Politician. Born in London, the son of a civil engineer, Darling was educated in Kirkcaldy and at Loretto School in Musselburgh, then read law at the University of Aberdeen. His great-uncle was Sir William Darling, who served as Conservative Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South (1945 - 1957). He served for a time as a solicitor, but was called to the Bar as an advocate in 1984. His political career began as a Councillor in 1982, serving on the former Lothian Regional Council. In 1987, he was elected to the Westminster Parliament representing Edinburgh Central, a seat which became Edinburgh South West after 2005.
He was appointed Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury by Tony Blair in 1996 and continued in this role following the landslide Labour victory the following year. He then occupied a succession of roles in Government; namely Secretary of State for Social Security (1998 - 2001), Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2001-02), Secretary of State for Transport (2002-06), Secretary of State for Scotland (2003-06), Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (2006-07) and finally Chancellor of the Exchequer (2007-10). The Labour Party lost power following the General Election of 2010, not least because of the economic downturn for which Darling received some criticism. Yet it became clear Darling took prompt action during the banking crisis of 2008 which prevented the situation becoming much worse. He negotiated a £1 trillion bail out of the UK banking industry, comprising cash injection and guarantees, which brought the effective nationalisation of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and the HBOS group. He briefly continued as Shadow Chancellor before returning to the back benches. He went on to lead Better Together and take a key role in the 'No' campaign during the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum.
Darling owned a cottage in Breaclete on Great Bernera in the Outer Hebrides, the island where his mother was raised. In 2015, he was raised to the peerage as Lord Darling of Roulanish on Great Bernera. He died in the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, and is remembered as a thoughtful, kind and considerate politician, who was an effective public servant.
