Alister Jack has been named the new Scottish Secretary after David Mundell was brutally sacked in Boris Johnson’s Brexit reshuffle.
The 56-year-old Dumfries and Galloway MP said he was “honoured to have been appointed at a time when we face very significant challenges as a country”.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson remarked he had “big shoes to fill, but Alister Jack brings huge experience from outside government into Dover House”.
Mr Jack was educated at Glenalmond College, the Perthshire boarding school which was run as an all-boys institution when he was there in the 1970s.
He is a member of the Royal Company of Archers, the Queen’s ceremonial bodyguard in Scotland which includes members of the landed gentry and parades at events like the Holyrood Garden Party.
Although a relatively new MP, he has been active in Conservative politics for some time.
Before Ms Davidson became leader, he was one of the prominent business figures to back her rival for the position Murdo Fraser and his plans to rebrand the party north of the border.
Mr Fraser stood for Scottish Conservative leader on the basis that he would change the Scottish party’s name and set up a new centre right organisation which would take the Tory whip in the Commons but remain a different political entity.
The attempt to disassociate the party with its poor showings in Scottish elections in the past did not come to fruition because Mr Fraser was defeated by Ms Davidson in the battle to replace Annabel Goldie as Scottish Tory leader.
Mr Jack was also a donor to the Better Together campaign which fought for a No vote in the 2014 independence referendum
Speaking after being appointed Scottish Secretary, he said: “We need to continue to defend the Union against those who would seek to tear it apart.
“In 2014, the people of Scotland voted to remain part of a strong United Kingdom.
“We will stand up for their decision against those who would try to impose unwanted and divisive constitutional change.
“At the same time we need to work with the Scottish Government in boosting Scotland’s economy, which continues to lag behind that of the rest of the UK, in large part due to the Scottish Government’s anti-business and high tax ideology.”
“There are challenges ahead of us, but I am confident that we will meet them successfully, building a path to a more prosperous country.”
