Gordon Stewart Murray (1927 – 1 February 2015) was a

Scottish nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, progressing into t ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Education

Gordon Murray studied at

Aberdeen Grammar School Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department. It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest grammar school ...

before becoming a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

and also maintaining a

croft Croft may refer to: Occupations * Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling * Crofting, small-scale food production * Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft Locations In the Uni ...

. He joined the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

at the age of 15,Brian Yule,
SNP couple rock their party
, '' Cumbernauld News'', 14 May 2003 and was elected to Dumbarton County Council in 1967.Scott Campbell,
Tributes to Cumbernauld’s former provost
", ''Cumbernauld Media'', 4 February 2015 He subsequently served on

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...

Burgh Council, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth District Council,

Strathclyde Regional Council Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc. ...

and, lastly,

North Lanarkshire Council North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...

. For much of this time, he served as Provost of Cumbernauld.

Career

He stood in

East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire ( sco, Aest Dunbartanshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Bhreatainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north of Glasgow and contains many of the affluent areas to the north of the city, including Bear ...

at the 1970 general election, taking 11% of the vote, then in

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

in October 1974, where he came a close second with 37%. He stood again in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, then in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, but never won a seat. In 2003, Murray left the SNP group on the council, along with his wife, Margaret, in protest at Andrew Wilson being placed well down the party's list for Central Scotland, and their belief that the SNP group on the council paid insufficient attention to Cumbernauld. They subsequently formed the Cumbernauld Independent Councillors Association, which he represented until 2012, when he retired due to ill health.Veteran councillor Gordon Murray set to stand down
, '' Cumbernauld News'', 10 February 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Gordon 1927 births 2015 deaths Scottish civil engineers People educated at Aberdeen Grammar School Scottish National Party councillors Date of birth missing Councillors in North Lanarkshire Politicians from Aberdeen Scottish National Party parliamentary candidates