Ian David Patrick Macpherson, 3rd Baron Strathcarron (born 31 March 1949), is a British hereditary peer and former member of House of Lords. He is also the baronet Sir Ian David Patrick Macpherson of Drumalban. He inherited the titles on the death of his father David Macpherson, 2nd Baron Strathcarron, on 31 August 2006.
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Education
Strathcarron's early education was at Hill House School, before attending Horris Hill and then Eton College; after Eton, he went to Grenoble University.
Personal life
Strathcarron married the former Gillian Rosamund Allison (born 15 September 1946) in 1974 and they have two children.
Career
Strathcarron spent ten years in East Asia working for Time Life as a freelance journalist and copywriter. In 1970, he founded the Japan Europa Press Agency in Tokyo and sold it in 1995.
He became a partner in Strathcarron & Company in 1974, and a founder and Director of Global Alliance Automotive Ltd, a transnational version of Strathcarron & Company in 1993. In 1995, he founded Strathcarron Sports Cars plc, manufacturers of sports/racing cars and since 2006 he has been a trustee and director of the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire.
He is chairman and commissioning editor of Unicorn Publishing House Ltd, a visual arts, cultural history and digital publishing and media distribution company. In 2018, he founded the transmedia production company Affable Media Ltd.
In February 2022, he was elected to replace Viscount Ridley in the House of Lords following Ridley's retirement in December 2021. He took the oath on 21 February 2022.
Media works
Strathcarron is a student of Advaita Vedanta and has written of his experiences in non-duality in the books Living with Life and Mysticism and Bliss. He is also the author of two spy thriller novels for Troubador: Invisibility, and Black Beach.
In 2009, he recreated Lord Byron's 1809–1811 Grand Tour of the Mediterranean for the book Joy Unconfined! Lord Byron's Grand Tour Re-Toured published by Signal Books, an imprint of Christopher Hurst.
In 2010, he completed the first part of a Mark Twain travel trilogy based on Twain's 1867 tour of the Holy Land, resulting in the book Innocence & War: Mark Twain's Holy Land Revisited published in 2012 in the US by Dover Publications and in the UK by Signal Books. The second part of the trilogy, recreating Mark Twain's 1896 lecture tour of India for the book The Indian Equator; Mark Twain's India Revisited published in 2014 in the US by Dover Publications and in the UK by Signal Books.
In 2016, Unicorn Press published his biography of Sir Francis Chichester, Never Fear: Reliving the Life of Sir Francis Chichester.
In 2017, Unicorn Press published his art book about the painter Sophie Walbeoffe, Painting with Both Hands.
In 2020, Unicorn published his spiritual abstract art book Truth and Beauty: The Art of Sophie Chang.
In 2022, he wrote and produced the short film Undead and Alive, a zombie/witch romcom.
In 2025, Unicorn published his art book 'Delightful, Enchanting.': The Art of Annabel Fairfax.
In 2026, Histria Books US published his sports history book Andrea Moda Formula: The Legend of the Formula One Team Too Bad To Be True.
Interests and hobbies
An ex-Yachtmaster Instructor, Strathcarron is an Honorary Life Member of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, a member of the Royal Cruising Club and the Royal Yacht Squadron (see List of Royal Yacht Squadron members), and Commodore of the House of Lords Yacht Club.
In 2012, he qualified as a civil and commercial mediator with the Civil Mediation Council. In 2013, he qualified as a Restorative Justice practitioner, registered with the Restorative Justice Council. He is also the vice-chair and a trustee of The Society of Mediators.