Donald Campbell Dewar was a Scottish statesman and 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 First Minister of Scotland is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation,development and presentation of Scottish Government policy. Additional functions of the first minister include promoting and representing Scotland in an official capacity,at home and abroad.
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.
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.
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.
John Farquhar Munro was a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Ross,Skye and Inverness West from 1999 until his retirement in 2011.
Susan Catherine Deacon is a former Scottish Labour politician,and public figure who has held leadership roles across the private,public and third sectors,and in academia and national politics.
Tavish Hamilton Scott is a former Scottish politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland from 1999 to 2019,and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011. He stepped down as Leader after the 2011 Scottish Parliament election,in which the Liberal Democrats were reduced to five seats,down from 16 in the previous parliament.
Nicol Ross Stephen,Baron Stephen is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning from 2005 to 2007. A member of the Scottish Liberal Democrats,he was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Aberdeen South from 1999 to 2011,and was leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2005 to 2008.
Michael John Rumbles is a former Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North East Scotland,from 2016 to 2021. He previously represented West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine before being defeated at the 2011 election in the successor constituency of Aberdeenshire West).
Labour is an optional identity mark of the social democratic UK Labour Party in Scotland. 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 only holds one of 59 Scottish seats in the UK House of Commons,with Ian Murray having represented Edinburgh South continuously since 2010.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats is a liberal,federalist political party in Scotland,a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 4 of the 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons.
William Cowan Rennie is a Scottish politician who served as the Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2011 to 2021. He has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North East Fife since 2016,and previously as a list MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dunfermline and West Fife.
Iain Cumming Gray is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021,having previously represented Edinburgh Pentlands from 1999 to 2003. A former aid worker and teacher of mathematics and physics,Gray was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as MSP for the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency,which he lost to Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party David McLetchie in 2003. Gray was returned to Holyrood in 2007 as MSP for East Lothian. Following Wendy Alexander's resignation as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2008,Gray stood at the subsequent leadership election,and was elected with a 57.8% share of the vote in the second round.
Angus MacKay is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Finance and Local Government from 2000 to 2001. A member of the Scottish Labour Party,he was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh South constituency from 1999 to 2003.
Scottish Politician of the Year is an annual award established in 1999. It is held by The Herald newspaper in Prestonfield House,Edinburgh.
David Whitton is a Scottish journalist,Labour Party politician and former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP). He was elected to the Scottish Parliament for Strathkelvin and Bearsden in 2007,defeating the incumbent Independent MSP Jean Turner,and losing the seat at the 2011 election to Fiona McLeod of the Scottish National Party.
The first McConnell government was formed by Jack McConnell on 22 November 2001 during the 1st Scottish Parliament,following Henry McLeish's resignation as First Minister of Scotland as a consequence of the Officegate scandal. The first McConnell government was a continuation of the Labour–Liberal Democrat coalition that had existed under the previous McLeish and Dewar governments. It ended on 20 May 2003 following the 2003 election to the 2nd Scottish parliament,which saw McConnell returning to office as first minister to form a second government.
Charles Gilchrist Brodie,better known as Chic Brodie,was a Scottish politician. He served as a Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region from 2011 until 2016.
John Bradford Finnie is a Scottish Greens politician. He was the Green Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region from 2016 up until 2021,having previously sat as a Scottish National Party (SNP) member from 2011 to 2012 then as an independent from 2012 to 2016.
