John Farquhar Munro (

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

: ''Iain Fearchar Rothach''; 26 August 1934 – 26 January 2014) was a

Scottish Liberal Democrat The Scottish Liberal Democrats ( gd, Pàrtaidh Libearal Deamocratach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Leeberal Democrats) is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 o ...

politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Ross, Skye and Inverness West from 1999 until his retirement in 2011. Previously a

crofter A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural are ...

and a local

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

for 33 years, he was first elected to the Scottish Parliament at the 1999 election. Running against him for

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

was

Donnie Munro Donnie Munro (Scottish Gaelic: Donaidh Rothach /dɔnɪ rɔhəx/) (born 2 August 1953) is a Scottish musician, and former lead singer of the band Runrig. A native speaker of Scots Gaelic, much of his work is in that language. Early life Munro ...

, former member of the band

Runrig Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. From its inception, the band's line-up included songwriters Rory Macdonald and Calum Macdonald. The line-up during most of the 1980s and 1990s (the band's most succe ...

, but Munro won by 1,539 votes. He was one of three Lib-Dem MSPs to oppose his party's coalition with the Labour Party (along with Keith Raffan and

Donald Gorrie Donald Cameron Easterbrook Gorrie OBE (2 April 1933 – 25 August 2012) was a Scottish Liberal Democrat The Scottish Liberal Democrats ( gd, Pàrtaidh Libearal Deamocratach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Leeberal Democrats) is a liberal, federalist ...

) and has deviated from the Executive on a number of issues (such as

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

, on which he believes they are not moving quickly enough). He was prominent within the parliament in opposing the

Skye Bridge The Skye Bridge ( gd, Drochaid an Eilein Sgitheanaich) is a road bridge over Loch Alsh, Scotland, connecting the Isle of Skye to the island of Eilean Bàn. The name is also used for the whole Skye Crossing, which further connects Eilean Bàn ...

tolls, to the extent of threatening to resign from the Lib Dems if they were not removed. The tolls were abolished in December 2004. As befitted one of the few native

speakers in the Scottish Parliament he co-sponsored (along with the Scottish National Party's Michael Russell) a bill to secure the language's status as being equal to

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. He was angry when the Labour-Liberal Scottish Executive refused to back it. He was re-elected to the Scottish Parliament at the 2003 election with an increased share of the vote. After the 2007 election he was the oldest MSP in Holyrood. He stepped down as an MSP at the 2011 Scottish Parliament general election, at which time his constituency was abolished. In a surprise move Munro expressed support for

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...

in the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections. He was a keen player and supporter of the sport of shinty, supporting local side Kinlochshielbr>John Farquhar Munro, Ardelve
He died at his home on 26 January 2014.

References

External links

*
John Farquhar Munro MSP
profile at the site of Scottish Liberal Democrats

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munro, John Farquhar 1934 births 2014 deaths People from Skye and Lochalsh Liberal Democrat MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 People educated at Plockton High School Shinty players