Education, Family and Non-political Career
John Sinclair was educated in Thurso and at Eton College. Thurso joined the Savoy Group as a management trainee in 1972 and following this worked for many years in the hospitality industry. His achievements included managing the Lancaster in Paris (1981–85) and founding the hotel at Cliveden (1985–92) before becoming CEO of Granfel Holdings, owners of East Sussex National Golf Course from 1992 to 1995. Finally from 1995 until his election to parliament in 2001 he was CEO of the Champneys Group. During his time in this job he featured in the TV documentary Trouble at the Top - Shape up with Lord Thurso.
Lord Thurso comes from a family of Liberal politicians. The former constituency of Caithness and Sutherland had been held by his grandfather, Archibald Sinclair from 1922 until 1945. Archibald Sinclair was the 1st Viscount Thurso and a Liberal Party leader. Thurso has been married to Marion for 26 years and they have a daughter and two sons. The family live at Thurso, Caithness.
Thurso holds the Presidency of The Tourism Society and the Academy of Food and Wine Service. He is a Fellow of the HCIMA and served as a Patron for six years, until June 2003. He is President of the British International Spa Association, a Trustee of the Clan Sinclair Trust, as well as being Patron of the Bluebell Railway 50th Anniversary Appeal in which capacity, on 24 April 2009, at the railway's Horsted Keynes station his lordship carried out the ceremonial renaming of the Battle of Britain class locomotive named after his grandfather, Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air during that battle.
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