British painting. He underwent a heart transplant at Harefield Hospital in his early sixties. He died at his home in Llanfechain, Powys, Wales, in September 2021.