Margaret Ewing

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Margaret Bain Ewing (1 September 1945 - 21 March 2006) was a Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of the Scottish Parliament.

She was born as Margaret Anne McAdam, she attended the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde, and was a teacher before being elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for East Dunbartonshire at the October 1974 Election, by just 22 votes, when she was known as Margaret Bain. At one point she burst into tears in the House of Commons when a devolution proposal was defeated. With the downturn in SNP electoral fortunes at the 1979 Election she lost her seat in the House of Commons.

She then worked as a freelance journalist before being re-elected to Westminster at the 1987 Election to represent Moray, by which time she was known as Margaret Ewing. She held this seat until standing down at the 2001 general election to concentrate on Holyrood. She stood for the leadership of the SNP in 1990 but lost out to Alex Salmond despite the backing of many prominent SNP members (such as Jim Sillars).

In 1999, at the first Scottish Parliament Election she was returned to represent Moray. She was returned again in 2003.

She was married twice: firstly to Donald Bain in 1968 (divorced 1980) and secondly to fellow MSP Fergus Ewing in 1983, who is the son of Winnie Ewing. She died from breast cancer, aged 60. In August 2005 she had announced that she was not seeking reelection in the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections.

The SNP comfortably retained her vacant seat at the by-election which took place on 27 April 2006.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Barry Henderson	Member of Parliament for East Dunbartonshire 1974–1979	Succeeded by Norman Hogg
Preceded by Alexander Pollock	Member of Parliament for Moray 1987–2001	Succeeded by Angus Robertson
Scottish Parliament
Preceded by Constituency Created	Member of the Scottish Parliament for Moray 1999–2006	Succeeded by Richard Lochhead