THE Earl of Minto was the local laird who also happened to be convener of Borders Regional Council and therefore the most powerful local government figure throughout southern Scotland. That he also wished to demolish his own ancestral home created an extremely delicate situation.

The fact that the house was also a listed building and beloved of conservationists produced a tightrope that inevitably snapped - with the result that Minto House became a pile of rubble. For all his Borders leadership - he devoted his life to public service - his name is inevitably tied to the fall of the House of Minto.

Thrice-married "Gibbie" Minto, soldier, businessman, public servant and laird, was never less than colourful. He waded his way through the civic morass of Cosla (the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities), picking and choosing his friends, but making ready allies wherever he needed them. "He was an absolute diplomat and a complete gentleman, " said one of his fellow conveners at the time. "It made no difference who you were, not even some of the gey roch lads from west central Scotland."

Before a Cosla meeting in Dundee, he came on a councillor colleague and ushered her into a sitting room. "The old pile . . ." he said, referring to Minto House. "I haven't the money, and no-one will give me a grant. I took the roof off, and now they're afterme."

In 1992, "they" certainly were.

The secretary of state for Scotland stepped in with listed building protection to prevent Lord Minto from knocking it down. Work halted, but days laterBorders Regional Council, of which Lord Minto was convener, replied with a dangerous building notice and the demolition men arrived back on site.

For the 80 souls in the beautiful Borders village of Minto, nearHawick, the saga brought the UK press to their doorstep.

This is solid Minto territory where most of the village used to belong to Minto lairds, the Minto Hills form the background, the course is Minto Golf Club and where natives are baptised, married and buried in Minto Kirk.

But the family had not lived at the William Adam-designed home since Gibbie was 16. His actual home was a nearby farm.

The house had become a girls' school, and then lain empty. A plan to ship the house stone by stone to Japan fell victim to recession in the Far East.

When no use could be found for it, Lord Minto suffered his own council's building control officer being called in.

Gibbie Minto headed a family which had had a recognised head at least from the time of King Robert the Bruce.

Anciently they held for the monarch that part of the border facing England known as "the Middle March". He was proud of his line, mentioning to one councillor at a reception that "the quality of my lineage is far better than the Queen's". He could recite from memory the ancient rhyme attributing various Elliot branches according to spellings of the surname.

The chiefship descends from 1584 through the line of Elliot of Stobs. Gilbert Elliot of Stobs was convicted of treason in 1685 for plotting against the Catholic Duke of York, but was pardoned, and underWilliam of Orange in 1689 was knighted, made a judge and created Lord Minto.

His granddaughter, the poet Jane Elliot of Minto (1727-1805), was author of the best version of the traditional song The Flooers o' the Forest, lamenting Scots losses at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

Lord Minto's ancestor, Gilbert 4th Earl of Minto (18451914), broke his neck riding in the Grand National. He recovered, and went on to become governor-general of Canada before succeeding Lord Curzon as viceroy of India in 1905.

Family elevation to the peerage came in 1813, then the 1st earl was given his title for his part in Corsica being ceded to the UK at the end of the eighteenth century. As a special heraldic honour, the earls of Minto were granted the augmentation of the arms of Corsica at the top of their shield - the couped head of a Moor.

"Mildly But Firmly", the translation of Latin Minto motto, marked the style of Gibbie Minto's approach to public service. Over the ultimate fate of Minto House, few reproached him, with most glad that the misfortune of the fate of the place had not landed on their personal doorsteps.

Minto himself gave 22 years of service as a councillor in the Borders and proved an active ambassador for the area, playing a leading role in organising the Queen's golden jubilee celebrations in the Borders three years ago.

When in 1993, there were threats by the then British Rail to withdraw Scotland-London sleeper services, Gibbie Minto ensured that Borders stood firm with all of Scotland's nine regional councils in opposing the axe. Such was the quality of his support that the nine conveners, led by Rhona Kemp of Grampian, not only halted cuts, but gained the headquartership of Anglo-Scottish sleeper services from London to Glasgow.

Educated at Eton and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, Lord Minto served in the Scots Guards until 1958.

In 1955 he was appointed a military MBE. His many honorary offices include being a lieutenant of the Royal Company of Archers (Queen's Bodyguard in Scotland). His public appointments included chairmanship of the Scottish Council on Alcohol for 14 years from 1973, being a commissioner of the Local Government Property Commission (Scotland) from 1995 and president of the South of Scotland Chamber of Commerce from 1980 to 1982.

The earl was awarded the OBE in 1986. He served as a JP for Roxburghshire from 1961 onwards and was vice-lord lieutenant forRoxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale. Lord Minto married first Lady Caroline ChildVilliers, daughter of the Earl of Jersey; second, Mary Ballantine;

and third Caroline Godfrey. He died in a nursing home near Kelso, and is survived by his son, daughter, five grandchildren and step-children.

He is succeeded by his 51-year-old son Gilbert, Viscount Melgund.

Gilbert Edward George Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound OBE JP, soldier, businessman, public servant and laird; born June 19, 1928, died September 7, 2005.