1. John Thurso first joined Parliament in the House of Lords as a hereditary peer in 1995 and served until 1999, when he was among the majority of hereditary peers who were removed from Parliament following the House of Lords Act 1999.
20 Facts About John Thurso
1. 2.
John Thurso was elected Member of Parliament for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross at the 2001 general election, becoming the fifth generation of the Sinclair family to represent the Caithness area in the House of Commons.
3.
John Thurso held the seat until he was defeated at the 2015 general election by the Scottish National Party candidate, Paul Monaghan.
4.
In 2016, John Thurso returned to the House of Lords after winning a by-election to fill a vacancy among the remaining Liberal Democrat hereditary peers.
5.
John Thurso became chair of VisitScotland in 2016 and later became Lord Lieutenant of Caithness in 2017.
6.
John Thurso joined the Savoy Group as a management trainee in 1972, and worked for many years in the tourism and hospitality industry.
7.
John Thurso was a manager at the Lancaster Hotel in Paris and founded the hotel at Cliveden before becoming CEO of Granfel Holdings, owners of East Sussex National Golf Course.
8.
John Thurso spoke many times in the House of Lords in favour of Lords reform.
9.
John Thurso served as Liberal Democrat Scotland spokesperson under Charles Kennedy, but was sacked by Sir Menzies Campbell.
10.
John Thurso has publicly gone against party policy by declaring his support for nuclear power, and by his criticism of 24-hour drinking and wind power.
11.
Lord John Thurso was sworn of the Privy Council in 2014.
12.
John Thurso lost his Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross seat at the 2015 general election to Paul Monaghan of the Scottish National Party.
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However, Lord John Thurso had a good result in comparison with many Liberal Democrat candidates.
14.
John Thurso won the support of all of the three members who were eligible to vote.
15.
In 2017, John Thurso was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Caithness.
16.
John Thurso holds the presidencies of The Tourism Society and the Academy of Food and Wine Service.
17.
John Thurso is a fellow of the Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality and served as its Patron for six years, until June 2003.
18.
John Thurso was President of the British International Spa Association.
19.
On 7 March 2016, it was announced that Lord John Thurso would become the chair of VisitScotland.
20.
John Thurso has been married to Marion for 26 years and they have a daughter and two sons.