About James Gray (British politician)
James Gray, CStJ (born 7 November 1954) is a British politician who served as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for North Wiltshire from 1997 to 2024. == Early life == Born in Glasgow, Gray is the eldest son of Very Rev Dr John Rodger Gray, Minister of Dunblane Cathedral and the 1977 Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and Dr Sheila Mary Gray (née Whiteside), a GP. Gray was educated at the Hillhead Primary School, Glasgow, and then the High School of Glasgow, a private school. He studied history at the University of Glasgow, where he graduated with a Scottish Master of Arts first degree in 1975. He continued with post-graduate studies at Christ Church, Oxford, where he completed a history thesis in 1977. == Early career == From 1977, Gray worked as a graduate management trainee with P&O for a year, also joining the Honourable Artillery Company, a unit of the Territorial Army based in Islington, where he served for seven years, becoming a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies with the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme. Gray was then engaged as a ship broker with Anderson Hughes before being admitted to the Freedom of the City of London in 1978, since when he has been a member of the Baltic Exchange. Managing director of GNI Freight Futures from 1984 until 1992, he was also a director of the Baltic Futures Exchange from 1989 to 1991. In 1987 he was awarded the Lloyd's of London Book Prize. === Entering politics === Grey stood unsuccessfully against Charles Kennedy in the seat of Ross, Cromarty and Skye at the 1992 general election. He later became a special advisor to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Howard, and to his successor John Gummer.
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