Donald Dewar

Dewar attended The Glasgow Academy, which at the time, was an all boys independent school in Hillhead.

Donald Campbell Dewar was born on 21 August 1937 in Glasgow.[7] He grew up in a middle-class[8] household in Kelvingrove as the only child of Dr. Alasdair Dewar, a consult dermatologist,[9] and Mary Howat Dewar (née Bennett).[10] Both of Dewar's parents had ill health during his childhood; his father contracted tuberculosis and his mother suffered from a benign brain tumour when he was young.[11]

Dewar attended a small school in the Scottish Borders during the World War II.[12] From the age of nine, he educated at Mosspark Primary School and then The Glasgow Academy.[13][14] He made few friends at school and blamed his "shyness and gauche manner" on his experience as being an only child.[8] A year before his death, Dewar admitted that he had been an "isolated misfit" in his youth, which is a reasoning for his public image of being awkward. He also claimed he was "remarkably socially inexperienced", having attended an only boys school as an only child with elderly parents.[12]

In 1957, Dewar attended the University of Glasgow where his father, mother, two uncles and aunt also attended. He met several future politicians at the university Dialectic Society, including John Smith, who would later become leader of the Labour Party, Sir Menzies Campbell,[15] who would later become leader of the Liberal Democrats, and Lord Irvine of Lairg, who would serve as Lord Chancellor. He met Alison McNair at Glasgow University, who he would later marry in 1964.[16]

Dewar was an editor of the Glasgow University Guardian and sales manager for Glasgow University Magazine in 1960. He served as chairman of the University Labour Club from 1961 from 1962 and president of the Glasgow University Union. Dewar was an Honorary Secretary of the Students Representative Council. In 1962, he campaigned for the ban of Albert Luthuli, the African National Congress leader, as University Rector.[16]

In 1961, Dewar gained a Master of Arts degree in History and in 1964 a second-class Bachelor of Law degree. After graduating, he worked as a solicitor in Glasgow.[16]

Dewar was a member of the Labour Party, and soon turned his sights towards being elected to parliament. In 1962, he was selected as the Labour candidate for the Aberdeen South constituency. In the 1964 general election, he failed to win the seat, but won it at the 1966 general election at the age of 28 defeating Priscilla Tweedsmuir by 1,799 votes.[17]

In his maiden speech to the House of Commons on 4 May 1966,[18] Dewar spoke against a proposed increase on potato tax. His speech became his first political success: as the tax was repealed the following year in 1967. Also that year, Dewar was made a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Education Secretary, Anthony Crosland.

Dewar remained in that position at the Department of Education until 1969, in which year he opposed a visit to Aberdeen by the Springbok rugby team and staged a silent vigil near the team's ground. In April 1968, he was proposed for a minister of state position by Roy Jenkins, but was not appointed. Dewar lost his constituency seat to the Conservative candidate Iain Sproat at the 1970 general election by over 1,000 votes.

Dewar spent much of the 1970s looking for another parliamentary seat. He hosted a Friday evening talk show on Radio Clyde, and in June 1971 was beaten by Dennis Canavan when he applied for the seat of West Stirlingshire. He worked as a solicitor for much of that decade and became a reporter on children's panels and was involved with the Lanarkshire local authority. Dewar became a partner in Ross Harper Murphy, in 1975.

Donald Dewar was selected for the seat Glasgow Garscadden by a majority of three, after Dewar's friend in the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers MP Willie Small died unexpectedly. He was returned to parliament at a by-election on 13 April 1978, a crucial victory which was seen as halting the rise of the Scottish National Party. In Scotland's first referendum on devolution, held in March 1979, he campaigned for a "Yes" vote alongside the Conservative Alick Buchanan-Smith and the Liberal Russell Johnston. Though they won a narrow majority, it fell short of the 40% required, contributing to the downfall of the Callaghan Government, in May 1979.

Dewar gained a parliamentary platform as chairman of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee. After a year honing his inquisitorial skills, he joined the front bench in November 1980 as a Scottish affairs spokesman when Michael Foot became party leader. In 1981, as the Labour Party divided itself further due to internal disagreement, Dewar was almost deselected in his constituency by hard left activists, but he successfully defended himself against this threat.

He rose quickly through the ranks, becoming Shadow Scottish Secretary in November 1983. On 21 December 1988, Dewar was in Lockerbie after the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103,[19] as the member of the Shadow Cabinet in charge of Scottish affairs. In 1992, John Smith made him Shadow Social security Secretary and three years later, Dewar was made a Chief Whip for the Labour Party by Tony Blair.

At the 1997 general election, he became MP for Glasgow Anniesland, which was mostly the same constituency with minor boundary changes. Labour won this election by a landslide, and Dewar was given the post of Secretary of State for Scotland. He was able to start the devolution process he dreamt of years earlier, and worked on creating the Scotland Act, popularly referred to as "Smith's unfinished business". When ratified, this was to give Scotland its first Parliament for nearly 300 years.

In January 1998, he confirmed that he would stand for a seat in the Scottish Parliament.[20] The first elections to the Scottish Parliament were held on 6 May 1999, with Dewar leading the Scottish Labour Party against their main opponents, the Scottish National Party led by Alex Salmond. He was elected as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Anniesland, having the unusual distinction of being both an MP and MSP for the same constituency.

Dewar (left) with Queen Elizabeth II and Presiding Officer David Steel (right) at the opening of the Scottish Parliament, July 1999

Although Scottish Labour won more seats than any other party, they did not have a majority in Parliament to allow them to form an Executive without the help of a smaller party. A deal was agreed with the Scottish Liberal Democrats to form a coalition, with Dewar agreeing to their demand for the abolition of up front tuition fees for university students.[25]

On 13 May 1999, Dewar was nominated as first minister, and was officially appointed by the Queen on 17 May at a ceremony in the Palace of Holyroodhouse. He later travelled to the Court of Session to be sworn in by the lord president and receive the Great Seal of Scotland.[26]

Dewar chairs the first reconvened Scottish Cabinet as First Minister

On 16 June, Dewar set out the legislative programme for the Executive which included: an Education bill to improve standards in Scottish schools; land reform to give right of access to the countryside, a bill to abolish the feudal system of land tenure; and a bill to establish National Parks in Scotland.[3]

One of the first scandals to hit the new Scottish Parliament occurred when allegations that the lobbying arm of public relations company Beattie Media had privileged access to ministers were published, prompting Dewar to ask the standards committee to investigate the reports.[27] The minister for finance, Jack McConnell, was called to appear before the standards committee during the investigation although he was later cleared of any wrongdoing and the committee declared there was no evidence he had been influenced from lobbying by Beattie Media.[28]

Dewar also threatened to sack any minister or aide who briefed the media against another member of the Scottish Executive, following public rows between Jack McConnell and Health Minister Susan Deacon over the budget allocated to health .[29]

The introduction in Scotland of the reformed examinations system in 2000 was criticised in the press and by the Government after a series of administrative and computer errors led to several thousand incorrect Higher and Intermediate certificates being sent out by post. The crisis took several months to resolve, and several management figures including the Chief Executive, Ron Tuck, resigned or lost their jobs as a result.