Former presiding officer Sir George Reid dies

Former Scottish Parliament presiding officer Sir George Reid has died at the age of 86.

Sir George had already had a long career as a prominent journalist and SNP politician before taking on the role of chairing the parliament’s debates in 2003.

He was first elected to Westminster in 1974 as the SNP MP for Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire, holding the seat until 1979.

After working for the International Red Cross for 12 years, he returned to politics in 1995 and was elected to the Scottish Parliament four years later. He stood down in 2007.

First Minister John Swinney led tributes to Sir George, crediting him as being one of the voices that brought him into politics as a teenager.

The SNP leader said he was “desperately saddened by the loss of the remarkable George Reid”.

Sir George was born in Tullibody, near Alloa in Clackmannanshire, in 1939.

He graduated from St Andrews University and later studied international affairs, humanitarian law and conflict resolution in the US, Switzerland and Sweden.

He worked as a reporter on the Daily Express in the 1960s and was later a TV producer and presenter for both the BBC and STV.

He became an SNP MP in 1974 before losing his seat in 1979.

For 12 years between his time at Westminster and Holyrood, he worked worldwide in wars and disasters as a director of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent in Geneva.

When the new Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999, Sir George was elected as the MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife.

He stood to be the first presiding officer of the new parliament, a role similar to the Speaker in the House of Commons, but was beaten by veteran Lib Dem Sir David Steel.

However, Sir George took up the post in 2003, resigning his membership of the SNP so that he could be seen to be impartial.

During his time as presiding officer, he oversaw the completion of the new Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood, a project which had been running three years late and way over budget.

George Reid was one of the most substantial political figures to serve in the Scottish Parliament with a hinterland that gave him insight and authority.

He made one of the finest speeches I have heard at Holyrood. It was during a debate about the Iraq war – informed by his personal experiences of conflict from his time with the Red Cross.

He took over as presiding officer at a very difficult moment – when the rising costs and delays to the newly constructed parliament building at Holyrood were poisoning our politics.

I can remember him organising a showdown with all the contractors. He made them walk through a media scrum to meet him, pressuring them to complete the project and get costs under control.

At one point he even threatened to chop off a cantilevered corner of the building if the complications around its construction were not quickly resolved.

His aim was simple. To “move in and move on” from the controversy and to restore faith in the devolution of power which was being called into question.

There was a celebrated Royal opening in 2004 where I remember one hard-nosed journalist marvelling at what had been achieved by this “dapper wee man in a kilt”.

Sir George was passionate about Clackmannanshire, saying that he could trace his ancestors in the area back to 1650.

But alongside his devotion to the place of his birth he was always focused on international interests.

He held senior editorial positions at both STV and Granada as well as his work with the Red Cross in Geneva.

Sir George, who was knighted in 2012 for services to Scottish politics and public life, was on record as saying it was in his job at the Red Cross that he did “far more good than at any other time in my life”.

He is survived by Daphne, his wife of 57 years, daughter Morag and her husband, and five grandchildren.

The Scottish Parliament’s current presiding officer Alison Johnstone said: “He’ll be remembered not only for bringing the Holyrood construction project to completion, but for building confidence and ambition in our young parliament.

“A proud son of Clackmannanshire and an internationalist by outlook, he was determined to put Holyrood on the map at home and abroad, and very much succeeded.

“By the time he left office, Holyrood was established at the centre of public life in Scotland and over a million people had visited to see for themselves the new parliament in action.”

Flags at Holyrood have been lowered as a mark of respect and a book of condolence will open shortly at Holyrood and online.

First Minister John Swinney said: “His passion for Scotland, his principled internationalist world view and his empathy for the plight of people everywhere, made him a voice that could not be ignored across five decades,” the SNP leader said.

“As a journalist, in the 1980s, George was Michael Buerk’s producer for the historic coverage of the Ethiopian famine that inspired Band Aid,” Swinney said.

“As was typical of George, he could not simply observe and report. He always sought to make a difference, taking on a senior role in the Red Cross and Red Crescent in the 1980s and 1990s.”

He added: “Scotland, and the world, is richer for the life of George Reid and poorer for his passing.”