The Lord Wallace of Tankerness | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister of Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acting 8 November 2001 – 27 November 2001 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Henry McLeish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jack McConnell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acting 11 October 2000 – 27 October 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Donald Dewar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Henry McLeish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy First Minister of Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 19 May 1999 – 23 June 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister |
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| Preceded by | Office established | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Nicol Stephen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 18 April 1992 – 23 June 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Michael Moore (from 2002) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK party leader | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Malcolm Bruce | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Nicol Stephen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Liberal Democrat portfolios | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1992 | Chief Whip | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Leader in the House of Lords | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liberal portfolios | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Chief Whip | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1954-08-25)25 August 1954 Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 29 January 2026(2026-01-29) (aged 71) Edinburgh, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party | Liberal Democrats | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Annan Academy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Downing College, Cambridge University of Edinburgh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness,PC, KC, FRSE (25 August 1954 – 29 January 2026) was a Scottish politician who served as a Liberal Democratlife peer in theBritish House of Lords from 2007 until his death in 2026. He had previously served as theDeputy First Minister of Scotland from 1999 to 2005, and during that time was twice actingFirst Minister, in 2000, in the aftermath ofDonald Dewar's death, and in 2001, followingHenry McLeish's resignation.
Wallace wasLeader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 2005 and Leader of theLiberal Democrats in theHouse of Lords from 2013 to 2016.
Wallace served as aLiberal DemocratMember of Parliament (MP) forOrkney and Shetland from1983 to2001 and aMember of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) forOrkney from1999 to2007. He wasAdvocate General for Scotland from 2010 to 2015. He was the Moderator of the General Assembly of theChurch of Scotland from 1 May 2021 to 23 May 2022 and for the duration of this appointment, he gave up his political affiliation.[1]
Wallace was born inAnnan inDumfriesshire, Scotland, to John and Grace Wallace, on 25 August 1954, and grew up there.[2][3] His father, an accountant, was an elder for 64 years in the local Church of Scotland congregation, Annan Old Parish Church.[4][5] He was involved in both the Boys Brigade and Scripture Union groups.[5] He professed faith and formally joined the church while a student in 1973.[5]
As a boy, his first interest in politics was stoked when he collected autographs from politicians visiting the local area:[6] as of 2005, he still possessed one fromTam Dalyell.[7]
He was educated atAnnan Academy, a state secondary school in his hometown of Annan. Following school, he was accepted byDowning College, Cambridge, where he obtained a joint BA degree in economics and law. From there he returned to Scotland to study law at theUniversity of Edinburgh, graduating with an LLB degree in 1977.[8] Based in Edinburgh, he became a barrister in 1979, and he practised as an advocate at theScottish Bar, mostly in civil law cases.[8][4]
Wallace joined the then-Liberal Party in the early 1970s,[9] but did not become very active in it until after completing his second degree. His first foray as a parliamentary candidate was in theconstituency ofDumfriesshire in 1979, where he failed to win, coming third of four candidates with 14.3% of the vote.[10] He also stood, unsuccessfully, as the Liberal candidate in theSouth of Scotland constituency at theEuropean Parliament elections of that year.[11]
Four years later, he was selected as the Liberal nomination for the seat ofOrkney and Shetland, the seat being vacated by former party leaderJo Grimond,[12] and won election to theParliament. At the time, it was extremely rare for Liberal candidates to successfully win elections to succeed former Liberal MPs, although many have since done so. He was to serve as the MP there for 18 years, occupying a number of front bench posts for the Liberal Party (and, from 1988 onwards, theLiberal Democrats), including Employment spokesman and Chief Whip.[13]
In 1992, he was unopposed in becoming the new leader of theScottish Liberal Democrats, succeedingMalcolm Bruce. Scottish politics at this time was dominated by the question of constitutional reform. There were few opportunities for legislation affecting Scots Law to be debated or effectively scrutinised at Westminster and, especially after the1987 election, with only tenConservative MPs in Scotland but with a large majority in the House of Commons, it was argued that there was a democratic deficit in Scotland. He was appointedQueen's Counsel (QC) in 1997.[14]
He led the Scottish Liberal Democrats in the first election to the new Scottish Parliament in1999, himself winning the constituency of Orkney with 67% of the votes cast. This meant he served as a Member of both the Scottish and Westminster Parliaments for a time with adual mandate, although like other MPs elected to Holyrood (such asJohn Swinney,John Home Robertson andDonald Gorrie) he stood down from Westminster at the2001 general election.[15]
As expected, the proportional election system for the new Scottish Parliament meant thatLabour failed to gain an outrightmajority in the first elections.[16] Their leader,Donald Dewar, chose to seek a formalcoalition government with a working majority rather than try to operate as aminority government.[17]
Dewar contacted Wallace and a week of formal negotiations were held between the two parties' representatives, following which a partnership agreement was signed, committing both parties to support a negotiated joint agenda. Wallace became Deputy First Minister andMinister for Justice, and maintained these briefs throughout the first term of the Parliament.[18] The decision to enter a coalition government with Labour was controversial at the time. British politicians were unaccustomed to coalition politics, and the Liberal Democrats came under fire from Conservative and SNP opponents who claimed they had 'sold out' their principles. Key to this criticism was the Labour policy of making students pay tuition fees, which the Liberal Democrats had promised to abolish as their price of entering a coalition, but which became merely the subject of an inquiry as the coalition was formed.[19] In the event, the Liberal Democrats did insist on the abolition of tuition fees after the inquiry reported in 2001, but in 1999, the delay was perceived to have been a compromise, and Wallace in particular became the focal point for extremely bitter criticism.[20] Despite this, and other difficult moments, he and his party stayed firm and remained in power. Wallace established himself as a minister.[21]
On three occasions over the first term of the Parliament, he becameActing First Minister: twice in 2000 due to at first the illness[22] and later the death, of the first First MinisterDonald Dewar,[23] and then again in 2001, after the resignation of Dewar's successor as First Minister,Henry McLeish.[24] In the first instance, Dewar returned to office in less than four months.[25] Under his continued leadership, the Scottish Liberal Democrats' popularity grew steadily. After leading the party through the second Holyrood elections in2003 Elections,[26] again winning 17 MSPs but with a higher share of the vote, he led the party into a second coalition with Labour. The 2003 coalition negotiation process was widely seen as a more successful enterprise by the Liberal Democrats than the preceding one, with key aspects of Labour's proposals onanti-social behaviour dropped or limited, and with the promise ofproportional representation for Scotland's 32 local councils.[27] Wallace remained as Deputy First Minister, but left the Justice brief, becoming instead theMinister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning.[28]
On 9 May 2005, following the2005 General Election, Wallace announced his intention to stand down as party leader and Deputy First Minister. He would remain asMSP forOrkney until the 2007 election, but would serve his time out as abackbencher. He ceased to be an MSP with thedissolution of the Scottish Parliament on 2 April 2007.[29] On 13 September 2007, it was announced that he was to be appointed to theHouse of Lords.[30] He was subsequently created alife peer on 17 October 2007 taking the titleBaron Wallace of Tankerness,ofTankerness in Orkney.[31]
On 28 April 2008, it was announced that the new Lord Wallace would be a member of theCommission on Scottish Devolution, chaired bySir Kenneth Calman, established by the Scottish Parliament to consider the future powers of the Parliament, including powers over finance.[32] In November 2008, Wallace received a lifetime achievement award in theScottish Politician of the Year Awards.[33]
In March 2010, Wallace briefly returned to the bar.[34] In May 2010, he was appointed Advocate General for Scotland, one of theLaw Officers of the Crown, who advise the government on Scots law.[35]
He was elected unopposed, as the leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords on 15 October 2013, replacingLord McNally, who had stepped down earlier in the month.[36] In September 2016, he stepped down as the Leader of the Liberal Democrat in the House of Lords, citing a desire to step back from "frontline" politics stating "I was first elected to the House of Commons 33 years ago. For 28 of these years, I have been on the frontline, including sixteen years in a leadership role, here in the Lords and in Scotland."[37]
Wallace was chair of the charity Reprieve until 2021, when he was succeeded in that role byElish Angiolini.[38]
A longstanding Elder of theChurch of Scotland atSt. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, he was nominated and appointed to beModerator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2021–2022.[39][40][41] It is highly unusual for a lay person to be nominated as Moderator, predecessors beingAlison Elliot in 2004 andGeorge Buchanan in 1567.[42]
In 1983, Wallace married Rosemary (née Fraser), a speech therapist whom he called "Rosie". The couple had two daughters, Helen and Grace, and grandchildren.[43][4]
He was anelder of theChurch of Scotland. He was first ordained in what was St Bernard's Church inStockbridge, Edinburgh, in 1981. By 1990, he was inducted to the eldership atSt Magnus Cathedral inKirkwall, Orkney, where he became a member of the church.[5] He was active in contributing to public worship.[44] Wallace was also a Vice President of theNational Churches Trust.[45] He was a keen singer, being a member of the choirs at both St Magnus Cathedral andDunblane Cathedral.[4]
In 2023 he survivedaortic dissection, needing to undergo major surgery.[46]
He had undergone a procedure at theRoyal Infirmary of Edinburgh, but Wallace died from complications from that surgery on 29 January 2026, at the age of 71.[47][48][4] He was survived by his wife, Rosie; his daughters, Helen and Claire - along with their families, his brother, Neil, and his mother, Grace, who still lives in Annan.[5]
His funeral was held on the morning of 10 February 2026 at St Magnus Cathedral, and was conducted by Rev Dr Marjory MacLean, who had served as one of his chaplains during his year as Moderator.[5] In place of the current moderator, former Moderator,Iain Torrance, was in attendance.[5] Numerous politicians attended his funeral, including First MinisterJohn Swinney, as well and the UK and Scottish Liberal Democrat leaders,Ed Davey andAlex Cole-Hamilton. During the funeral, Liberal Democrat MSPLiam McArthur, and MPAlasdair Carmichael gave eulogies. Lord Wallace's brother Neil also addressed mourners in the cathedral.[4] Following the funeral, he was interred at a private service at St Andrew's Cemetery in Tankerness.[5]
Wallace received an Honorary Doctorate fromHeriot-Watt University in 2007.[49]
In 2018, Wallace was elected aFellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE).[50]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forOrkney and Shetland 1983–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Liberal Chief Whip in theHouse of Commons 1987–1988 | Position abolished |
| New office | Liberal Democrat Chief Whip in theHouse of Commons 1988–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of theScottish Liberal Democrats 1992–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords 2013–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Scottish Parliament | ||
| New constituency | Member of the Scottish Parliament forOrkney 1999–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| New office | Deputy First Minister of Scotland 1999–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Minister for Justice 1999–2003 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | First Minister of Scotland Acting 2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Minister of Scotland Acting 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byas Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning | Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning 2003–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Leader of the House of Lords 2013–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Advocate General for Scotland 2010–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Religious titles | ||
| Preceded by | Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 2021–2022 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
