Alex Smith (born 2 December 1943) is a former Scottish politician who served in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

. Smith was educated at

Irvine Royal Academy Irvine Royal Academy is a six-year non-denominational secondary school in Kilwinning Road, Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. History In 1572, King James VI provided funds to found the King's School of Irvine at Kirkgatehead. A new building was e ...

and worked as a gardener and then a textile worker. He became a

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

with the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

, and also became active in the Labour Party, chairing Cunninghame South Constituency Labour Party from 1983 until 1987, and also Irvine Trades Council. At the

1989 European Parliament election The 1989 European Parliament election was a European election held across the 12 European Community member states in June 1989. It was the third European election but the first time that Spain and Portugal voted at the same time as the other m ...

, Smith was elected for

South of Scotland South of Scotland may refer to: * The southern portion of Scotland ** Geography of Scotland * South of Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region) * South of Scotland (European Parliament constituency) * South of Scotland District (rugby union) ...

. He won the seat from

Alasdair Hutton Alasdair Henry Hutton OBE TD OStJ (born 19 May 1940) is a British writer and narrator for public events and concerts, including the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Early life Born in London in 1940, Hutton's house was hit by a bomb three ...

, the Conservative incumbent in 1989, held it against a challenge from him in 1994, but stood down as an MEP in 1999.

External links

election results

References

1943 births Living people People educated at Irvine Royal Academy Scottish Labour MEPs MEPs for Scotland 1989–1994 MEPs for Scotland 1994–1999 {{UK-MEP-stub