The Right Honourable The Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale PC |
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First Minister of Scotland | |
In office 22 November 2001 – 16 May 2007 |
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Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Deputy | Jim Wallace Nicol Stephen |
Preceded by | Jim Wallace (Acting) |
Succeeded by | Alex Salmond |
Leader of Labour in the Scottish Parliament | |
In office 22 November 2001 – 15 August 2007 |
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Preceded by | Henry McLeish |
Succeeded by | Wendy Alexander |
Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs | |
In office 26 October 2000 – 22 November 2001 |
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First Minister | Henry McLeish |
Preceded by | Sam Galbraith (Children and Education) |
Succeeded by | Cathy Jamieson (Education and Young People) |
Minister for Finance | |
In office 17 May 1999 – 26 October 2000 |
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First Minister | Donald Dewar Jim Wallace (Acting) |
Preceded by | Office Created |
Succeeded by | Angus MacKay (Finance and Local Government) |
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw |
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In office 6 May 1999 – 5 May 2011 |
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Preceded by | Constituency created |
Succeeded by | John Pentland |
Personal details | |
Born | 30 June 1960 Irvine, Scotland |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse(s) | Bridget McConnell |
Alma mater | University of Stirling |
Profession | Teacher |
Religion | Church of Scotland |
Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale (born 30 June 1960) is a British Labour life peer in the House of Lords. He was third First Minister of Scotland from 2001 to 2007, making him the longest serving First Minister in the history of the Scottish Parliament. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1999 to 2011.
McConnell became an MSP in the first elections to the Scottish Parliament in 1999, later holding the positions of Finance Minister, and Education Minister. He became First Minister upon the resignation of his predecessor Henry McLeish, and led the Scottish Labour Party to its second election victory in the 2003 election. Lord McConnell is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy.
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McConnell was born in Irvine and raised on a sheep farm near Lamlash on the Isle of Arran. He attended Arran High School and later went on to study at the University of Stirling, graduating with a BSc Dip Ed. He was also President of the Students' Association.[1] After graduating in 1983 he began work as a mathematics teacher at Lornshill Academy in Alloa, Clackmannanshire (a position he retained throughout his subsequent council service).
McConnell's political career began with his election to Stirling District Council. McConnell served on the council for eight years, while retaining his job at Lornshill. He served as Treasurer from 1988 until 1992, and was the Leader of the council from 1990 to 1992. McConnell became the General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party in 1992. His major breakthrough was in his handling of the 1997 General Election success, where Labour attained a large overall majority victory over the Conservatives. Together the Scottish Labour Party, the Scottish Liberal Democrats, and the Scottish National Party eliminated every seat the Conservatives held in Scotland. In 1998, he served as a member of the Scottish Constitutional Convention where he pioneered the Scottish devolution referendum success, establishing the Scottish Parliament.
McConnell was elected an MSP in the first Scottish Parliament elections in 1999. He was appointed Minister for Finance in the new Scottish Executive by then-First Minister Donald Dewar. One of his first moves as Finance Minister was to establish the budgeting procedures for the new Scottish Executive, including publishing a consultation document asking the public and MSPs how the budget should be spent. His department also passed the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 through Parliament which set out the finance and auditing procedures of the Executive.[2]
On 11 October 2000 Donald Dewar died of a brain haemorrhage. After the Labour leadership intervened to stop the Enterprise Minister Henry McLeish being appointed Dewar’s successor without a vote, Jack McConnell decided to stand in the leadership contest. The election was held on Saturday 21 October, only 72 hours after Dewar’s funeral and the surprise result saw Jack McConnell defeated with 36 votes to Henry McLeish’s 44 votes.
McLeish appointed him Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs.[3] Some analysts considered this post to be a "poisoned chalice", as he would be required to resolve both a crisis in the Scottish Qualifications Authority over exam marking, and pay disputes with the teaching unions.[4]
In August 2000, prior to Jack McConnell’s appointment as Education Minister, Scotland's national exams system was plunged into chaos when 5,000 students get the wrong exam results. Immediately following his appointment as Education Minister Jack McConnell appointed a new board for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and introduced significant changes to the way the agency worked. The marking of the 2001 exams was a success. He introduced a new pay and conditions package for Scottish teachers and the largest ever investment in schools buildings. He also established the Scottish government’s first external relations and European strategy.
Henry McLeish resigned as First Minister on 8 November 2001 over the Officegate Scandal, regarding the sub-let of his constituency office. In the resulting search for a leader, McConnell was seen by many political analysts as the likely successor.[5] McConnell quickly emerged as the only candidate and was elected First Minister by the Parliament on 22 November 2001 and formally appointed into office by Queen Elizabeth II on 26 November 2001.
A few days after his appointment, on 27 November 2001, McConnell carried out a reshuffle of the Cabinet, axing four Ministers: Angus MacKay, Sarah Boyack, Tom McCabe and Jackie Baillie, and demoting Susan Deacon (she later resigned rather than accept the new post offered to her).[6]
In February 2002, Scotland joined forces with the Republic of Ireland in a bid to host the 2008 European Football Championship.[7] McConnell was initially unconvinced that it was worth spending around £100 million on the tournament, however he later put his support behind the joint bid with the Irish. Although the bid lost out to Austria/Switzerland, McConnell later supported other attempts to land major supporting events including London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games [8] and Glasgow's bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[9] In December 2002, McConnell launched his government's campaign against sectarianism.[10]
McConnell was re-elected MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw at the Scottish Parliament elections. The Labour Party won 50 seats, the largest number, and formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrat Party which won 17 seats. On 15 May, McConnell was re-appointed First Minster of Scotland and on the same day the Scottish government published A Partnership for a Better Scotland which set out the government’s priorities for the four year term.
The Scottish Parliament elections of 3 May 2007 saw McConnell re-elected as the MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw with a majority of 5938 votes, representing 48% of the vote with a turnout of 50.3%. However the Labour Party was narrowly defeated by the SNP with the Nationalists winning 47 seats to Labour's 46, leaving the SNP short of an overall majority in the Parliament.[11] The SNP's Alex Salmond declared that his party had the right to form an executive due to their victory in the popular vote. McConnell strongly disagreed with this statement, arguing that "There is no moral authority to pursue separation and moral authority in the parliament will only come through parties working together in the majority."
On 15 August 2007, McConnell announced his intention to resign as Labour leader in the Scottish Parliament.[12] He continued to sit as the MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw until the 2011 election. On 28 May 2010 it was announced that McConnell would be made a life peer and enter the House of Lords as a working peer on behalf of the Labour Party.[13] On 28 June 2010, he was created a life peer as Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, of the Isle of Arran in Ayrshire and Arran, and was introduced in the House of Lords the same day.[14]
McConnell was widely predicted to take the position of British High Commissioner to Malawi when it became vacant in 2009, having taken an interest in the development of the country during his time as First Minister. In August 2007, he was appointed an adviser to the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative in Malawi and Rwanda and in October 2008 was appointed by Gordon Brown as the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Conflict Resolution Mechanisms, a position which ceased following the 2010 UK general election. He is a UK Ambassador for Action for Children; a Fellow of the 48 Group Club, which promotes relationships between the UK and China and an Ambassador for Pump Aid.
He is married to Bridget McConnell, and has two adopted children from that marriage, Hannah and Mark. Bridget McConnell is Chief Executive of Culture and Sport Glasgow, the UK's largest and most comprehensive cultural and sports charitable company.
Scottish Parliament | ||
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New constituency | Member of the Scottish Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw 1999–2011 |
Succeeded by John Pentland |
Political offices | ||
New office | Minister for Finance 1999–2000 |
Succeeded by Angus MacKay as Minister for Finance and Local Government |
Preceded by Sam Galbraith as Minister for Children and Education |
Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs 2000–2001 |
Succeeded by Cathy Jamieson as Minister for Education and Young People |
Preceded by Jim Wallace Acting |
First Minister of Scotland 2001–2007 |
Succeeded by Alex Salmond |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by Henry McLeish |
Leader of the Scottish Labour Party 2001–2007 |
Succeeded by Wendy Alexander |
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