Lewis Macdonald

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Lewis Macdonald

| honorific-suffix =

| image = LewisMacdonaldMSP.png

| caption = Macdonald in 2018

| office = Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament

| termlabel = Interim

| alongside = Linda Fabiani and Christine Grahame

| 1blankname = {{nowrap|Presiding Officer}}

| 1namedata = Ken Macintosh

| term_start = 1 April 2020

| term_end = 14 May 2021

| successor = {{ubl|Annabelle Ewing|Liam McArthur}}

| office1 = Convener of the Health and Sport Committee

| term_start1 = 19 December 2017

| term_end1 = 4 May 2021

| predecessor1 =Neil Findlay

| successor1 = Gillian Martin

{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Parliamentary offices

|titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes

| office = Member of the Scottish Parliament
for North East Scotland
{{nobold|(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)}}

| term_start = 6 May 2011

| term_end = 5 May 2021

| office1 = Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Aberdeen Central

| term_start1 = 6 May 1999

| term_end1 = 6 May 2011

| predecessor1 = Constituency established

| successor1 = Kevin Stewart

}}

| office2 = Scottish Labour portfolios

| suboffice2 = Chief Whip of the Scottish Labour Party

| subterm2 = 2013–2014

| suboffice3 = Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Sport, Tourism and External Affairs

| subterm3 = 2016–2017

| birth_name = Roderick Lewis Macdonald

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|01|1|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Stornoway, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality =

| party = Scottish Labour

| spouse = Sandra Macdonald

| children = 2 daughters

| alma_mater = University of Aberdeen

| occupation =

| profession =

| cabinet =

| committees =

| religion =

| signature =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

Roderick Lewis Macdonald (born 1 January 1957) is a Scottish politician who was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the North East Scotland region between 2011 and 2021. A member of Scottish Labour, he previously represented the Aberdeen Central constituency from 1999 to 2011. He was a deputy Scottish Executive minister from 2001 to 2007.

Early life and career

Born in Stornoway, Macdonald moved with his family to Aberdeenshire as a child, and attended Inverurie Academy and later the University of Aberdeen. Macdonald received an MA in history and a PhD in African studies and later lectured at the university. He is a member of the trade union Unite.{{Cite web|url=https://www.parliament.scot/msps/currentmsps/99094.aspx|title=Personal Information|date=2018-01-18|website=www.parliament.scot|access-date=2020-04-02}}

Political career

File:LewisMacdonaldMSP20110510.JPGMacdonald unsuccessfully contested the Moray UK Parliament constituency at the 1997 general election. Prior to his election as an MSP, he worked as a parliamentary researcher to the MPs Frank Doran and Tom Clarke. After being elected in the 1999 Scottish Parliament election, Macdonald joined the Scottish Executive in March 2001. He was briefly Deputy Minister for Transport and Planning from March to November 2001. He then served as Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning, later renamed Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, from 2001 to 2004.{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msps/31736.aspx |title=Previous MSPs: Session 1 (1999–2003): Lewis Macdonald MSP |publisher=The Scottish Parliament |accessdate=28 June 2014}} He served as Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development from 2004 to 2005 and Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care from 2005 to 2007.{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msps/30626.aspx |title=Previous MSPs: Session 2 (2003–2007): Lewis Macdonald MSP |publisher=The Scottish Parliament |accessdate=28 June 2014}}

Between June 2013 and December 2014, Macdonald served as Scottish Labour Chief Whip. He has also led for Scottish Labour on enterprise and tourism, infrastructure, justice and energy.{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msps/26607.aspx |title=Previous MSPs: Session 3 (2007–2011): Lewis Macdonald MSP|date=26 April 2011 |publisher=The Scottish Parliament|accessdate=28 June 2014}} He has served as convener of the Health and Sport Committee from December 2017 to May 2021.{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msps/currentmsps/Lewis-Macdonald-MSP.aspx |title=Current MSPs: Lewis Macdonald MSP |publisher=The Scottish Parliament |accessdate=28 June 2014}} He became interim Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament in April 2020, following the self isolation of Christine Grahame during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,lewis-macdonald-elected-temporary-deputy-presiding-officer_15305.htm|title=Lewis Macdonald elected temporary Deputy Presiding Officer|last=Beaton|first=Ailean|date=2020-04-01|website=Holyrood Website|language=en|access-date=2020-04-02}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/north-east-msp-gains-new-role-in-scottish-parliament/|title=North-east MSP gains new role in Scottish Parliament|last=Hall|first=Jamie|date=2020-04-02|website=Evening Express|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-02}}

Macdonald nominated Anas Sarwar in the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election.{{Cite web|title=Scottish Leadership Election 2021 – Nominations|url=http://scottishlabour.org.uk/people/2021-leadership-election/nominations/|access-date=2021-01-26|website=Scottish Labour|language=en}} He stood down at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.{{Cite news|date=2021-04-07|title=Holyrood 2021 election: Which MSPs are standing down?|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-53903780|access-date=2021-08-09}}

Personal life

Macdonald is married to Sandra who has worked in the oil industry. Macdonald also has two children. Sandra was a member of the Aberdeen City Council in 2017.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-national-shambles-as-kez-suspends-no/150063934/ |title=Shambles as Kez suspends north east councillors |newspaper=The National |publication-place=Scotland |page=M2 |date=2017-05-18 |access-date=2024-06-25 |via=Newspapers.com}}