# Ray Michie > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ray_Michie > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ray_Michie.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Michie > Source revision: 1347268628 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Scottish politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}} {{Use British English|date=November 2014}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [The Right Honourable](/source/The_Right_Honourable) | name = The Baroness Michie of Gallanach | honorific_suffix = | image = | constituency_MP = [Argyll and Bute](/source/Argyll_and_Bute_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) | parliament = | majority = | term_start = 11 June 1987 | term_end = 14 May 2001 | predecessor = [John Mackay](/source/John_MacKay%2C_Baron_MacKay_of_Ardbrecknish) | successor = [Alan Reid](/source/Alan_Reid_(politician)) | office1 = Member of the [House of Lords](/source/House_of_Lords) | status1 = [Lord Temporal](/source/Lord_Temporal) | term_label1 = [Life peer](/source/Life_peer)age | term_start1 = 14 July 2001 | term_end1 = 6 May 2008 | birth_date = {{birth date|1934|02|4|df=yes}} | birth_place = [Balmaha, Stirlingshire, Scotland](/source/Balmaha), UK | death_date = {{death date and age|2008|5|6|1934|02|4|df=yes}} | death_place = [Oban, Scotland](/source/Oban) | birth_name = Janet Ray Bannerman | party = [Liberal Democrat](/source/Liberal_Democrats_(UK)) | other_party = | spouse = Iain Michie | alma_mater = Edinburgh College of Speech Therapy }} '''Janet Ray Michie, Baroness Michie of Gallanach''' (''née'' '''Bannerman'''; 4 February 1934 – 6 May 2008) was a Scottish [speech therapist](/source/speech_therapist) and [Liberal Democrat](/source/Liberal_Democrats_(UK)) politician. She served as the [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Argyll and Bute](/source/Argyll_and_Bute_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) for fourteen years, from 1987-2001, and then became a [life peer](/source/life_peer) in the [House of Lords](/source/House_of_Lords). She was the first peer to pledge the [oath of allegiance](/source/oath_of_allegiance) in the House of Lords in [Gaelic](/source/Scottish_Gaelic). ==Early life== Janet Ray Bannerman was born in the Old Manse, [Balmaha](/source/Balmaha), on the eastern shore of [Loch Lomond](/source/Loch_Lomond) in [Stirlingshire](/source/Stirlingshire), the second of four children of Jenny Murray (Ray) (''née'' Mundell) and [John Bannerman](/source/John_Bannerman%2C_Baron_Bannerman_of_Kildonan) (later Lord Bannerman of Kildonan).Emma Sanderson-Nash, Ray Michie in Brack et al. (eds.), ''Dictionary of Liberal Biography'', Politico's (1998) Her father was a farm manager to the [Duke of Montrose](/source/Duke_of_Montrose), a former [Scotland rugby player](/source/Scotland_national_rugby_union_team) and [Liberal](/source/Liberal_Party_(UK)) politician. In her youth, she spoke at political meetings while waiting for her father to arrive. He contested [Argyll](/source/Argyllshire_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) at the [1945 general election](/source/1945_United_Kingdom_general_election), and [Inverness](/source/Inverness_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) at the [1950 general election](/source/1950_United_Kingdom_general_election). He surprised many by narrowly losing the [1954 Inverness by-election](/source/1954_Inverness_by-election), coming close again at the general elections in [1951](/source/1951_United_Kingdom_general_election) and [1955](/source/1955_United_Kingdom_general_election). He narrowly lost the [1961 Paisley by-election](/source/1961_Paisley_by-election), and contested [Paisley](/source/Paisley_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) again at the [1964 general election](/source/1964_United_Kingdom_general_election), before becoming a [life peer](/source/life_peer) in December 1967. Michie was educated at [Aberdeen High School for Girls](/source/Aberdeen_High_School_for_Girls), Lansdowne House School (Edinburgh), and the Edinburgh College of Speech Therapy. She married Iain Michie in 1957, and she followed his work with the [Royal Army Medical Corps](/source/Royal_Army_Medical_Corps) for 16 years in the UK and overseas. They had three daughters. She continued as a [speech therapist](/source/speech_therapist) after they settled in [Oban](/source/Oban), working at the county hospital and becoming Area Speech Therapist for the Argyll and Clyde Health Board in 1977. ==Political career== Following in the footsteps of her father, she entered politics and became Chairman of Argyll Liberal Association from 1973–76, and then vice-Chairman of the [Scottish Liberal Party](/source/Scottish_Liberal_Party) from 1977-79. She was the [Liberal Party](/source/Liberal_Party_(UK)) candidate for Argyll and Bute on three occasions, losing in [1979](/source/1979_United_Kingdom_general_election) and [1983](/source/1983_United_Kingdom_general_election), but ultimately defeating Conservative minister [John Mackay](/source/John_MacKay%2C_Baron_MacKay_of_Ardbrecknish) to secure election as [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) at the [1987 general election](/source/1987_United_Kingdom_general_election), becoming the sole female Liberal MP. She took the [oath of allegiance](/source/oath_of_allegiance) in the [House of Commons](/source/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom) in [Gaelic](/source/Scottish_Gaelic), and joined the [Liberal Democrats](/source/Liberal_Democrats_(UK)) upon the party's formation in 1988. She increased her majority at the next two general elections, gaining the confidence of the voters in her scattered constituency of peninsulas and islands. {{citation needed|date=March 2014}} She was a Liberal Democrat spokesman on Transport and Rural Development from 1987–88, on Women's Issues from 1988–94, and on Scotland from 1988-97. She was an advocate of [home rule](/source/home_rule) for Scotland and the promotion of and development of the [Scottish Gaelic](/source/Scottish_Gaelic) language. She was also chair of the [Scottish Liberal Democrats](/source/Scottish_Liberal_Democrats) from 1992-93. She was appointed a member of the panel of chairmen by [Speaker](/source/Speaker_of_the_House_of_Commons_(United_Kingdom)) [Betty Boothroyd](/source/Betty_Boothroyd) in her last term in the Commons; from 1997-2001. She supported the campaigns to end submarine operations of the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) and [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) in the [Firth of Clyde](/source/Firth_of_Clyde),{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} to hold another inquiry into the [Chinook crash](/source/1994_Scotland_RAF_Chinook_crash) on the [Mull of Kintyre](/source/Mull_of_Kintyre) in 1994 in her constituency, and the successful bid for the residents of [Gigha](/source/Gigha) to buy their own island. In 1992, Michie became a member of the House of Commons Select Committee on Scottish Affairs. Later, she also became a joint Vice-Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group on the [Whisky](/source/Whisky) Industry. She stood down from Parliament at the [2001 general election](/source/2001_United_Kingdom_general_election), being replaced by [Alan Reid](/source/Alan_Reid_(politician)). She was made a [life peer](/source/life_peer) as '''Baroness Michie of Gallanach''', of [Oban](/source/Oban) in [Argyll and Bute](/source/Argyll_and_Bute) on 14 July 2001.{{London Gazette |issue=56281 |date=20 July 2001 |page=8601}} She was the first peer to pledge the oath of allegiance in [Gaelic](/source/Scottish_Gaelic) when being introduced to the Lords.{{Cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-100054|title=Michie [nee Bannerman], (Janet) Ray, Baroness Michie of Gallanach (1934-2008)|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/100054|access-date=2019-01-25|year=2012|last1=Torrance|first1=David}} At different points in her career, she was Vice-President of the [Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists](/source/Royal_College_of_Speech_and_Language_Therapists), Honorary Associate of the [National Council of Women of Great Britain](/source/National_Council_of_Women_of_Great_Britain), and Honorary President of the Clyde Fishermen's Association, and also held honorary positions in the [An Comunn Gàidhealach](/source/An_Comunn_G%C3%A0idhealach), the [Scottish National Farmers' Union](/source/Scottish_National_Farmers'_Union) and the [Scottish Crofting Foundation](/source/Scottish_Crofting_Foundation), and was a participant in the early days of the [Scottish Constitutional Convention](/source/Scottish_Constitutional_Convention). She chaired the West Highland Health Services Solutions Group. In August 2007, she was appointed to the [Scottish Broadcasting Commission](/source/Scottish_Broadcasting_Commission) established by the [Scottish Government](/source/Scottish_Government). Before the Commission was able to report, Michie died at her home in [Oban](/source/Oban) after receiving treatment for cancer.[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7387812.stm "'Tireless' Lib Dem stalwart dies"], BBC News, 7 May 2008. She died two days after her Liberal Democrat colleague in the House of Lords, [Richard Holme](/source/Richard_Holme). She was survived by two daughters, having been predeceased by her husband and a third daughter. ==References== {{reflist}} *Obituaries: **[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1935892/Lady-Michie.html ''The Daily Telegraph'', 9 May 2008] **[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/may/09/liberaldemocrats.scotland ''The Guardian'', 9 May 2008] **[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/baroness-michie-of-gallanach-lib-dem-peer-committed-toscotland-and-the-gaelic-language-826281.html ''The Independent'', 9 May 2008] **[https://web.archive.org/web/20081121190034/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3911439.ece ''The Times'', 9 May 2008] ==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060111184624/http://www.libdems.org.uk/party/people/baroness-michie-of-gallanach.html Baroness Michie of Gallanach] profile at the site of Liberal Democrats(page not found) * {{Hansard-contribs | mrs-ray-michie | Ray Michie }} {{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{succession box | title = [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Argyll and Bute](/source/Argyll_and_Bute_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) | years = [1987](/source/1987_United_Kingdom_general_election)–[2001](/source/2001_United_Kingdom_general_election) | before = [John Mackay](/source/John_MacKay%2C_Baron_MacKay_of_Ardbrecknish) | after = [Alan Reid](/source/Alan_Reid_(politician)) }} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Michie, Ray}} Category:1934 births Category:2008 deaths Category:Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Category:Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II Category:Scottish Liberal Party MPs Category:Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs Michie of Gallanach Category:UK MPs 1987–1992 Category:UK MPs 1992–1997 Category:UK MPs 1997–2001 Category:Daughters of life peers Category:Deaths from cancer in Scotland Category:People educated at Harlaw Academy Category:People from Oban Category:People from Stirling (council area) Category:20th-century Scottish women politicians Category:20th-century Scottish politicians Category:21st-century Scottish women politicians Category:21st-century Scottish politicians Category:National Council of Women of Great Britain members Michie --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ray Michie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Michie) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Michie?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.