Mackintosh, John Pitcairn (political scientist and politician)
Dates
- Existence: 1929-1978. - 1978
Biography
John Mackintosh was born in Simla, India on 24th August 1929. He moved to Edinburgh at the age of eleven, his education began at Melville College and then the University of Edinburgh. He then moved to Balliol College Oxford reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics from 1950-2 before moving to Princeton University for postgraduate study. His academic career began in Nigeria where he worked as a senior lecturer in Government at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria from 1961-63. His thesis entitled ‘The British Cabinet’ was published in 1962 and he became a Labour M.P. for Berwick and East Lothian in 1966. He was a dedicated constituency MP who was extremely fond of East Lothian. In the 1974 general election he lost his seat to the conservative Michael Ancram but regained it in the October 1974 election. For many years Mackintosh balanced his academic career with his duties in the House of Commons. In 1977 He became Chair and Professor of Politics at the University of Edinburgh giving many lectures on political philosophy. Mackintosh was a strong supporter of Scottish Devolution and wrote many works on the subject including; ‘The British Cabinet’ (1962), ‘The Devolution of Power’ (1966), and ‘The Government and Politics of Britain’ (1970). Mackintosh also had a regular paper in The Times and The Scotsman as well as regularly appearing on television and giving public lectures. He was also the editor of the The Political Quarterly and chairman of the Hansard society.