Twenty years of the Scottish Parliament inevitably includes sad stories and the loss of some of those who helped set up the parliament. These are a few of the Scottish parliamentarians we have lost over the last two decades.
Donald Dewar: The founding figure of Holyrood and Scotland’s first First Minister, Mr Dewar became Scottish Secretary in the first New Labour cabinet and set up the devolution referendum of 1997, resulting in a 74 per cent vote in favour of a Scottish parliament. He was nominated First Minister after the 1999 election but died, aged 63, in 2000.
Tom McCabe: The former Labour MSP was the first person elected to the Scottish Parliament, with his Hamilton South constituency declaring the result just over an hour after polls closed in 1999. Mr McCabe went on to serve as finance minister and held a number of other senior positions, but lost his seat to the SNP in 2011. He died aged 60 in 2015.
Margo MacDonald: A hugely influential figure in the Scottish independence movement, Ms MacDonald rose to prominence after winning the Glasgow Govan Westminster by-election for the SNP in 1973. She later served as an SNP MSP for the Lothian region, before going on to represent the area as an independent. She died in 2014 having suffered from Parkinson’s disease.
Sam Galbraith: A respected former neurosurgeon, Mr Galbraith served at Westminster as an MP and was elected to Holyrood shortly after the Scottish Parliament was formed. He underwent a lung transplant in 1990, and was one of the longest surviving people to have had the procedure. He died aged 68 in 2014.
Bashir Ahmad: Scotland’s first Muslim and Scots-Asian MSP, the former bus conductor became an SNP politician after being inspired by a speech by former First Minister Alex Salmond. He died in 2009 aged 68.
David McLetchie: Mr McLetchie led the Scottish Tories for seven years before standing down in 2005 amid a controversy over his taxi expenses. He died in 2013 aged 61.
Sir Alex Fergusson: The former farmer was the third presiding officer at Holyrood, chairing the chamber from 2007 to 2011. He was the first Conservative elected to the position, and the only presiding officer to resume his role as an MSP after serving a term, representing the people of Galloway and West Dumfries. He died aged 69 in 2018
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