Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford


Robert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford and 12th Earl of Balcarres, , styled Lord Balniel between 1940 and 1975, is a Scottish hereditary peer and Conservative politician. The elder son of the 28th Earl of Crawford and 11th Earl of Balcarres, he succeeded to the family titles in 1975. Lord Crawford and Balcarres is Premier Earl of Scotland and Chief of Clan Lindsay.

Early life

He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. From 1945 to 1948, he served in the Grenadier Guards. He was honorary attache at the British Embassy in Paris from 1950 to 1951, and then worked for the Conservative Research Department.

Career

Balniel was elected for the Conservative Party in Hertford at the 1955 United Kingdom general election, and served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Henry Brooke until 1959. From 1959 to 1965, he was president of the Rural District Councils Association, and from 1963 to 1970, he was chair of the National Association for Mental Health.
While the Conservative Party was in opposition, he served as spokesman on Foreign Affairs from 1965 until 1967, and then joined the Shadow Cabinet as spokesman on Social Services. Following the party's victory in the 1970 United Kingdom general election, he served as Minister of State for Defence, and then from 1972 was Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
Balniel switched to represent Welwyn and Hatfield at the February 1974 United Kingdom general election, narrowly winning the seat, but he was defeated in the general election in October. He was given a life peerage as Baron Balniel, of Pitcorthie in the County of Fife, in January 1975 before succeeding as Earl of Crawford in December the same year. After the passage of House of Lords Act 1999, he sat in the Lords by virtue of his life peerage. He retired from the House of Lords on 28 November 2019. Following the death of The Lord Eden of Winton on 23 May 2020, Crawford became the living former MP with the earliest date of first election.

Appointments

Crawford was appointed First Crown Estate Commissioner from 1980 to 1985. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the Special Honours List published after The Queen Mother's death.

Honours

Arms