On 11 October 2000, the inaugural

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs ...

Donald Dewar Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000. He previously served as ...

died, aged 63, while in office. Dewar's funeral took place on 18 October at the

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The cathedral was the seat of the Archbishop ...

and his ashes were scattered at

Lochgilphead Lochgilphead (; gd, Ceann Loch Gilb ) is a town and former burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, United Kingdom, with a population of around 2,300 people. It is the administrative centre of Argyll and Bute. The village lies at the end of Loch Gi ...

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. The day before his death, Dewar was admitted to the

Western General Hospital The Western General Hospital (often abbreviated to simply ‘The Western General’) is a health facility at Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian. History The hospital was designed by Peddie and Kinnear and opened as ...

in Edinburgh after suffering a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

which resulted in his death.

Health problems and death

Dewar underwent tests at

Stobhill Hospital Stobhill Hospital is an Ambulatory Care and Diagnostic Hospital, located in Springburn in the north of Glasgow, Scotland. It serves the population of North Glasgow and part of East Dunbartonshire. It is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. ...

which highlighted "minor irregularity" in his heart. In April 2000, he was admitted to the

Glasgow Royal Infirmary The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around , and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city cen ...

for tests on his heart. His personal spokesperson, David Whitton, stated "he is as concerned about his health as anyone else would be.". Although Dewar was not going under surgery, considerations over whether to cancel foreign trips to Japan were under close watch. The following month, tests revealed Dewar had a faulty aortic valve. He underwent a four hour heart operation to repair a leaking heart valve. Kenneth Davidson, who performed the surgery, said Dewar was making a "particularly speedy" recovery and described the operation as a success. Dewar was forced to take a three-month break and Deputy First Minister

Jim Wallace James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, (born 25 August 1954) is a Scottish politician serving as a Liberal Democrat life peer in the British House of Lords since 2007 and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland ...

took over as acting first minister. After returning to office, Dewar was described as being "visibly tired" and fears for his health at this stage are officially dismissed following a First Minister's Question Time. On 10 October 2000, Dewar sustained a harmless fall outside his official residence at

Bute House Bute House (Gaelic: ''Taigh Bhòid'') is the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland located within Charlotte Square in Edinburgh. Alongside two other personal offices at the Scottish Parliament Building and St. Andrew's House, ...

following a meeting of the Scottish Cabinet. He seemed fine at first, playing down its significance, but later that day suffered a massive

which was possibly triggered by the

anticoagulant Anticoagulants, commonly known as blood thinners, are chemical substances that prevent or reduce coagulation of blood, prolonging the clotting time. Some of them occur naturally in blood-eating animals such as leeches and mosquitoes, where the ...

medication he was taking following his heart surgery. David Whitton told a news conference: ''Mr Dewar being Mr Dewar, didn't want a fuss to be made. He said he was OK.'' At 7pm, five hours after his fall, Dewar was admitted to the

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

after his condition rapidly deteriorated. By 9pm, he was put on a life-support machine in the hospital's

intensive care unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensiv ...

. Dewar's condition worsened and he failed to regain consciousness. On 11 October at 12:18pm, Dewar was officially pronounced dead, aged 63.

Funeral

Dewar's funeral took place on 18 October 2000 at the

Reactions and aftermath

Dewar's death came as a shock to Scotland. UK Foreign Secretary described his death as "a tragedy for Donald and a tragedy for Scotland." Henry McLeish said: "this is a day of enormous sadness for Scotland and for me personally. Donald was devolution. The architect of the most successful constitutional change this century." Dewar was succeeded by

Henry McLeish Henry Baird McLeish (born 15 June 1948) is a Scottish politician, author and academic who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2001. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Fife from ...

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of '' ...

Guests

Royal family

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...

Duke of Rothesay Duke of Rothesay ( ; gd, Diùc Baile Bhòid; sco, Duik o Rothesay) is a dynastic title of the heir apparent to the British throne, currently William, Prince of Wales. William's wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, is the current Duchess of R ...

Heads of government

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

, and

Cherie Blair Cherie, Lady Blair, (; born 23 September 1954), also known professionally as Cherie Booth, is an English barrister and writer. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Tony Blair. Early life and education Booth ...

, Acting

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

(Irish Prime Minister) *

David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a British politician who was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He was ...

First Minister of Northern Ireland The First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland are the joint heads of government of the Northern Ireland Executive and have overall responsibility for the running of the Executive Office. Despite the different titles for the two ...

Politicians

* Members of the Scottish Executive Cabinet, including; **

Wendy Alexander Wendy Alexander (born 27 June 1963) is a retired Scottish politician and the former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Paisley North. She held various Scottish Government cabinet posts and was the Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland ...

Minister for Communities The Department for Communities (DfC, Irish: ''An Roinn Pobal'', Ulster Scots: ''Depairtment fur Commonities'') is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility f ...

Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning The Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning was a cabinet position in the Scottish Executive. The position was first created in the 1999 as part of the Dewar government and continued into the McLeish cabinet. Following the election of Jack ...

* Members of the

Cabinet of the United Kingdom The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of His Majesty's Government. A committee of the Privy Council, it is chaired by the prime minister and its members include secretaries of state and other senior ministers. T ...

, including; **

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

, and Sarah Brown **

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

John Swinney John Ramsay Swinney (born 13 April 1964) is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland since 2014 and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery since 2021. He was the Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 200 ...

Leader of the Scottish National Party The Leader of the Scottish National Party is the head of the SNP. The incumbent is Nicola Sturgeon who was elected unopposed in November 2014, succeeding Alex Salmond as party leader and First Minister of Scotland. History The post was offi ...

Charles Kennedy Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 1959 – 1 June 2015) was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 ...

Leader of the Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are a political party in the United Kingdom. Party members elect the leader of the Liberal Democrats, the head and highest-ranking member of the party. Liberal Democrat members of Parliament also elect a deputy leader of ...

Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a British former politician. As a member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn. He was the Leader of ...

, Former Leader of the Labour Party *

Menzies Campbell Walter Menzies Campbell, Baron Campbell of Pittenweem, (; born 22 May 1941), often known as Ming Campbell, is a British Liberal Democrat politician, advocate and former athlete. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Fife from ...

, Liberal Democrats

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

* James Douglas-Hamilton, Conservative Member of Parliament

Other dignitaries

* Ruth Wishart, Broadcaster and friend * Lord Robertson,

Secretary General of NATO The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff ...

Alastair Campbell Alastair John Campbell (born 25 May 1957) is a British journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster and activist known for his roles during Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party. Campbell worked as Blair's spokesman and campaign director ...

Downing Street Press Secretary The Downing Street Press Secretary is an adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on news media and how to manage the image of the British government to the press. The position is part of the Prime Minister's Office and involves using ...

Lord Hardie Andrew Rutherford Hardie, Baron Hardie, (born 8 January 1946) is a former Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and a former Lord Advocate, the country's senior Law Officer. He led the prosecution team i ...

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

John Monks John Stephen Monks, Baron Monks (born 5 August 1945) is a Labour Co-operative member of the House of Lords and former trade unionist leader, who served as the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the UK from 1993 until 2003. ...

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

(TUC)

References

{{Reflist Labour Party (UK) MPs First Ministers of Scotland Brain disorders Scottish politicians