Jim Wallace, Baron Wallace Of Tankerness
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James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, (born 25 August 1954) is a Scottish politician serving as a Liberal Democrat
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
in the
British House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest extant institutions in the world, its origi ...
since 2007. He served as the
Deputy First Minister of Scotland The deputy first minister of Scotland is the second highest minister in the executive branch of the Scottish Government, after the First Minister of Scotland, first minister of Scotland. The post-holder deputises for the first minister during ...
from 1999 to 2005, and during that time he served twice as acting
First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...
, in 2000, in the aftermath of
Donald Dewar Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish statesman and politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland, first minister of Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000 and leader of the Labour Par ...
's death and in 2001, following
Henry McLeish Henry Baird McLeish (born 15 June 1948) is a Scottish politician, author, academic and former professional footballer who served as first minister of Scotland from 2000 to 2001. With a term of 1 year, 12 days, he is the shortest serving holder ...
's resignation. He was formerly Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 2005 and Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
from 2013 to 2016. Wallace also served as the
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...
from 2021 to 2022. Wallace served as a Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Orkney and Shetland from
1983 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 TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
to
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
and a
Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...
(MSP) for
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
from
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
to
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
. He also served as
Advocate General for Scotland His Majesty's Advocate General for Scotland is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, whose duty it is to advise the The Crown, Crown and His Majesty's Government on Scots law. The Office of the Advocate General for Scotland is a Departments o ...
from 2010 to 2015. He was the Moderator of the General Assembly of the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
from 1 May 2021 to 23 May 2022.


Early life and education

Wallace was born in Annan in
Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...
, Scotland, and grew up there. He has a brother, Neil. As a boy, his first interest in
politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
was stoked when he collected autographs from politicians visiting the local area: he still possesses one from
Tam Dalyell Sir Thomas Dalyell, 11th Baronet ( ; 9 August 1932 – 26 January 2017), known as Tam Dalyell, was a Scottish politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Linlithgow (formerly West Lothian) from 1962 to 2005. A member of the Labour ...
, with whom he later served in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
. Wallace was educated at
Annan Academy Annan Academy is a secondary school in Annan, in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The present school is the result of an amalgamation in 1921 of the original Annan Academy and Greenknowe Public School, although its history goes back to the 17th ...
, a state secondary school in his hometown of Annan. Following school, he was accepted by
Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of ...
, where he obtained a joint BA degree in
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
and
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
. From there he returned to Scotland to study law at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
, graduating with an LLB degree in 1977. Based in Edinburgh, he practised as an
advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...
at the Scottish Bar, mostly in civil law cases.


Political career


Member of Parliament (UK)

Wallace joined the then-
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
in the early 1970s, but did not become very active in it until after completing his second degree. His first foray as a parliamentary candidate was in the
constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
of
Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...
in 1979, where he failed to win. He also stood, unsuccessfully, as the Liberal candidate in the South of Scotland constituency at the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
elections of that year. Four years later, he would earn the Liberal nomination for the seat of Orkney and Shetland, the seat being vacated by former party leader Jo Grimond, and won election to the
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. At the time, it was extremely rare for Liberal candidates to successfully win elections to succeed former Liberal MPs, although many have since done so. He was to serve as the MP there for 18 years, occupying a number of front bench posts for the Liberal Party (and, from 1988 onwards, the Liberal Democrats), including Employment spokesman and Chief Whip. In 1992, he was unopposed in becoming the new leader of the
Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats () is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, part of UK Liberal Democrats. The party holds 5 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, 6 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons and 86 of 1 ...
, succeeding
Malcolm Bruce Malcolm Gray Bruce, Baron Bruce of Bennachie, (born 17 November 1944) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Gordon from 1983 to 2015 and was the chairman of the International Development Select Commit ...
. Scottish politics at this time was dominated by the question of constitutional reform. There were few opportunities for legislation affecting Scots Law to be debated or effectively scrutinised at Westminster and, especially after the 1987 election, with only ten
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
MPs in Scotland but with a large majority in the House of Commons, it was argued that there was a democratic deficit in Scotland. He led the Scottish Liberal Democrats in the first election to the new Scottish Parliament in
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, himself winning the constituency of Orkney with 67% of the votes cast. This meant he served as a Member of both the Scottish and Westminster Parliaments for a time with a
dual mandate A dual mandate occurs when an official serves in or holds multiple public positions simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain, double-dipping in the United States, and ''cumul des mandats'' in France. Thus, if ...
, although like other MPs elected to Holyrood (such as
John Swinney John Ramsay Swinney (born 13 April 1964) is a Scottish politician who has served as First Minister of Scotland, first minister of Scotland since 2024. Swinney has served as Leader of the Scottish National Party, leader of the Scottish National ...
, John Home Robertson and Donald Gorrie) he stood down from Westminster at the 2001 general election.


Member of the Scottish Parliament

As expected, the proportional election system for the new Scottish Parliament meant that Labour failed to gain an outright
majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...
in the first elections. Their leader,
Donald Dewar Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish statesman and politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland, first minister of Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000 and leader of the Labour Par ...
, chose to seek a formal
coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...
government with a working majority rather than try to operate as a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
.


Deputy First Minister

He contacted Wallace and a week of formal negotiations were held between the two parties' representatives, following which a partnership agreement was signed, committing both parties to support a negotiated joint agenda. Wallace became Deputy First Minister and
Minister for Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
, and maintained these briefs throughout the first term of the Parliament. The decision to enter a coalition government with Labour was controversial at the time. British politicians were unaccustomed to coalition politics, and the Liberal Democrats came under fire from Conservative and SNP opponents who claimed they had 'sold out' their principles. Key to this criticism was the Labour policy of making students pay tuition fees, which the Liberal Democrats had promised to abolish as their price of entering a coalition, but which became merely the subject of an inquiry as the coalition was formed. In the event, the Liberal Democrats did insist on the abolition of tuition fees after the inquiry reported in 2001, but in 1999, the delay was perceived to have been a compromise, and Wallace in particular became the focal point for extremely bitter criticism. Despite this, and other difficult moments, he and his party stayed firm and remained in power. Wallace established himself as a minister.


Acting First Minister

On three occasions over the first term of the Parliament, he became Acting First Minister: twice in 2000 due to at first the illness, and later the death, of the first First Minister
Donald Dewar Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish statesman and politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland, first minister of Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000 and leader of the Labour Par ...
, and then again in 2001, after the resignation of Dewar's successor as
First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...
,
Henry McLeish Henry Baird McLeish (born 15 June 1948) is a Scottish politician, author, academic and former professional footballer who served as first minister of Scotland from 2000 to 2001. With a term of 1 year, 12 days, he is the shortest serving holder ...
. Each occasion lasted for only a few weeks. Under his continued leadership, the Scottish Liberal Democrats' popularity grew steadily. After leading the party through the second Holyrood elections in 2003 Elections, again winning 17 MSPs but with a higher share of the vote, he led the party into a second coalition with Labour. The 2003 coalition negotiation process was widely seen as a more successful enterprise by the Liberal Democrats than the preceding one, with key aspects of Labour's proposals on
anti-social behaviour Anti-social behaviours, sometimes called dissocial behaviours, are actions which are considered to violate the rights of or otherwise harm others by committing crime or nuisance, such as stealing and physical attack or noncriminal behaviours s ...
dropped or limited, and with the promise of
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
for Scotland's 32 local councils. Wallace remained as Deputy First Minister, but left the Justice brief, becoming instead the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning.


Resignation and peerage

On 9 May 2005, following the 2005 General Election, Wallace announced his intention to stand down as party leader and Deputy First Minister. He would remain as MSP for
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
until the 2007 election, but would serve his time out as a
backbencher In Westminster system, Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no Minister (government), governmental office and is not a Frontbencher, frontbench spokesperson ...
. He ceased to be an MSP with the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament on 2 April 2007. On 13 September 2007, it was announced that he was to be appointed to the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. He was subsequently created a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
on 17 October 2007 taking the title Baron Wallace of Tankerness, ''of Tankerness in
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
''. Wallace also received an Honorary Doctorate from
Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...
in 2007 On 28 April 2008, it was announced that the new Lord Wallace would be a member of the Commission on Scottish Devolution, chaired by Sir Kenneth Calman, established by the Scottish Parliament to consider the future powers of the Parliament, including powers over finance. This is a distinct exercise from the SNP Government's
national conversation The National Conversation was the name given to the Scottish Government's public consultation exercise regarding possible future changes in the power of the devolved Scottish Parliament and the possibility of Scottish independence, a policy obje ...
. In November 2008, Wallace received a lifetime achievement award in the Scottish Politician of the Year Awards. In May 2010, he was appointed Advocate General for Scotland, one of the
Law Officers of the Crown The law officers are the senior legal advisors to His Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom and devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They are variously referred to as the Attorney General, Solicitor General, Lord Ad ...
, who advise the government on Scots law. He was elected unopposed, as the leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords on 15 October 2013, replacing Lord McNally, who had stepped down earlier in the month. In September 2016, he stepped down as the Leader of the Liberal Democrat in the House of Lords, citing a desire to step back from "frontline" politics stating "I was first elected to the House of Commons 33 years ago. For 28 of these years, I have been on the frontline, including sixteen years in a leadership role, here in the Lords and in Scotland."


Honours and awards

In 2018 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...
.


Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

A longstanding Elder of the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
at St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, he was nominated and appointed to be
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...
for 2021–2022. It is highly unusual for a lay person to be nominated as Moderator, predecessors being Alison Elliot in 2004 and
George Buchanan George Buchanan (; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth-century Scotland produced." His ideology of re ...
in 1567.


Personal life

Wallace married Rosemary (née Fraser) a speech therapist in 1983, who he calls "Rosie". The couple have two daughters: Helen and Clare. He has two sons-in-law, Andrew and James, two granddaughters, Catriona and Ella and one grandson, Adam. Wallace is an elder of the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
, attending
St Magnus Cathedral St Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. Originally Roman Catholic, it is the oldest cathedral in Scotland and the most northerly cathedral in the ...
in
Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...
,
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
. He is a Vice President of the
National Churches Trust The National Churches Trust, formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, is a British Charitable organization#United Kingdom, registered charity whose aim is to "promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community ...
.


See also

* List of Scottish Executive Ministerial Teams


References


External links

* * *
The Constant Face of Devolution
BBC profile, 9 May 2005 , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Jim 1954 births Living people People from Annan, Dumfries and Galloway Nobility from Dumfries and Galloway People educated at Annan Academy Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Edinburgh School of Law Advocates general for Scotland Elders of the Church of Scotland Deputy first ministers of Scotland Justice ministers of Scotland Leaders of the Scottish Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Liberal Democrat MSPs Scottish Liberal Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Orkney and Shetland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Ordained peers Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs Scottish King's Counsel UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 People associated with Orkney Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Life peers created by Elizabeth II Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland