John Dewar, 1st Baron Forteviot

John Alexander Dewar, 1st Baron Forteviot (6 June 1856-23 November 1929), was a Scottish businessman and Liberal Member of Parliament.

Forteviot was the son of John Dewar and Jane Gow. He was Chairman of the brewing firm John Dewar and Sons and a Director of Buchanan-Dewar Ltd and of Distillers Co Ltd. He also represented Inverness-shire in the House of Commons from 1900 to 1917 and was twice Lord Provost of Perth. He was created a Baronet in 1907 and in 1917 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Forteviot, of Dupplin in the County of Perth.

In 1912 he chaired the Dewar Commission, an examination of the state of healthcare provision in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The Commission took evidence in the form of written submissions and personal interviews throughout the North, beginning on 15 August 1912 at the Local Government Board Offices in Edinburgh, but moving on by the third day to Inverness and other parts of the north. The evidence, along with the Highlands and Islands Medical Service Committee (1912) Report to the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, were presented to the Houses of Commons in 1913, resulting in the establishment of the Highlands and Islands Medical Scheme.

Lord Forteviot married, firstly, Johann Todd, in 1884. After his first wife's death in 1899 he married, secondly, Margaret Elizabeth Holland, daughter of Henry Holland, in 1905. He died in November 1929, aged 73, and was succeeded in his titles by his son from his first marriage, John.

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). "Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage" (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
* [http://www.angeltowns.com/town/peerage/ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page]
* [http://www.thepeerage.com/ www.thepeerage.com]