George Henry Thompson (11 September 1928 – 23 December 2016) was a Scottish National Party politician and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

. He served as the

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 o ...

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 ...

from October 1974–79.

Early life

Thompson was born on 11 September 1928 in The Glenkens,

, Scotland. In the 1950s he went to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and studied at the Pontifical Scots College. After the death of his father, he returned to Scotland without completing his studies, then spent seven years working for the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

. He graduated from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and took up a position at

Kirkcudbright Academy Kirkcudbright Academy is a state funded, six-year secondary school in Kirkcudbright, Scotland with about 400 pupils and 87 staff including teaching, support and administration. Notable alumni *Jennie Adamson was a Labour Party politician in t ...

where he taught French and German.

Political career

Thompson stood as the SNP candidate for the Galloway constituency in the February 1974 United Kingdom general election but was unsuccessful. Another election was called later that year in October 1974, this time he gained the Galloway seat from the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

with a majority of 30 votes (0.1%). Following the election he was announced as the SNP's spokesperson on health. 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 so ...

but lost the seat to the Conservative

Ian Lang Ian Bruce Lang, Baron Lang of Monkton, PC DL (born 27 June 1940) is a British Conservative Party politician and Life Peer who served as the Member of Parliament for Galloway, and then Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, from 1979 to 1997. On 29 Sep ...

Priest

Following a return to teaching at Annan Academy, he resumed his clerical studies at St John's Seminary Wonersh, Surrey. In September 1989 he was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in St Teresa's, Dumfries, in 1989. He served as assistant in St Teresa's, Dumfries, as Parish Priest in St Margaret of Scotland in Irvine, and as parish priest in St Peter's,

Dalbeattie Dalbeattie (, sco, Dawbeattie, gd, Dail Bheithe meaning 'haugh of the birch' or ''Dail'' ''bhàite'' 'drowned (''i.e.'' liable to flood) haugh') is a town in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Dalbe ...

in 1993. He died aged 88 years, on 23 December 2016, at Senwick Nursing Home in

Borgue, Dumfries and Galloway Borgue (pronounced ; gd, Borgh) is a village and parish in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies 5 miles south-west of Kirkcudbright and 6 miles south of Gatehouse of Fleet. The name Borgue (recorded as ' ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, George 1928 births 2016 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Scottish National Party MPs Scottish Roman Catholic priests Scottish schoolteachers UK MPs 1974–1979