Hamish Watt (27 December 1925 – 12 April 2014) was a Scottish politician, farmer and writer. He was the SNP MP for

Banffshire Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray ...

from 1974 to 1979, and was later

Rector of the University of Aberdeen The Lord Rector of the University of Aberdeen is the students' representative and chairman in the University Court of the University of Aberdeen. The position is rarely known by its full title and most often referred to simply as "Rector". The r ...

and a councillor.

Early life

He was born on 27 December 1925 in

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

, Scotland. The son of William Watt and Caroline Allan, he was educated at

Keith Grammar School Keith Grammar School is a secondary school in, Moray, Scotland. It was built in 1965 by the Educational Committee of Banffshire County Council. the school roll was 450 pupils. It is administered by the Moray Council Education and Social Care Depa ...

and at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, and was involved in dairy and sheep farming and other business interests.

Political career

He contested

Caithness and Sutherland Caithness and Sutherland was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was c ...

as the

Conservative 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 i ...

candidate in 1966. He then switched to 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 ...

(SNP), contesting

in 1970. He was elected as

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 ...

(MP) for the Banffshire seat in the Feb 1974 general election, holding it until the 1979 election. He was one of 11 SNP MPs elected in 1974. In October, he was announced as the SNP's spokesperson on agriculture and fisheries. Later in this parliamentary session, he spent two years as the party's chief whip. After a boundary change, he was the unsuccessful SNP candidate for

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

in the 1983 UK general election. He was later a regional and district councillor with Moray District Council, and

Grampian Regional Council Grampian ( gd, Roinn a' Mhonaidh) 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. (Scotland) Act 1994. The region t ...

from 1985 to 1990 (including serving as chairman of the Grampian Education Committee from 1986 to 1990). He sought reselection as an SNP candidate in the

Grampian region Grampian ( gd, Roinn a' Mhonaidh) 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. (Scotland) Act 1994. The region to ...

, but was turned down by the party. In the

1999 Scottish Parliament election The first election to the devolved Scottish Parliament, to fill 129 seats, took place on 6 May 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parliam ...

, he stood as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate for

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

, but finished fifth.

Later life

He was Rector of the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

from 1985 to 1988. Latterly, he was a newspaper columnist,

after-dinner speaker Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech delive ...

and author. He was parodied as "Hamish Banff" in the 7:84 theatre company's play ''Little Red Hen''.

Honours

Watt was awarded an honorary LLD by the

in 1988.

Personal life

His daughter,

Maureen Watt Maureen Elizabeth Watt (born 23 June 1951) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and former Minister for Mental Health in the Scottish Government. She was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) representing the constituency of ...

, became an MSP in 2006, and his grandson,

Stuart Donaldson Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson (16 December 1812 – 11 January 1867) was the first Premier of the Colony of New South Wales. Early life Donaldson was born in London, England. He entered his father's firm at the age of 15 and was sent first t ...

, (Maureen's son) was elected in 2015 as the MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine. Watt died aged 88, at his home in

Portgordon Portgordon, or sometimes Port Gordon, ( gd, Port Ghòrdain) is a village in Moray, Scotland, south-west of Buckie. It was established in 1797 by Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon as a fishing village. It had a population of 844 at the time ...

, on 12 April 2014.Death notice
'' Press and Journal'', 14 April 2014.

Obituary
''The Telegraph'', 14 April 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, Hamish 1925 births 2014 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies People from Keith, Moray Scottish National Party MPs Alumni of the University of St Andrews Scottish columnists Rectors of the University of Aberdeen Scottish National Party councillors UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 Politics of Moray Scottish Conservative Party parliamentary candidates 20th-century Scottish businesspeople