Irvine, Alexander Andrew Mackay, Lord Irvine of Lairg (1941– )

British lawyer and Labour politician, Lord Chancellor 1997–2003. Chairing a number of important cabinet committees, and mentor to Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had trained as a barrister at his London law chambers, Irvine wields enormous influence in British politics. One of the outstanding legal minds of his generation, as Lord Chancellor he has overseen significant modernizing reforms of the legal system. He has also advised Blair on constitutional reforms, including devolution, reform of the House of Lords, and incorporation of the European Convention of Human Rights into British law.

Born in Inverness, Scotland, after studying law at Glasgow and Cambridge universities he worked as a law lecturer at the London School of Economics 1965–69. He became a barrister in 1967, a Queens Counsel in 1978, and was appointed a deputy high court judge in 1987. On becoming Lord Chancellor in May 1997, he ceased legal practice. In 2001 he faced opposition and media criticism for soliciting donations to the Labour Party from fellow lawyers.