Bruce-Lockhart was born on 4 May 1942 into the Scottish Bruce Lockhart family, which held close ties to the diplomatic service.

[4] He left the United Kingdom to work in the then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), managing a large farm for a South African owner.

[5] While leader of Kent County Council, Bruce-Lockhart became a controversial figure on the national political stage for his introduction of a local version of the recently repealed anti-gay Section 28 legislation.

He was made a Knight Bachelor in the New Year's Honours List of December 2002, having previously been appointed OBE.

On 11 April 2006, it was announced that he was to be elevated to a life peerage, and on 9 June 2006 he was gazetted as Baron Bruce-Lockhart, of The Weald in the County of Kent.