First Minister of Scotland. Born in Irvine, McConnell was raised at Glenscorrodale on the Isle of Arran and educated at the Arran High School at Lamlash. He gained a teaching qualification at the University of Stirling and went on to teach mathematics. He served as a member of Stirling Council (1984-92), rising to become its leader in 1990 and then was appointed General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party (1992-8).
In 1999, McConnell was elected the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw. He was first appointed Finance Minister, then Education Minister, before becoming First Minister in 2001. He immediately held a press conference to admit to a past marital indiscretion. McConnell lost power to a Scottish National Party administration in 2007 and resigned as Labour leader. He was raised to the peerage in 2010 as Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale and was installed as Chancellor of the University of Stirling in 2018.
