James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn

James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn, KG (born 4 July 1934), is the current Duke of Abercorn in the Peerage of Ireland, having succeeded his father in June 1979. The son of James Edward Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn, and Lady Mary Crichton (daughter of Lt.-Col. Henry William Crichton, Viscount Crichton (1872–1914), eldest son of John Crichton, 4th Earl Erne). He is a former politician and Lord Steward of the Household.

Career

Educated at Eton College and the Royal Agricultural College, in 1952 he was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards. In 1964 he became Ulster Unionist MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone (when he held the courtesy title Marquess of Hamilton), succeeding his first cousin, Lord Robert Grosvenor . He held his seat in the 1966 election but lost it to a Unity candidate, Frank McManus, in 1970 by 1,423 votes. In 1986 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of County Tyrone and stood down in 2009. In 1999, he was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Garter. He was colonel of the Irish Guards from 2000 to 2008. Additionally, he was appointed Lord Steward of the Household in 2001, serving until 2009.

He is one of the largest landowners in all of Ireland with more than 15,000 acres (61 km²). His seat is Baronscourt, near Newtownstewart, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

The...
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