Alexander MacEwen
{{short description|British politician}}
{{for-multi|the Scottish writer and minister|Alexander Robertson MacEwen|the British businessman in China|Alexander Palmer MacEwen|the Scottish footballer|Alexander McEwan (footballer)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Sir Alexander MacEwen
| image = File:Mcewan.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| order1 = Leader of the Scottish National Party
| term_start1 = 7 April 1934
| term_end1 = 1936
| predecessor1 = New office
| successor1 = Andrew Dewar Gibb
| birth_date = {{birth date|1875|1|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = Kolkata, British India
| death_date = {{death date and age |df=yes|1941|6|29|1875|1|10}}
| death_place = North Kessock, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland
| spouse = Mary Henderson (m. 1906–1941)
| children = 5
| party = Scottish National Party (1934–1941)
| otherparty = Liberal Party
Scottish Party
| alma_mater = University of Edinburgh
| profession = Solicitor
| honorific_prefix =
| birth_name = Alexander Malcolm MacEwen
}}
Sir Alexander Malcolm MacEwen (10 January 1875 – 29 June 1941){{cite web |url=http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_illustration.jsp?item_id=73140 |title=Sir Alexander Malcolm MacEwen |publisher=Am Baille |accessdate=16 May 2015 |archive-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006160642/http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_illustration.jsp?item_id=73140 |url-status=dead }} was a Scottish politician and solicitor who served as the inaugural leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 1934 to 1936.
Early life
Alexander Malcolm MacEwen was born on 10 January 1875 in Calcutta, India, the son of Robert Sutherland Taylor MacEwen (1839–1900), a barrister from Dornoch who served in India as the Recorder of Rangoon.{{Cite web|url=http://www.scottishhighlanderphotoarchive.co.uk/imageDetail.aspx?ID=10701|title=Scottish Highland Photo Archive - Image Detail|website=scottishhighlanderphotoarchive.co.uk}} MacEwen was educated at Clifton College, Bristol"Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p159: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948 and the University of Edinburgh. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1901, he began his legal career in Stornoway, before joining the Inverness legal firm of Stewart Rule & Co., where he later became senior partner.
Political career
A member of the Liberal Party, MacEwen was elected to Inverness Town Council in 1908, and served as Provost of Inverness 1925–1931. During his period in office, Provost MacEwen promoted schemes for the improvement of public health and housing in Inverness, and served as a member of the Inverness-shire Education Committee, and as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Northern Infirmary. He also served as a councillor on Inverness County Council, representing Benbecula.
He was Chief of the Gaelic Society in 1930.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gsi.org.uk/history-2|title=History 2|website=Gaelic Society of Inverness}}
In 1932 MacEwen was one of the founders of the Scottish Party, and in the 1933 Kilmarnock by-election he stood as the joint candidate of the Scottish Party and the National Party of Scotland, coming fourth with 6,098 votes.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=c6JAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i6UMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5777%2C447721 |title=Kilmarnock By-election Result. National Government Success. Mr Lindsay's majority over Labour candidate. Scottish National Champion Last |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=3 November 1933 |page=11 |accessdate=26 April 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/letters/focus-plus-ca-change-snp-and-rest-us-2467126 |title=Focus: Plus ça change… for SNP and the rest of us |work=The Scotsman|date=6 April 2009 |accessdate=10 June 2015}}
= Leadership of the Scottish National Party (1934–1936) =
With the merger of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party on 7 April 1934 to form the Scottish National Party, MacEwen became the new party's first leader.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sMpAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tqUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5004%2C1105135 |title=Union of Scots Parties. Opening Conference in Glasgow. New officials elected |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=9 April 1934 |page=14 |accessdate=25 April 2017}} The party's performance in the 1935 general election was disappointing with only Inverness and MacEwan in the Western Isles achieving respectable results.
MacEwen stood down as leader of the SNP in 1936, when he was succeeded by Andrew Dewar Gibb. He died at his home on the Black Isle in 1941, aged 66. MacEwen had three sons and two daughters. His son Malcolm joined the Communist Party of Great Britain and became a prominent conservationist.
Honours
He was knighted by King George V in the 1932 Birthday Honours for services to local government and public health in Scotland.{{cite news|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/14866/page/446 |title=Knighthood |work=The Edinburgh Gazette |date=3 June 1932 |issue=14866 |page=446 |accessdate=8 July 2016}} MacEwen Drive in Inverness is named after him.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FT5AAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aVkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5573%2C6139748 |title=Obituary: Alexander MacEwen. Advocate of Scottish Self-Government |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=30 June 1941 |page=6 |accessdate=16 April 2015}}
Publications
- The Thistle and the Rose - Scotlands Problem To-Day, 1932
- Scotland at School - Education for Citizenship, 1938
- Towards Freedom, 1938
References
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{{s-ppo}}
{{s-new | party }}
{{s-ttl
| title = Chairman (Leader) of the Scottish National Party
| years = 1934–1936
}}
{{s-aft | after = Andrew Dewar Gibb }}
{{s-end}}
{{SNP}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macewan, Alexander}}
Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Category:Leaders of the Scottish National Party
Category:People educated at Clifton College
Category:Politicians from Kolkata