Winnie Ewing | |
|---|---|
 European Parliament portrait, 1994 | |
| President of the Scottish National Party | |
| In office 1987 – September 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Donald Stewart |
| Succeeded by | Ian Hudghton |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament forHighlands and Islands (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) | |
| In office 6 May 1999 – 31 March 2003 | |
| Member of the European Parliament forHighlands and Islands | |
| In office 10 June 1979 – 13 June 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of Parliament forMoray and Nairn | |
| In office 28 February 1974 – 7 April 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Gordon Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Pollock |
| Member of Parliament forHamilton | |
| In office 2 November 1967 – 29 May 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Fraser |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Wilson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Winifred Margaret Woodburn (1929-07-10)10 July 1929 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 21 June 2023(2023-06-21) (aged 93) Bridge of Weir,Renfrewshire Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingFergus andAnnabelle |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
| Profession | Solicitor |
Winifred Margaret EwingFRSA (née Woodburn; 10 July 1929 – 21 June 2023) was a Scottish lawyer and politician who figured prominently in theScottish National Party.
Born and raised in Glasgow, Ewing studied law at theUniversity of Glasgow, where she joined the university'sScottish Nationalist Association. After graduating, she worked as a lawyer, serving as secretary of the Glasgow Bar Association from 1962 to 1967. Ewing was elected to the House of Commons in the1967 Hamilton by-election and her presence at Westminster led to a rise in membership for the SNP. Although she lost her seat in the1970 election, she was re-elected inFebruary 1974, this time for theMoray and Nairn constituency. Ewing lost her seat in the1979 election and, after making numerous attempts to seek re-election, failed to do so.[1]
Ewing was elected to theEuropean Parliament in the1979 elections, representing theHighlands and Islands. In Europe, she acquired the nicknameMadame Écosse because of her advocacy of Scottish interests. In 1987, she became the president of the Scottish National Party. She served as vice president of theEuropean Radical Alliance and by 1995 had become Britain's longest servingMEP. In thefirst elections to the Scottish Parliament, she was elected to represent theHighlands and Islands. As the oldest qualified member, it was her duty to preside over the opening of the Scottish Parliament.
Ewing was born Winifred Margaret Woodburn on 10 July 1929 inGlasgow, to Christina Bell Anderson and George Woodburn, a small business owner.[2][3][4] She was educated at Battlefield School andQueen's Park Secondary School. In 1946 she matriculated at theUniversity of Glasgow where she graduated with anMA andLLB.[2] Although relatively inactive in politics at that time, she joined the Student Nationalists.[5] Following her graduation, she qualified and practised as a solicitor andnotary public. She was Secretary of the Glasgow Bar Association from 1962 to 1967.[6]
Ewing became active in campaigning forScottish independence through her membership of theGlasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association, and won the1967 Hamilton by-election as theScottish National Party (SNP) candidate.[7][8] She was elected with the help of a team including her election agent,John McAteer. On 16 November, she made her first appearance at Westminster, with her husband and children accompanying her on the journey.[9] She arrived at the parliament in a Scottish-builtHillman Imp and was greeted by a crowd and a pipe band.[10]
Ewing said at the time "stop the world, Scotland wants to get on", and her presence atWestminster led to a rise in membership for the SNP.[5] It was speculated that Ewing's electoral gain led to the establishment of theKilbrandon Commission by theLabour government ofHarold Wilson to look into the viability of a devolvedScottish Assembly. In hindsight it could be said to mark the start of modern politics in Scotland, according to ProfessorRichard Finlay of Strathclyde University, bringing young people and women from non-political backgrounds into politics for the first time, whilst Labour and Tory party organisation and branch numbers were declining.[11]
Despite her high profile, Ewing was unsuccessful in retaining the Hamilton seat at the1970 general election.[12] At the followingFebruary 1974 election she stood forMoray and Nairn and was returned to Westminster, although another election followed inOctober of the same year when her already marginal majority declined. Following the October election she was announced as the SNP's spokesperson on external affairs and theEEC.[13]
She first became an MEP in 1975, at a time when the European Parliament was still composed of representative delegations from national parliaments.[11] She lost her Westminster seat at theMay 1979 election, but within weeks had gained a seat in the European Parliament at thefirst direct elections to the Parliament. Ewing was unsuccessful at seeking to return to Westminster as the SNP candidate forOrkney and Shetland in1983, coming third.[14]
Ewing was elected the SNP Party President in 1987.[6] It was during her time as an MEP that she acquired the nicknameMadame Écosse (French for 'Mrs Scotland') because of her advocacy of Scottish interests in Strasbourg and Brussels.[15][16] That sobriquet was first used byLe Monde and with Ewing using the term as a badge of pride, it stuck.[17] By 1995 she had become Britain's longest serving MEP.[17] She served as Vice President of theEuropean Radical Alliance,[18] which in addition to the SNP also included French, Belgian, Italian and Spanish MEPs.
In 1999, she did not stand for the European Parliament, instead becoming aMember of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) in the first session of the Scottish Parliament, representing theHighlands and Islands. As the oldest qualified member,[19][20] it was her duty to preside over the opening of the Scottish Parliament,[21] a session she opened with the statement: "The Scottish Parliament, adjourned on the 25th day of March in the year 1707, is hereby reconvened".[22] She sat as a member on the European Committee and the Public Petitions Committee.[23]
During the controversy that arose in the early years of theScottish Parliament surrounding proposals to repealClause 28 (a law banning the active promotion of homosexuality in schools), she joined her sonFergus Ewing in abstaining, although her daughter in lawMargaret Ewing supported repeal as did the majority of her party's MSPs. In June 2001, having turned 72 years old, she announced that she would retire from Parliament at the end of the session.[24] In January 2003, her husband, Stewart Ewing, died from a heart attack after a fire at their home.[25] He had been active with her in politics for many years, and had himself served as an SNP councillor for theSummerston area inGlasgow, gaining the seat of Dick Dynes, the leader of the Labour Group onGlasgow District Council in1977, a result described byThe Glasgow Herald as "an absolute sensation".[26] Later in 2003 she stood down from being an MSP,[27] although she continued to serve as the SNP's President. On 15 July 2005, she announced she would be stepping down as President of theScottish National Party at its September Conference, bringing to an end her 38-year career in representative politics.[28]
Nicola Sturgeon said that Ewing had given her "hugely valuable advice" on public speaking, and that Ewing had given her some important advice as a young woman in politics, namely "Stand your ground and believe in yourself" and "a more vibrant, colourful, dynamic, passionate, committed person, you would struggle to meet."[3]
Ewing was a vice president of equal rights charityParity.[29] In April 2009,BBC Alba broadcast a biographical documentaryMadame Ecosse, produced by Madmac Productions.[30] It was rebroadcast onBBC Scotland to mark her 80th birthday.[16] Nicola Sturgeon named Ewing as her Political Hero on BBC News in 2018.[3]
Winnie and Stuart Ewing had three children, two of whom also went on to a career in politics: their son,Fergus Ewing, was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and went on to hold several ministerial posts. Their daughter,Annabelle Ewing, was an MP from 2001 to 2005 and was elected an MSP in 2011.[4] Ewing died at her home inBridge of Weir on 21 June 2023, at age 93.[5][31]
In 1990 she was made a fellow of theRoyal Society of Arts.[2] In 2003 theLaw Society of Scotland made her an honorary member.[32] She was awarded honoraryLLD degrees from the University of Glasgow in 1995[33] and theUniversity of Aberdeen in 2004.[34] She was awarded Doctor of the University degrees from theOpen University in 1993[35] and theUniversity of Stirling in 2012.[36] In 2009, a portrait of her painted byDavid Donaldson in 1970 was lent to the Scottish Parliament and put on display.[37]
sad
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forHamilton 1967–1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forMoray and Nairn February 1974–1979 | Succeeded by |
| European Parliament | ||
| New constituency | Member of the European Parliament forHighlands and Islands 1979–1999 | Constituency abolished |
| Scottish Parliament | ||
| New parliament | Member of the Scottish Parliament forHighlands and Islands 1999–2003 With:Duncan Hamilton and 5 others | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of the Scottish National Party 1987–2005 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
