Obituary: John Porter was a beacon of decency in the political maelstrom. During three decades as a Tory councillor in Aberdeen, he had many rivals but not a single enemy, being greatly liked across the political spectrum.

Aberdeen city councillor; Born December 15, 1931; Died May 23, 2007.

John Porter was a beacon of decency in the political maelstrom. During three decades as a Tory councillor in Aberdeen, he had many rivals but not a single enemy, being greatly liked across the political spectrum. Elected deputy lord provost of his native city in 2003, he was held by many to be "the best lord provost we never had". Unusually, he remained undecorated with any honour.

John became the target of election pundits across the UK when forecasts before the 1997 General Election suggested that with the predicted collapse of the Conservative vote in Scotland, he would be the only electable Tory north of the border.

This thought was based on his battles in the Gordon constituency in 1987 and 1992, the latter year being when he slashed Malcolm Bruce's Liberal Democrat majority in Gordon to a wafer-thin 274, producing for his own party a massive 21,884 votes.

In the event, however, Scottish Conservatives suffered wipe-out, and Porter was denied a Westminster seat. But, typical of the man, he was first after the count to pay gracious and generous to his opponent, Malcolm Bruce.

With verve and energy - he looked 15 years younger than his 76 years - John's image as a councillor who had time to meet, speak, discuss and listen was also the reality. This was despite him being leader of the Conservative group in the Granite City, spending a lifetime as a corporate finance consultant, being a director of Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre and with several chairmanships.

When the going got tough and council or political problems mounted, he refused to become stressed, citing his personal motto: "Vivaldi, not Valium."

Master of the apposite remark, when the SNP-Labour coalition holding power on Grampian Regional Council opted to rotate the office of council chairman between leaders of the two groups, he nicknamed them "the carousel conveners".

John Alexander Porter was born in Aberdeen, and through his father's work as a carrier, was brought up in the west Aberdeenshire communities of Strathdon and Lumsden, as well as Shetland. Educated in Huntly, Lerwick and Aberdeen, he was a keen sportsman, turning out as a useful wing-forward for the now long-defunct club Aberdeen Centralians.

After playing days he became a selector for North & Midlands, and always retained an interest in exercise, golfing right to the end, as well as for many years being with the esoteric Aberdeen fitness group, the FRS Club (Fellows of the Right Sort).

Porter was a politician who believed in the tradition of foot-slogging, and was ceaselessly out on the stump meeting and greeting on doorsteps.

The choice by the new ruling group in Aberdeen after the recent May 3 elections in appointing 18-year-old John West to the post of deputy lord provost drew scorn and criticism in equal measure from opponents, including Porter's own party. It was John, in his 77th year the previous holder of the post, who sprang to the defence of Scotland's youngest councillor, and robustly made the case for youth.

When the new councillor intake underwent training sessions last week, it typified Porter's professional attitude that he was there, seeing it as part of his duty to help the young bloods of all parties. He made the point never to underestimate the power of humour in politics. He led by example, for his banter in council chambers became a local spectator sport in its own right.

Porter bore the label "Conservative" but he could be puzzling to pigeonhole. Within the Town House, his conversation dealt with politics but rarely party politics. He was a close personal and political friend of Bob Middleton, Labour convener of Grampian Region, and counted people from every side as allies.

The warmth of Annabel Goldie's tribute to him was matched by those from every side. A man to whom manners mattered, John thrived on and was attracted by people.

For all his courtesy, he never shied from tough decisions. When Aberdeen drivers began to default on parking fines, it was he, as convener of the city's standards and scrutiny committee, who established and put into action a regime of tough debt collection - drawing on his professional expertise as a fellow of the Institute of Credit Management.

He died in Aberdeen from a heart attack just three weeks after re-election. He is survived by his wife, Evelyn; daughter, Shirley; and son, Eric.