Roland Eugene Muirhead (24 July 1868 – 2 August 1964) was a Scottish businessman and

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. Muirhead was born in

Lochwinnoch Lochwinnoch (; sco, Lochineuch, gd, Loch Uinneach) is a village in the council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Lying on the banks of Castle Semple Loch and the River Calder, Lochwinnoch is c ...

, Renfrewshire, the second son of Andrew Muirhead, a businessman and owner of the Gryffe Tannery, and his wife, Isabella Reid. Roland was a member of the Young Scots' Society but left in 1914 due to

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

objections to Liberal Party support for Britain's involvement in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He became a member of the Independent Labour Party from 1918 but later left, becoming first chairman of the National Party of Scotland. He was on the left of 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) following its creation from the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party and served as president 1936 to 1950. He opposed

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. A letter to a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

agent, Dr Von Teffenar, was found at his home. In 1950, Muirhead formed the

Scottish National Congress The Scottish National Congress was a small Scottish nationalist campaign group, focussed on direct action. The group was founded in 1950 by Roland Muirhead and supporters including Oliver Brown, who became its first president.H. J. Hanham, ''Scot ...

, a direct action group focused on campaigning for

Scottish Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

. While remaining a leading member of the SNP, he devoted most of his time to the new group and, ultimately, the production of a proposed Scottish

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

. He died in 1964 and was buried at his home town of Lochwinnoch. In 1968 a plaque was unveiled at his former home in commemoration. Tom Johnston MP, a lifelong friend of Muirhead, and Labour Secretary of State for Scotland during the 2nd World War Coalition government, stated that Roland Muirhead was 'the greatest patriot which Renfrewshire has produced since William Wallace'

References

* * Kemp, Arnold, "Roland Muirhead's fight for a Scottish Parliament"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muirhead, Roland Eugene 1868 births 1964 deaths Presidents of the Scottish National Party Scottish National Party parliamentary candidates Scottish pacifists