Danus Skene
Danus George Moncrieff Skene, Baron of Skene Chief of the Name and Arms of Skene, also 10th of Piltout and 15th of Hallyards, was a Scottish nobleman, teacher, educationalist and politician.
Early life
Skene was born in Dundee, and brought up in Fife. He was educated at Eton College, then read African Studies at the University of Sussex, Public Administration at the University of Chicago and Education at the University of Aberdeen before becoming a schoolteacher in Elgin. Skene's teaching career later included stints in Israel and Kenya, work in the education department of Tayside Regional Council, and also service on the board of the Scottish Qualification Authority.Political activity from the 1970s to the 2000s
Skene joined the Labour Party and stood unsuccessfully in Kinross and [West Perthshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Kinross and West Perthshire] in both February and October 1974 general elections, and served on the party's Scottish Executive. In 1976, he was a founder of the Labour Party (1976)|Scottish Labour Party], a split from the Labour Party. He wrote a paper on rural land policy for the party, and was the secretary of the northern "Yes for Scotland" campaign during the 1979 Scottish devolution referendum. However, shortly before the referendum, he joined the Liberal Party. He was elected to Perth and Kinross District Council as the Independent councillor for Blair Atholl and Kinloch Rannoch in 1980.Skene stood for the Liberals unsuccessfully in Tayside North at the 1983 general election, and lost his council seat the same year. In 1987, he stood in Moray, taking fourth place with just over 10% of the vote. He remained active when the party became part of the Liberal Democrats, being on the party list for Scotland at the 1999 [European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|European Parliament election, 1999]. However, by 2007, he was concerned that the party now regarded itself as British unionist, when he was a Scottish nationalist.