Former Scottish Parliament presiding officer Sir Alex Fergusson dies

Sir Alex Fergusson - Image credit: Scottish Parliament

Former Scottish Parliament presiding officer Sir Alex Fergusson has died at the age of 69.

Born near the village of Leswalt in Dumfries and Galloway, Fergusson was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

He served as a Conservative MSP for four terms from 1999 until his retirement in 2016, representing first the South of Scotland region then the constituencies of Galloway and Upper Nithsdale and Galloway and West Dumfries.

During that time he acted as the Scottish Conservative spokesman on agriculture before becoming the Scottish Parliament’s third presiding officer between 2007 and 2011.

Following his retirement from politics, Fergusson was knighted in the 2016 Queen’s birthday honours for services to politics, the Scottish Parliamentary process and public life in Scotland.

He died on 31 July 2018 after a short illness and leaves behind a wife and three sons.

Flags at the Scottish Parliament will fly at half-mast today and on the day of the funeral, which is yet to be announced, as a mark of respect.

Tributes have been paid by senior members of his party and the Scottish Parliament.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said: "Alex Fergusson was a proper gentleman.

“His decency, compassion and wisdom earned him friends across all parties. His passing will be mourned by all who knew him.

"He wasn't just a major figure in the Scottish Conservatives, he was also, as the Scottish Parliament's third presiding officer, a hugely significant figure at Holyrood and a stout defender of the parliament.

“He enjoyed the respect of every MSP in the chamber.

"He was a passionate and influential advocate for his beloved south of Scotland.

“Even after he left the Scottish Parliament, he was continuing to campaign for issues close to his heart such as creating a new national park in the Galloway forest.

"A man of many talents, I will remember his wonderful singing voice, a love of Burns, and the richness he brought to parliament from his life outside politics, as a farmer and champion of rural Scotland.

"On behalf of everyone in the Scottish Conservatives, I offer my deepest condolences to his family and friends."

Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell said: “To me, Alex was foremost a great friend and I will miss him dearly.

“He is the most thoroughly decent person I have ever known.

“He was the absolute opposite of the career politician and was guided a sense of public duty and his core values of family, community and country, rather than party dogma.

“His legacy was to ensure our Scottish Parliament was a parliament for the whole of Scotland and that rural issues were given their place, never more so than during the devastating foot and mouth outbreak of 2001, when he was farming communities’ voice.

“His election as presiding officer in 2007 was testament to the respect in which he was held across the chamber.

“Managing the first minority government was not without its challenges, but Alex approached the job with calm and dignity that was the hallmark of everything he did.

“But not for him, were the trappings of high office – he turned down the official car and drove himself back to Galloway every week so he could work for the constituents he always saw as his priority. 

“They like us all will miss him, but we can take comfort from the positive mark his public service has left on Scotland."

Paying tribute to his predecessor, Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh said: “Alex never sought the position of presiding officer. 

“His duty, as he saw it, was to the people of Galloway and Upper Nithsdale who had just elected him to parliament for a second time.

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“With the parties finely balanced and a minority government forming, colleagues turned to Alex to take the chair as devolution entered unchartered territory.

“Self-effacing as ever, he had to be persuaded, but he relented and accepted the job through a deep-seated sense of duty and service. 

“He was the first presiding officer to preside during a minority government and the unique challenges this presented to parliament. 

“He did so with good humour, no shortage of skill and a fundamental decency that was recognised by members from every party across the chamber.

“At Holyrood and in life beyond politics, there are few people who had the pleasure of knowing Alex who did not like him immensely.

“He is the first presiding officer to leave us, and he will be missed terribly by members and staff alike.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also tweeted her condolences, calling Fergusson a “distinguished Presiding Officer” and a “dedicated parliamentarian with friends and admirers from across the political spectrum”.