Donald Dewar

Donald Dewar

Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish politician who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) in Scotland from 1966-1970, and then again from 1978 until his death in 2000. He served in Tony Blair's cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997-1999 and was instrumental in the creation of the devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999. He led the Scottish Labour Party into the first ever Scottish parliamentary election in 1999, and was elected both as an MSP and as First Minister of Scotland at the head of a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition.

A native of Glasgow, Dewar studied at Glasgow University and worked there as a solicitor. He first entered the House of Commons in the general election of 1966, as the Labour MP for Aberdeen South, at the age of 28. He lost his seat in the 1970 election, but returned as an MP for Glasgow Garscadden at a by-election in 1978. In 1983, Dewar was promoted to the shadow frontbench as the Shadow Scottish Secretary, and was strong supporter of Scottish devolution. Following the return of the Labour Party to government in 1997, Dewar became the Secretary of State for Scotland and campaigned for a 'Yes-Yes' vote in the successful referendum on Scottish devolution. When elections were held to the newly created Scottish Parliament in 1999, as leader of the Scottish Labour Party and through a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, Dewar became the inaugural holder of the First Minister of Scotland post. He was also elected as the MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, the seat he also represented as an MP.

In 2000, Dewar died of a brain hemorrhage and was succeeded as First Minister of Scotland and Scottish Labour leader by Henry McLeish. By-elections were also held to the Westminster and Scottish Parliament constituency of Glasgow Anniesland.