Nicol Stephen
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| Nicol Stephen MSP | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 27 June 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Jim Wallace |
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| In office 27 June 2005 – 16 May 2007 |
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| First Minister | Jack McConnell |
| Preceded by | Jim Wallace |
| Succeeded by | Nicola Sturgeon |
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| In office 27 June 2005 – 16 May 2007 |
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| First Minister | Jack McConnell |
| Preceded by | Jim Wallace |
| Succeeded by | office abolished |
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| In office 21 May 2003 – 27 June 2005 |
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| First Minister | Jack McConnell |
| Preceded by | office created |
| Succeeded by | Tavish Scott |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 6 May 1999 |
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| Preceded by | constituency created |
| Majority | 2,731 (9.1%) |
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Member of Parliament
for Kincardine and Deeside |
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| In office 7 November 1991 – 9 April 1992 |
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| Preceded by | Alick Buchanan-Smith |
| Succeeded by | George Kynoch |
| Majority | 7,824 (5.9%) |
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| Born | 23 March 1960 Aberdeen |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Nicol Ross Stephen (born 23 March 1960) is leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeen South. He is a former Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning.
He became an MSP in the first elections to the Scottish Parliament in 1999, later holding Deputy Minister positions for: Enterprise and Lifelong Learning; Education, Europe and External Affairs; and Education and Young People. Those were followed by a cabinet position as Minister for Transport in the Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition. He became Deputy First Minister upon the resignation of his predecessor Jim Wallace in 2005, and led his party in the 2007 election, where they won 16 seats (down one on 2003).
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[edit] Background and family life
Born in Aberdeen[1], he was educated at Robert Gordon's College in Aberdeen and at the University of Aberdeen, where he obtained an LLB in 1980. He then took his Diploma in Legal Practice at the University of Edinburgh School of Law and worked for a number of years as a solicitor before moving into corporate finance as a senior manager with Deloitte & Touche.
He was a former Chair of CREATE (a group campaigning for rail electrification between Aberdeen and Edinburgh); a chairperson of STAR (Save Tor-na-Dee Hospital and Roxburghe House); and the founder and director of Grampian Enterprise.
He is married with 4 children. [2]
[edit] Early political career
He was elected to Grampian Regional Council in 1982 (as Scotland's youngest councillor) and was Chair of Grampian's Economic Development and Planning Committee from 1986 to 1991.
He was briefly a Member of Parliament for the Kincardine and Deeside constituency, elected in the November 1991 by-election following the death of Conservative and Unionist Alick Buchanan-Smith. He was a member of the Liberal Democrat treasury team and spokesperson on small business during his time in the House of Commons. The seat returned to the Conservative and Unionists at the 1992 general election, when it was won by George Kynoch.
He later stood for the Aberdeen South constituency in the 1997 election for Aberdeen South, but was defeated by the Scottish Labour candidate.[3]
[edit] Scottish Parliament
[edit] Minister and Deputy Minister roles
Stephen was elected as MSP for Aberdeen South in the first elections to the Scottish Parliament. He later helped negotiate the Partnership Agreements for the coalition government with the Labour Party.[4]
He later served in the Scottish Executive as Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning[5] (1999 to 2000), then as Deputy Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs (2000 to 2001)[6], and as Deputy Minister for Education and Young People (2001 - 2003).
Following the 2003 election, he was appointed Minister for Transport. During his time in this post, he was responsible for approving the controversial M74 extension.[7].
[edit] Deputy First Minister
Following the resignation of Jim Wallace in May 2005 as leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Stephen announced his intention to stand for the leadership.[8] He defeated rival candidate, Mike Rumbles, who advocated ending the coalition agreement with the Scottish Labour Party, winning 76.6%, becoming the Deputy First Minister on 23 June 2005.[9] Following his leadership victory, a mini reshuffle of the Scottish cabinet, saw him take on the role of Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ Strathclyde University- Scottish Parliamentary Election Candidate Materials 2003
- ^ Nicol Stephen | Scottish Liberal Democrats
- ^ Guardian Unlimited- Nicol Stephen
- ^ Scotland.gov.uk- Deputy First Minister
- ^ BBC News- "Scottish junior ministers named "
- ^ BBC News- "Cabinet reshuffle - the full line-up"
- ^ Scotsman.com- "M74 link driven past green lobby"
- ^ BBC News- "Stephen to stand for leadership"
- ^ BBC News- "Lib Dems choose Stephen as leader"
- ^ BBC News- "Reshuffle reveals cabinet line-up"/
[edit] External links
- Nicol Stephen Nicol Stephen's personal website
- Nicol Stephen MSP official biography at the Scottish Parliament website
- Nicol Stephen MSP profile at the site of Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Scottish Executive
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alick Buchanan-Smith |
Member of Parliament for Kincardine and Deeside 1991–1992 |
Succeeded by George Kynoch |
| Scottish Parliament | ||
| Preceded by Constituency Created |
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeen South 1999 – present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Jim Wallace |
Deputy First Minister of Scotland 2005–2007 |
Succeeded by Nicola Sturgeon |
| Preceded by Jim Wallace |
Minister for Enterpise and Lifelong Learning 2005–2007 |
Succeeded by Office Abolished |
| Preceded by Office Created |
Minister for Transport 2003–2005 |
Succeeded by Tavish Scott |
| Preceded by Office Created |
Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 2001–2003 |
Succeeded by Euan Robson |
| Preceded by Peter Peacock |
Deputy Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs 2000–2001 |
Succeeded by Office Abolished |
| Preceded by Office Created |
Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning 1999–2000 |
Succeeded by Alasdair Morrison |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Jim Wallace |
Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats 2005– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
