Constituency : Richmond 1872-3
Lawrence took over at Richmond when Roundell Palmer became Lord Chancellor.
Lawrence was the son of the former MP John Dundas. He was educated at Harrow and Cambridge. He became a Cornet in the Royal House Guards in 1866. He left the army to take up his seat. He was a Freemason.
Lawrence was in the Commons for less than a year before he succeeded his uncle as Earl of Zetland. He was replaced by his younger brother John.
Lawrence was a Lord in Waiting for a short period in 1880 but in 1884 he was an early defector from the Liberals to the Conservatives. In 1889 Salisbury made him Lord Lieutenant of Ireland after the position had in Balfour's words "gone begging round the peerage ". He left the politics to Balfour and as the Irish Times put it "his name was associated chiefly with the social obligations of his office". Lawrence was a racehorse owner and was frequently to be found at Irish meets. Lawrence also launched a successful appeal to relieve distress in the West although he tartly noted that "Providence has not endowed the Celt with sufficient energy to do much more than eat potatoes that are put in his mouth". He held the post until 1892, the year he was upgraded to a Marquess. His last speech in the Lords was against Home Rule in 1913.
Lawrence also got involved in local politics and was an alderman on North Riding County Council. He was Mayor of Richmond in 1895-6.
Lawrence was Master of the Zetland Hunt for 35 years.
He died in 1929 aged 84.
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