Arthur William Donaldson (13 December 1901 – 18 January 1993) was a Scottish journalist and
Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was leader of the Scottish National Party from 1960 to 1969.
Early years
Donaldson was born in
Dundee, the son of George Donaldson, a yarn dresser. He was educated at
Harris Academy
Harris Academy is a co-educational comprehensive school in the West End of Dundee, Scotland. Harris Academy was founded in 1885 and is the oldest state school in Dundee. Harris Academy is also one of the largest state run schools in Dundee in ...
, leaving in 1917 with five Higher leaving certificate passes.
After working as an assistant registrar of births, deaths and marriages in Dundee from 1918 to 1920, he began a career in journalism as a reporter with ''
The Courier'', a Dundee newspaper.
In 1923, he decided to emigrate to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
to try his hand as a journalist there. Donaldson did not find work as a journalist and instead found employment in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, MI as secretary to the head of an engineering department in the automotive industry, then attended the
Detroit Institute of Technology
The Detroit Institute of Technology was a private four-year technical college in Detroit, Michigan that closed operations in 1981.
History
First called the Association Institute, the private school was founded in 1891 as a YMCA evening school ...
to study engineering.
He eventually became assistant secretary in the
Chrysler Corporation's public procurement division, responsible for dealing with the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
.
Although now beginning to be established in the United States, Donaldson took a keen interest in the developing political movement for
Scottish independence back home. To that end, in 1928 he joined the newly formed
National Party of Scotland
The National Party of Scotland (NPS) was a centre-left political party in Scotland which was one of the predecessors of the current Scottish National Party (SNP). The NPS was the first Scottish nationalist political party, and the first which c ...
as an overseas member. In 1932, Donaldson married Violet "Vi" Bruce, another expatriate Scot (from
Forfar
Forfar ( sco, Farfar, gd, Baile Fharfair) is the county town of Angus, Scotland and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town has a pop ...
) and they set up home in
Washington D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, where he continued to work for Chrysler. Donaldson joined the
Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1934, and three years later returned to his native Scotland with his family, settling at
Lugton
Lugton is a small village or hamlet in East Ayrshire, Scotland with a population of 80 people. The A736 road runs through on its way from Glasgow, to the north, to Irvine in North Ayrshire. Uplawmoor is the first settlement on this 'Lochlibo R ...
,
Ayrshire, where he established a poultry farm.
In 1944, he moved to his wife's native
Forfar
Forfar ( sco, Farfar, gd, Baile Fharfair) is the county town of Angus, Scotland and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town has a pop ...
, where he worked in retail business and as a freelance journalist.
Political career
Donaldson came into contact with
Robert McIntyre, one of the leading members of the SNP, and his involvement with the party deepened.
In May 1941, during the Second World War, Donaldson's home was raided by the police, who suspected him and a number of other SNP figures of "subversive activities", due to their support for the
Scottish Neutrality League. An informant of
MI5
The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
told the desk officer
Richard Brooman-White
Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Charles Brooman-White 16 February 1912 – 25 January 1964) was a British journalist, intelligence agent and politician for the Conservative Party.
Education
The only son from a military family (his mother was a Texa ...
that in the event of a German invasion of Britain, Donaldson had told him that he intended to set up a puppet government akin to that of
Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (, ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Nazi collaborator who nominally list of heads of government of Norway, headed the government of Norway during t ...
in Norway. As a result of this information, Donaldson was arrested and interned under
Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was one of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during and before the Second World War. The complete name for the rule was Regulation 18B of the Defence (General) Regula ...
, sent first to Kilmarnock Prison and then to
Barlinnie Prison
HM Prison Barlinnie is the largest prison in Scotland. It is operated by the Scottish Prison Service and is located in the residential suburb of Riddrie, in the north east of Glasgow, Scotland. It is informally known locally as The Big Hoose, ...
in Glasgow. He was held for six weeks. No evidence was ever produced and Donaldson was never charged.
At the time, Donaldson's arrest was explained by his protests against the conscription of Scottish women for work in factories in England, and he has thus been described as a political prisoner by at least one former colleague.
Donaldson's arrest and detention did not dissuade him of the value of his political activities. He remained a member of the SNP throughout the 1940s and 1950s, when it was particularly weak and much of the focus of nationalist efforts was being invested in the
Scottish Covenant
The Scottish Covenant was a petition to the United Kingdom government to create a home rule Scottish parliament. First proposed in 1930, and promoted by the ''Scots Independent'' in 1939, the National Covenant movement reached its peak during the ...
of
John MacCormick
John MacDonald MacCormick (20 November 1904 – 13 October 1961) was a Scottish lawyer, Scottish nationalist politician and advocate of Home Rule in Scotland.
Early life
MacCormick was born in Pollokshields, Glasgow, in 1904. His father was Dona ...
. MacCormick had left the SNP in 1942, as he had been unable to persuade the party to adopt a position of supporting devolution rather than independence, a split which Donaldson himself had put down more to a personality clash than to ideological differences.
After the split of 1942, Donaldson became a leading SNP figure, along with McIntyre. Donaldson stood as SNP candidate for
Dundee at the
1945 general election
The following elections occurred in the year 1945.
Africa
* 1945 South-West African legislative election
Asia
* 1945 Indian general election
Australia
* 1945 Fremantle by-election
Europe
* 1945 Albanian parliamentary election
* 1945 Bulgarian ...
, coming bottom of the poll with 7,775 votes.
In 1948 he moved to Forfar, where he soon became editor of the ''Forfar Dispatch''. He became active in local government in
Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
, as a member of Forfar Town Council from 1945 to 1968, and as the town treasurer. He also served as a member of Angus County Council from 1946 to 1955.
These commitments meant that Donaldson was not active in the general elections of
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...
,
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
, and
1955, but in
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
he fought the
Kinross and Western Perthshire constituency.
Leadership
Donaldson became SNP leader in June 1960, when he was elected unopposed, replacing
James Halliday, and it was during his term as SNP leader that the party began to grow and impose itself on the Scottish political landscape. An inspirational speaker, he enthused supporters, touring branches and constituencies, and the party's growth in membership, branches, and votes throughout the decade was phenomenal.
Donaldson was the SNP candidate opposing Sir
Alec Douglas-Home in the
Kinross and Western Perthshire by-election in November 1963, although he lost his
deposit there.
During his term of office the SNP began to perform credibly in elections, winning the 1967
Hamilton by-election, and polling more votes than any other party in the 1968 Scottish local authority elections. During his leadership, Donaldson stood as SNP parliamentary candidate for Kinross and Western Perthshire at the
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
and
1966 general elections.
This success, however, did not leave Donaldson without his critics, and at the 1967 SNP Annual Conference he faced
a leadership challenge from
Douglas Drysdale, which he comfortably defeated. In January 1969, Donaldson announced his intention to stand down from the SNP leadership. It was felt by a large number of party members that the SNP needed someone younger than Donaldson (then 68 years old) to lead the party.
However, following a number of requests from SNP branches and members that he reconsider his decision to resign so close to a forthcoming general election, he decided to put himself forward for re-nomination as leader at the 1969 SNP Annual National Conference. At conference in June of that year, the SNP's deputy leader,
William Wolfe
William Cuthbertson Wolfe (22 February 1924 – 18 March 2010) was a Scottish accountant, manufacturer and Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was the National Convenor (leader) of the SNP from 1969 to 1979, playing a central role in ...
,
was elected as leader by 544 votes to 238 for Donaldson.
He stood as SNP parliamentary candidate for
Galloway
Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway.
A native or ...
at the
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
general election, coming second. Donaldson remained active in the SNP at branch, constituency, and national level well into his eighties.
He died on 18 January 1993 at Forfar, aged 91.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaldson, Arthur
1901 births
1993 deaths
Leaders of the Scottish National Party
Writers from Dundee
People educated at Harris Academy
People detained under Defence Regulation 18B
Scottish journalists
Scottish National Party politicians
Journalists from Dundee
Politicians from Dundee
Scottish National Party parliamentary candidates