Bob Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart

Robert Adam Ross "Bob" Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart, PC (born 26 June 1936, Glasgow) is a British Liberal Democrat life peer. He was the last leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), serving during the negotiations that led to its merger with the Liberal Party in 1988. He then became joint interim leader of the new party, known as the Social and Liberal Democrats (SLD) before later becoming the Liberal Democrats.

Early life

Maclennan was educated at Glasgow Academy; Balliol College, Oxford; Trinity College, Cambridge; and Columbia University, New York City. Brother to David MacLennan, Elizabeth MacLennan, and Kenneth MacLennan, he became Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Caithness and Sutherland in 1966, and serving until 1997; and for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross after boundary changes, from 1997 to 2001. Following this he was raised to the House of Lords, elevated to a life peer as Baron Maclennan of Rogart, of Rogart in Sutherland.

In Parliament

He was first elected as a member of the Labour Party and served as a junior minister in the Labour government of 1974–1979, but in 1981 defected to become a founder member of the SDP. He was one of the few SDP MPs to keep their seats in the 1983 general election. After his stint as SDP Leader in 1988, he served as a front bench spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, and as their president from 1994 until 1998. He is now the party's Cabinet Office spokesman in the House of Lords.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Robert Maclennan
• Lord Maclennan of Rogart profile at the site of Liberal Democrats

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by George Mackie	Member of Parliament for Caithness and Sutherland 1966 – 1997	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross 1997 – 2001	Succeeded by John Thurso
Party political offices
Preceded by David Owen	Leader of the Social Democratic Party 1987–1988	Party merged with Liberal Party
New political party	Leader of the Social and Liberal Democrats 1988 with David Steel	Succeeded by Paddy Ashdown
Preceded by Charles Kennedy	President of the Liberal Democrats 1994–1998	Succeeded by Diana Maddock