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A stalwart of the Conservative Party, he served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major.
The leader of the Conservatives in Scotland, Russell Findlay, said: “I am sorry to hear of the death of Michael Ancram, who was a first class politician and a gentleman.
“The thoughts of everyone in the Scottish Conservatives are with his wife and family.”
Prime Minister John Swinney said he was “very sorry” to hear of the former minister’s death.
“Michael was a polite and distinguished Senator. My condolences to his family,” he posted on X.
Lord Ancram was born in 1945, and was educated at Ampleforth College before studying History at Christ Church, Oxford, and later Law at Edinburgh University.
After practicing as an advocate at the Scottish Bar, he began his political journey at the age of 29 when in 1974 he was elected to Parliament for the first time representing Berwickshire and East Lothian.
Although he lost this seat in the second General Election of 1974 he returned to the House of Commons in 1979 as Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South, defeating the future Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Following defeat in the 1987 General Election, Mr Ancram returned as Member of Parliament for the Devizes Constituency in the 1992 General Election until he retired from the House of Commons in May 2010.
In November 2010, he joined the House of Lords as a peer for life, Baron Kerr of Monteviot.
His ministerial career included roles at the Scottish Office and the Northern Ireland Office.
He played a significant role in the formative stages of the Northern Ireland peace process as Minister of State until 1997, and was the first Minister in the British Government to sit across a negotiating table with the IRA.
Mr Ancram served as Deputy Leader and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the Opposition between 2001 and 2005 under Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard.
He also became the Opposition Secretary of State for International Affairs from 2004 to 2005, and the Opposition Secretary of State for Defense in 2005. He was also Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1998 to 2001.
He is survived by his wife, Dame Jane Fitzalan-Howard, his two daughters, three grandchildren and five step-grandchildren.
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