1st Scottish Parliament facts for kids

Quick facts for kids 1st Scottish Parliament
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Inside the General Assembly as the Scottish Parliament debating chamber
Overview
Legislative body	Scottish Parliament
Jurisdiction	Scotland
Meeting place	General Assembly
Term	12 May 1999 – 31 March 2003
Election	1999
Government	Dewar government McLeish government First McConnell government
Members	129
Presiding Officer	Sir David Steel
First Minister	Donald Dewar (1999–2000) Henry McLeish (2000–01) Jack McConnell (2001–03)
Deputy First Minister	Jim Wallace
Leader of the Opposition	Alex Salmond (1999–2000) John Swinney (2000–03)

The First Scottish Parliament was a very important time for Scotland. It was the first time Scotland had its own parliament in almost 300 years! This parliament was created after the people of Scotland voted for it in a special election called a referendum in 1997.

The parliament started its work on 12 May 1999 and finished on 31 March 2003. During this time, 129 people were elected to be Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). These MSPs were chosen in two ways: 73 were elected directly from local areas (called constituencies), and 56 were chosen from larger regions to make sure all parties were fairly represented.

After the 1999 election, no single political party won enough seats to have a majority on its own. This is called a hung parliament. Because of this, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats decided to work together. They formed a coalition government, which means they joined forces to run the country. This was the first ever Scottish Executive.

How Many Members Each Party Had

This table shows how many MSPs each political party had when the parliament first started in May 1999, and how many they had just before it ended in March 2003.

The parties that formed the government are marked with a bullet (•).

How the Parliament Looked

These pictures show how the different political parties were represented in the Scottish Parliament. The first picture is right after the 1999 election, and the second shows how it looked when the parliament finished in March 2003.

The Scottish Parliament after the 1999 election

The Scottish Parliament at the end of its term in 2003

• Please note: These are not the actual seating plans of the Scottish Parliament.

List of MSPs

This section lists the Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who were serving when the first parliament ended. For a list of all MSPs elected in 1999, you can find it here. The table below also shows any changes that happened during this time.

Name		Image	Member for	Type	Party
	Adam, BrianBrian Adam		North East Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Aitken, BillBill Aitken		Glasgow	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Alexander, WendyWendy Alexander		Paisley North	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Baillie, JackieJackie Baillie		Dumbarton	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Barrie, ScottScott Barrie		Dunfermline West	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Boyack, SarahSarah Boyack		Edinburgh Central	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Brankin, RhonaRhona Brankin		Midlothian	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Brown, RobertRobert Brown		Glasgow	Regional	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Butler, BillBill Butler		Glasgow Anniesland	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Campbell, ColinColin Campbell		West of Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Canavan, DennisDennis Canavan		Falkirk West	Constituency	Independent
	Chisholm, MalcolmMalcolm Chisholm		Edinburgh North and Leith	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Craigie, CathieCathie Craigie		Cumbernauld and Kilsyth	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Crawford, BruceBruce Crawford		Mid Scotland and Fife	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Cunningham, RoseannaRoseanna Cunningham		Perth	Constituency	Scottish National Party
	Curran, MargaretMargaret Curran		Glasgow Baillieston	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Davidson, DavidDavid Davidson		North East Scotland	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Deacon, SusanSusan Deacon		Edinburgh East and Musselburgh	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Douglas-Hamilton, JamesJames Douglas-Hamilton		Lothians	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Eadie, HelenHelen Eadie		Dunfermline East	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Elder, Dorothy GraceDorothy Grace Elder		Glasgow	Regional	Independent
	Ewing, FergusFergus Ewing		Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber	Constituency	Scottish National Party
	Ewing, MargaretMargaret Ewing		Moray	Constituency	Scottish National Party
	Ewing, WinnieWinnie Ewing		Highlands and Islands	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Fabiani, LindaLinda Fabiani		Central Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Ferguson, PatriciaPatricia Ferguson		Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Fergusson, AlexAlex Fergusson		South of Scotland	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Finnie, RossRoss Finnie		West of Scotland	Regional	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Fitzpatrick, BrianBrian Fitzpatrick		Strathkelvin and Bearsden	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Fraser, MurdoMurdo Fraser		Mid Scotland and Fife	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Gallie, PhilPhil Gallie		South of Scotland	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Gibson, KennethKenneth Gibson		Glasgow	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Gillon, KarenKaren Gillon		Clydesdale	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Godman, TrishTrish Godman		West Renfrewshire	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Goldie, AnnabelAnnabel Goldie		West of Scotland	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Gorrie, DonaldDonald Gorrie		Central Scotland	Regional	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Grahame, ChristineChristine Grahame		South of Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Grant, RhodaRhoda Grant		Highlands and Islands	Regional	Scottish Labour Party
	Gray, IainIain Gray		Edinburgh Pentlands	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Hamilton, DuncanDuncan Hamilton		Highlands and Islands	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Harding, KeithKeith Harding		Mid Scotland and Fife	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Harper, RobinRobin Harper		Lothians	Regional	Scottish Green Party
	Henry, HughHugh Henry		Paisley South	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Home Robertson, JohnJohn Home Robertson		East Lothian	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Hughes, JanisJanis Hughes		Glasgow Rutherglen	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Hyslop, FionaFiona Hyslop		Lothians	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Ingram, AdamAdam Ingram		South of Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Jackson, GordonGordon Jackson		Glasgow Govan	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Jackson, SylviaSylvia Jackson		Stirling	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Jamieson, CathyCathy Jamieson		Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Jamieson, MargaretMargaret Jamieson		Kilmarnock and Loudoun	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Jenkins, IanIan Jenkins		Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale	Constituency	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Johnstone, AlexAlex Johnstone		North East Scotland	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Kerr, AndyAndy Kerr		East Kilbride	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Lamont, JohannJohann Lamont		Glasgow Pollok	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Livingstone, MarilynMarilyn Livingstone		Kirkcaldy	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Lochhead, RichardRichard Lochhead		North East Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Lyon, GeorgeGeorge Lyon		Argyll and Bute	Constituency	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	MacAskill, KennyKenny MacAskill		Lothians	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Macdonald, LewisLewis Macdonald		Aberdeen Central	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	MacDonald, MargoMargo MacDonald		Lothians	Regional	Independent
	Macintosh, KenKen Macintosh		Eastwood	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	MacKay, AngusAngus MacKay		Edinburgh South	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Maclean, KateKate Maclean		Dundee West	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Macmillan, MaureenMaureen Macmillan		Highlands and Islands	Regional	Scottish Labour Party
	Martin, PaulPaul Martin		Glasgow Springburn	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Marwick, TriciaTricia Marwick		Mid Scotland and Fife	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Matheson, MichaelMichael Matheson		Central Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	McAllion, JohnJohn McAllion		Dundee East	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	McAveety, FrankFrank McAveety		Glasgow Shettleston	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	McCabe, TomTom McCabe		Hamilton South	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	McConnell, JackJack McConnell		Motherwell and Wishaw	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	McGrigor, JamieJamie McGrigor		Highlands and Islands	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	McGugan, IreneIrene McGugan		North East Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	McIntosh, LyndsayLyndsay McIntosh		Central Scotland	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	McLeish, HenryHenry McLeish		Central Fife	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	McLeod, FionaFiona McLeod		West of Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	McLetchie, DavidDavid McLetchie		Lothians	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	McMahon, MichaelMichael McMahon		Hamilton North and Bellshill	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	McNeil, DuncanDuncan McNeil		Greenock and Inverclyde	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	McNeill, PaulinePauline McNeill		Glasgow Kelvin	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	McNulty, DesDes McNulty		Clydebank and Milngavie	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Monteith, BrianBrian Monteith		Mid Scotland and Fife	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Morgan, AlasdairAlasdair Morgan		Galloway and Upper Nithsdale	Constituency	Scottish National Party
	Morrison, AlasdairAlasdair Morrison		Western Isles	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Muldoon, BristowBristow Muldoon		Livingston	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Mulligan, MaryMary Mulligan		Linlithgow	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Mundell, DavidDavid Mundell		South of Scotland	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Munro, John FarquharJohn Farquhar Munro		Ross, Skye and Inverness West	Constituency	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Murray, ElaineElaine Murray		Dumfries	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Neil, AlexAlex Neil		Central Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Oldfather, IreneIrene Oldfather		Cunninghame South	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Paterson, GilGil Paterson		Central Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Peacock, PeterPeter Peacock		Highlands and Islands	Regional	Scottish Labour Party
	Peattie, CathyCathy Peattie		Falkirk East	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Quinan, LloydLloyd Quinan		West of Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Radcliffe, NoraNora Radcliffe		Gordon	Constituency	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Raffan, KeithKeith Raffan		Mid Scotland and Fife	Regional	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Reid, GeorgeGeorge Reid		Mid Scotland and Fife	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Robison, ShonaShona Robison		North East Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Robson, EuanEuan Robson		Roxburgh and Berwickshire	Constituency	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Rumbles, MikeMike Rumbles		West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	Constituency	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Russell, MichaelMichael Russell		South of Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Scanlon, MaryMary Scanlon		Highlands and Islands	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Scott, JohnJohn Scott		Ayr	Constituency	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Scott, TavishTavish Scott		Shetland	Constituency	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Sheridan, TommyTommy Sheridan		Glasgow	Regional	Scottish Socialist Party
	Simpson, RichardRichard Simpson		Ochil	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Smith, ElaineElaine Smith		Coatbridge and Chryston	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Smith, IainIain Smith		North East Fife	Constituency	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Smith, MargaretMargaret Smith		Edinburgh West	Constituency	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Steel, DavidDavid Steel		Lothians	Regional	Presiding Officer
	Stephen, NicolNicol Stephen		Aberdeen South	Constituency	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Stevenson, StewartStewart Stevenson		Banff and Buchan	Constituency	Scottish National Party
	Stone, JamieJamie Stone		Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross	Constituency	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Sturgeon, NicolaNicola Sturgeon		Glasgow	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Swinney, JohnJohn Swinney		North Tayside	Constituency	Scottish National Party
	Thomson, ElaineElaine Thomson		Aberdeen North	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Tosh, MurrayMurray Tosh		South of Scotland	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Ullrich, KayKay Ullrich		West of Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Wallace, BenBen Wallace		North East Scotland	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
	Wallace, JimJim Wallace		Orkney	Constituency	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Watson, MikeMike Watson		Glasgow Cathcart	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Welsh, AndrewAndrew Welsh		Angus	Constituency	Scottish National Party
	White, SandraSandra White		Glasgow	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Whitefield, KarenKaren Whitefield		Airdrie and Shotts	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Wilson, AllanAllan Wilson		Cunninghame North	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party
	Wilson, AndrewAndrew Wilson		Central Scotland	Regional	Scottish National Party
	Young, JohnJohn Young		West of Scotland	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

Former MSPs

Some MSPs left the parliament before the end of its term. This could be because they passed away or chose to resign. When a constituency MSP left, a special by-election was held to choose a new one. If a regional MSP left, the next person on their party's list from the original election took their place.

Name		Image	Member for	Type	Party	Notes
	Dewar, DonaldDonald Dewar		Glasgow Anniesland	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party	Deceased
	Galbraith, SamSam Galbraith		Strathkelvin and Bearsden	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party	Resigned
	Johnston, NickNick Johnston		Mid Scotland and Fife	Regional	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party	Resigned
	Welsh, IanIan Welsh		Ayr	Constituency	Scottish Labour Party	Resigned
	Salmond, AlexAlex Salmond		Banff and Buchan	Constituency	Scottish National Party	Resigned

Changes During the Parliament

During the First Scottish Parliament (1999-2003), some changes happened with the MSPs. There was one death and three resignations among MSPs elected from local areas. When this happened, new elections (called by-elections) were held to choose their replacements. Also, one MSP who was elected from a region resigned, and they were replaced by the next person on their party's list from the 1999 election.

See Also

• Member of the Scottish Parliament
• 1999 Scottish Parliament election
• Executive of the 1st Scottish Parliament
• Scottish Parliament