2000 in Scotland

Centuries:	18th ; 19th ; 20th ; 21st ;
Decades:	1980s ; 1990s ; 2000s ; 2010s ; 2020s ;
See also:	List of years in Scotland ; Timeline of Scottish history ; 2000 in: The UK • England • Wales • Elsewhere ; Scottish football: 1999–2000 • 2000–01 ; 2000 in Scottish television

Last updated January 31, 2023

Incumbents

First Minister and Keeper of the Great Seal – Donald Dewar (until 11 October 2000), Henry McLeish (from 27 October 2000)
Secretary of State for Scotland – John Reid

Law officers

Lord Advocate –Lord Hardie; then Lord Boyd of Duncansby
Solicitor General for Scotland – Colin Boyd; then Neil Davidson
Advocate General for Scotland – Lynda Clark

Judiciary

Events

11 January – a Scottish trawler, the Solway Harvester , sinks in the Irish Sea, killing seven crew.^[1]
26 January – a tribunal grants the release of a school playground killer, Barbara Glover, who was ordered to be detained without limit of time for the 1991 murder of Diane Watson.^[2]
11 February – the Royal Bank of Scotland succeeds in the hostile takeover battle for its larger English rival, NatWest Bank, successfully defeating a rival offer by the Bank of Scotland.^[3]
7 April – the Union Canal reopens for leisure purposes from Linlithgow to Hermiston.
29 April – at Murrayfield Stadium, the 2000 Challenge Cup tournament culminates in the Bradford Bulls' 24 – 18 win in the final against the Leeds Rhinos.
May – the Scottish Parliament meets during this month in the former Strathclyde Regional Council debating chamber in Glasgow.
3 May – the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial opens at the Scottish Court in the Netherlands.
9 June – the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 receives Royal Assent.
21 June – repeal of controversial Section 2B of the Local Government Act 1988 which prevented local authorities from "promoting homosexuality".
18 July – Alex Salmond resigns as the Leader of the Scottish National Party.
4 August – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother celebrates her 100th birthday in London.^[4]
10 August – 14 August – The first Commonwealth Youth Games take place in Edinburgh.^[5]
23 September – John Swinney wins the Scottish National Party leadership election, succeeding Alex Salmond as Leader of the Scottish National Party and becomes the second Leader of the Opposition.
26–27 October – Following the death of Donald Dewar, Henry McLeish is selected to be First Minister of Scotland by the Scottish Parliament, and is officially appointed by The Queen.
21 November – Dennis Canavan MSP resigns as MP for Falkirk West, triggering a by-election.
23 November – double by-election held in Glasgow Anniesland to elect successors to Donald Dewar's seats in both the UK Parliament and the Scottish Parliament. Labour holds both seats with swings to the SNP of 6% and 7%.
18 December – it is announced that Inverness has been awarded city status.^[6]
21 December – Falkirk West by-election results in Eric Joyce retaining the UK parliament seat for Labour, though with a majority reduced to just 705 votes in the face of a swing of 16.2% to the SNP.
22 December – American pop singer Madonna marries English-born film director Guy Ritchie at Skibo Castle, their son Rocco having been christened at Dornoch Cathedral the previous day.^[7]^[8]
Islay LIMPET, the world's first commercial wave power device, is built.^[9]
Sue Lawrence publishes Scots Cooking.

Births

5 March – Jack Aitchison, footballer

Deaths

2 February – Mary Docherty, Communist activist (born 1908)
4 March – Hermann Brück, astronomer (born 1905 in Germany)
1 April – Alexander Mackenzie Stuart, Baron Mackenzie-Stuart, Scottish lawyer and judge (born 1924)
27 May – Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, Governor of Hong Kong (born 1917)
23 December – Jimmy Shand, accordionist and bandleader (born 1908)

The arts

27 February – comedy drama television series Monarch of the Glen debuts on BBC One nationally.
22 March – radio situation comedy series Millport , written by and starring Lynn Ferguson, debuts on BBC Radio 4 nationally.
James Robertson's novel The Fanatic is published.

Related Research Articles

Donald Campbell Dewar was a Scottish politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000. He previously served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997 to 1999. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Anniesland from 1978 to 2000. Dewar was also Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the equivalent seat from 1999 to 2000.

The Scottish National Party is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom and for Scotland's membership of the European Union, with a platform based on civic nationalism. The SNP is the largest political party in Scotland, where it has the most seats in the Scottish Parliament and 45 out of the 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons at Westminster, and it is the third-largest political party by membership in the United Kingdom, behind the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. The current Scottish National Party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, has served as First Minister of Scotland since 20 November 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Neil (politician)</span> Scottish politician (born 1951)

Alexander Neil is a Scottish politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing from 2012 to 2014 and Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners' Rights from 2014 to 2016. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Airdrie and Shotts constituency from 2011 until his retirement in 2021.

The politics of Scotland operate within the constitution of the United Kingdom, of which Scotland is a home nation. Scotland is a democracy, being represented in both the Scottish Parliament and the Parliament of the United Kingdom since the Scotland Act 1998. Most executive power is exercised by the Scottish Government, led by the First Minister of Scotland, the head of government in a multi-party system. The judiciary of Scotland, dealing with Scots law, is independent of the legislature and the executive. Scots law is primarily determined by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government shares some executive powers with the Government of the United Kingdom's Scotland Office, a British government department led by the Secretary of State for Scotland.

The first election to the devolved Scottish Parliament, to fill 129 seats, took place on 6 May 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Donald Dewar becoming First Minister.

Kenneth Wright MacAskill is a Scottish politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Lothian since 2019. He previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Justice from 2007 to 2014 and was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2016. A former member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he defected to the Alba Party in 2021, and serves as their deputy leader.

Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister for Finance from 1999 to 2000 and Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs from 2000 to 2001. He has been a Labour life peer in the House of Lords since 2010 and previously served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1999 to 2011.

Henry Baird McLeish is a Scottish politician, author and academic who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2001. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Fife from 1987 to 2001 and Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the equivalent seat from 1999 to 2003.

James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, is a Scottish politician serving as a Liberal Democrat life peer in the British House of Lords since 2007 and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 2021 to 2022. He served as the Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 1999 to 2005, and during that time he served twice as acting First Minister, in 2000, in the aftermath of Donald Dewar's death and in 2001, following Henry McLeish's resignation. He was formerly Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 2005 and Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 2013 to 2016.

Johann MacDougall Lamont is a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014. She was previously a junior Scottish Executive minister from 2004 to 2007 and Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 until her election to the leadership in 2011. In addition to her ministerial and leadership roles, she has been a campaigner on equality issues and violence against women throughout her political career.

Scottish Labour is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak of holding 56 of the 129 seats at the first Scottish parliament election in 1999, the Party has lost seats at each Holyrood election, returning 22 MSPs at the 2021 election. The party currently holds one of 59 Scottish seats in the UK House of Commons, with Ian Murray having represented Edinburgh South continuously since 2010.

Events from the year 2007 in Scotland.

Donald Dewar formed the Dewar government on 13 May 1999 following his appointment as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland. The first devolved executive of Scotland, it consisted of Scottish Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, who formed a coalition on 14 May 1999. The government dissolved and was succeeded by the McLeish government in the aftermath of Dewar's death on 11 October 2000.

Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader of the Alba Party since 2021. Salmond was leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He served as the party's depute leader from 1987 to 1990.

Events from the year 1999 in Scotland

Events from the year 1997 in Scotland.

Events from the year 2014 in Scotland.

Henry McLeish's term as first minister of Scotland began on 26 October 2000 when he was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session. It followed the death of Donald Dewar. McLeish served as the second First Minister and his premiership is the shortest of any officeholder. His term was dominated by his financial scandal dubbed as Officegate. The scandal resulted in McLeish's resignation on 8 November 2001.

Jack McConnell's term as first minister of Scotland began on 22 November 2001 when he was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session. It followed the resignation of Henry McLeish over the Officegate scandal. His term ended on 16 May 2007, following the defeat of the Scottish Labour Party in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, where the Scottish National Party formed a minority government.

References

↑ "Seven missing in Irish Sea". BBC News. 11 January 2000. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
↑ "Release for playground killer". BBC News. 26 January 2000. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
↑ McGuinness, Ross (16 March 2009). "Metro". pp. 30–31.
↑ "Queen Mother celebrates centenary". BBC News. 4 August 2000. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
↑ Bell, Daniel (2003). Encyclopedia of international games. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 126. ISBN 0-7864-1026-4.
↑ "Inverness awarded city status". BBC News. 18 December 2000. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
↑ Davies, Hugh; Aldrick, Philip (8 December 2000). "Madonna's wedding will be the Highlands' biggest fling". The Daily Telegraph . London. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
↑ Cross, Mary (2007). Madonna: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-33811-6.
↑ Heath, Tom. "The Construction, Commissioning and Operation of the LIMPET Wave Energy Collector" (PDF). Wavegen. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2009.

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[1] "Seven missing in Irish Sea". BBC News. 11 January 2000. Retrieved 31 January 2008.

[2] "Release for playground killer". BBC News. 26 January 2000. Retrieved 22 November 2011.

[Metro-3] McGuinness, Ross (16 March 2009). "Metro". pp. 30–31.

[4] "Queen Mother celebrates centenary". BBC News. 4 August 2000. Retrieved 31 January 2008.

[5] Bell, Daniel (2003). Encyclopedia of international games. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 126. ISBN 0-7864-1026-4.

[6] "Inverness awarded city status". BBC News. 18 December 2000. Retrieved 21 October 2011.

[7] Davies, Hugh; Aldrick, Philip (8 December 2000). "Madonna's wedding will be the Highlands' biggest fling". The Daily Telegraph . London. Retrieved 8 May 2014.

[8] Cross, Mary (2007). Madonna: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-33811-6.

[9] Heath, Tom. "The Construction, Commissioning and Operation of the LIMPET Wave Energy Collector" (PDF). Wavegen. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2009.

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v t e Years in Scotland (843–present)
11th century	1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100
12th century	1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1117 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 1133 1134 1135 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140 1141 1142 1143 1144 1145 1146 1147 1148 1149 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 1156 1157 1158 1159 1160 1161 1162 1163 1164 1165 1166 1167 1168 1169 1170 1171 1172 1173 1174 1175 1176 1177 1178 1179 1180 1181 1182 1183 1184 1185 1186 1187 1188 1189 1190 1191 1192 1193 1194 1195 1196 1197 1198 1199 1200
13th century	1200s 1210s 1220s 1230s 1240s 1250s 1260s 1270s 1280s 1290s
14th century	1301 1302 1303 1304 1305 1306 1307 1308 1309 1310 1311 1312 1313 1314 1315 1316 1317 1318 1319 1320 1321 1322 1323 1324 1325 1326 1327 1328 1329 1330 1331 1332 1333 1334 1335 1336 1337 1338 1339 1340 1341 1342 1343 1344 1345 1346 1347 1348 1349 1350 1351 1352 1353 1354 1355 1356 1357 1358 1359 1360 1361 1362 1363 1364 1365 1366 1367 1368 1369 1370 1371 1372 1373 1374 1375 1376 1377 1378 1379 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 1385 1386 1387 1388 1389 1390 1391 1392 1393 1394 1395 1396 1397 1398 1399 1400
15th century	1401 1402 1403 1404 1405 1406 1407 1408 1409 1410 1411 1412 1413 1414 1415 1416 1417 1418 1419 1420 1421 1422 1423 1424 1425 1426 1427 1428 1429 1430 1431 1432 1433 1434 1435 1436 1437 1438 1439 1440 1441 1442 1443 1444 1445 1446 1447 1448 1449 1450 1451 1452 1453 1454 1455 1456 1457 1458 1459 1460 1461 1462 1463 1464 1465 1466 1467 1468 1469 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 1480 1481 1482 1483 1484 1485 1486 1487 1488 1489 1490 1491 1492 1493 1494 1495 1496 1497 1498 1499 1500
16th century	1501 1502 1503 1504 1505 1506 1507 1508 1509 1510 1511 1512 1513 1514 1515 1516 1517 1518 1519 1520 1521 1522 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 1530 1531 1532 1533 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 1540 1541 1542 1543 1544 1545 1546 1547 1548 1549 1550 1551 1552 1553 1554 1555 1556 1557 1558 1559 1560 1561 1562 1563 1564 1565 1566 1567 1568 1569 1570 1571 1572 1573 1574 1575 1576 1577 1578 1579 1580 1581 1582 1583 1584 1585 1586 1587 1588 1589 1590 1591 1592 1593 1594 1595 1596 1597 1598 1599 1600
17th century	1601 1602 1603 1604 1605 1606 1607 1608 1609 1610 1611 1612 1613 1614 1615 1616 1617 1618 1619 1620 1621 1622 1623 1624 1625 1626 1627 1628 1629 1630 1631 1632 1633 1634 1635 1636 1637 1638 1639 1640 1641 1642 1643 1644 1645 1646 1647 1648 1649 1650 1651 1652 1653 1654 1655 1656 1657 1658 1659 1660 1661 1662 1663 1664 1665 1666 1667 1668 1669 1670 1671 1672 1673 1674 1675 1676 1677 1678 1679 1680 1681 1682 1683 1684 1685 1686 1687 1688 1689 1690 1691 1692 1693 1694 1695 1696 1697 1698 1699 1700
18th century	1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 1707 1708 1709 1710 1711 1712 1713 1714 1715 1716 1717 1718 1719 1720 1721 1722 1723 1724 1725 1726 1727 1728 1729 1730 1731 1732 1733 1734 1735 1736 1737 1738 1739 1740 1741 1742 1743 1744 1745 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758 1759 1760 1761 1762 1763 1764 1765 1766 1767 1768 1769 1770 1771 1772 1773 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800
19th century	1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900
20th century	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023