Lord Lieutenant for Caithness: Viscount Thurso
The Queen has been pleased to appoint Viscount Thurso as Lord Lieutenant for Caithness to succeed Ms Anne Dunnett.
The Queen has been pleased to appoint The Right Honourable John Archibald Sinclair, Viscount Thurso of Ulbster, PC as Lord-Lieutenant for Caithness to succeed Ms Anne Dunnett CVO who retired on 25 June 2017.
Background information
Viscount Thurso was Managing Director of the Savoy Group’s Lancaster 5star Hotel in Paris at the age of 27. He then went on to lead a number of hospitality businesses including Cliveden, which under his leadership become the UK’s highest rated hotel, East Sussex National Golf Course, and Champneys. He has served as a non-executive member on a number of public company boards and is Chairman of the family company in Caithness. In 2016 he was appointed Chair of VisitScotland and serves as an Ex-Officio Board Member of VisitBritain. He was awarded a “Catey” for services to Tourism in 2003 and is a Fellow of The Institute of Hospitality as well as aMaster Inn Holder. He is President of the Tourism Society.
He served in the House of Lords as a hereditary peer until 1999 and was then elected to the House of Commons as MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross until 2015. He returned to the House of Lords in 2016 by winning a by-election fora vacancy created by the death of Lord Avebury. He sits on the Lib Dem benches, but is no longer a member of the Party. He was made a Privy Councillor in 2014.
He is aged 63 and married with three grown up children.