Donald (Campbell) Dewar - Biography

British statesman, born in Glasgow, W Scotland, UK. He studied at Glasgow, and practised law before entering parliament as Labour MP for Aberdeen South (1966–70) and then Glasgow Garscaddon (1978–2000). He served as opposition spokesman on Scottish affairs (1981–92) and then social security (1992–5) before becoming Labour chief whip (1995–7). In 1997 he became secretary of state for Scotland in the newly elected Blair government (until 1999) and was responsible for pushing through the legislation that established the new Scottish Parliament. Elected as the MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, he became Scotland's inaugural first minister (1999–2000).

Donald Campbell Dewar

Statue of Donald Dewar in Glasgow's Buchanan Street
1st First Minister of Scotland
In office May 7, 1999 – October 11, 2000
Deputy	Jim Wallace
Preceded by	New Office
Succeeded by	Henry McLeish
Born	August 21, 1937 Glasgow, Scotland
Died	October 11, 2000
Constituency	Glasgow Anniesland
Political party	Labour

Donald Campbell Dewar (August 21, 1937 – October 11, 2000) was a Scottish politician and the first First Minister of Scotland after devolution in 1999.

Biography

Born at 194 Renfrew Street Glasgow on 21 August 1937 to quite elderly parents, Dewar was an only child.

He attended Glasgow Academy before studying at the University of Glasgow, where he gained both LL.B and MA degrees. In his time at university he also served as President of the Glasgow University Union and was a member of the Glasgow University Labour Club.

A member of the Labour Party at both Scottish and UK levels, Donald Dewar worked as a solicitor in Glasgow before being elected at the age of 28 in the 1966 general election to the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster to represent the marginal constituency of Aberdeen South.

After a political hiatus during the 1970s, Donald Dewar was returned to Westminster as the Member of Parliament for Glasgow Garscadden at a by-election in 1978 following the death of Labour MP William Small. In 1995, Dewar was made a Chief Whip for the Labour Party by Tony Blair, and when the Labour Party was declared the majority party in the 1997 election, he was given the post of Secretary of State for Scotland.

By this stage, Dewar was in a position which the late John Smith would never have thought possible.

When the first elections for the new Scottish parliament were held in 1999, Dewar was returned as the Member for Glasgow Anniesland, and subsequently elected First Minister for the governing Scottish Labour Party/Liberal Democrat coalition.

A man with endless enthusiasm, the strain of establishing the new Parliament would begin to take its toll, and Dewar underwent major open heart surgery in May 2000.

Donald Dewar's work for the Scottish Parliament has led him to be called the "Father of the Nation".

In May 2002, the Prime Minister, Tony Blair unveiled a statue of Dewar at the top of Glasgow's Buchanan Street — and in keeping with his famous unkempt appearance, it showed Dewar wearing a slightly crushed jacket.