Jack McConnell

The Right Honourable The Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale PC
Official House of Lords portrait, 2019
First Minister of Scotland
In office 27 November 2001 – 16 May 2007
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Deputy	Jim Wallace Nicol Stephen
Preceded by	Henry McLeish[a]
Succeeded by	Alex Salmond
Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland
In office 22 November 2001 – 15 August 2007
Deputy	Cathy Jamieson
UK party leader	Tony Blair Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Henry McLeish[b]
Succeeded by	Wendy Alexander[c]
Ministerial offices Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs In office 26 October 2000 – 22 November 2001 First Minister Henry McLeish Preceded by Sam Galbraith Succeeded by Cathy Jamieson Minister for Finance In office 19 May 1999 – 26 October 2000 First Minister Donald Dewar Jim Wallace (Acting) Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Angus MacKay
Parliamentary offices Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal Assumed office 28 June 2010 Life peer Member of the Scottish Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw In office 6 May 1999 – 22 March 2011 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by John Pentland
Personal details
Born	Jack Wilson McConnell (1960-06-30) 30 June 1960 (age 64) Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland
Political party	Scottish Labour
Spouse	Bridget McConnell ​ (m. 1990)​
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Stirling
Profession	Mathematics teacher
Cabinet	First second
Signature

Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, PC (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as first minister of Scotland and leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister for Finance from 1999 to 2000 and Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs from 2000 to 2001. He has been a Labour life peer in the House of Lords since 2010 and previously served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1999 to 2011. McConnell held the Presidency of the Conference of European Regions with Legislative Power (REGLEG) during November 2003 to November 2004.^[1]

Born in Irvine, Ayrshire, McConnell studied at the University of Stirling and worked as a mathematics teacher at Lornshill Academy. His political career began when he was elected to Stirling District Council, while he was still teaching. He served as a member of the Scottish Constitutional Convention, having campaigned in favour of a Scottish Parliament in the 1997 devolution referendum. Elected to serve as an MSP for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency in the 1999 Scottish Parliament election, McConnell was appointed Minister for Finance under the Donald Dewar government. After Dewar's death in 2000, he ran unsuccessfully for the leadership of the Labour Party in Scotland, having been defeated by Henry McLeish. McLeish appointed McConnell as Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs.

In 2001, McLeish resigned in the aftermath of the Officegate scandal and McConnell was elected unopposed as the Scottish Labour leader. He was appointed First Minister on 22 November 2001, becoming the youngest office holder. As first minister, he implemented a ban on smoking in public places, signed a Co-operation Agreement with Malawi, and successfully bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games to be hosted in Glasgow. In the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, the Labour Party in Scotland became the second largest party, with the SNP having one seat more. This therefore lead to McConnell losing office, becoming the first (and as of 2025, only) First Minister to have been defeated in office, and as of 2025, the last Labour First Minister of Scotland in office.

After losing office as first minister, McConnell sat as the Leader of the Opposition in Holyrood, until his resignation as leader. He sat as a backbencher and stood down as an MSP in the 2011 election. In 2010, McConnell became a member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. He made a commitment to continuing his work to tackle poverty in Africa and to develop the relationship between Scotland and Malawi.^[2]

This article is part of a series about Jack McConnell
1997 referendum Scottish Labour Scottish devolution MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw Minister for Finance (1999–2000) 1999 election Dewar government Minister for Education (2000–2001) McLeish government 2000 SQA examinations controversy First Minister of Scotland (2001–2007) Premiership International visits First Ministry Commonwealth Games bid Second Ministry 2003 election Scotland Malawi Partnership Fresh Talent Initiative Smoking Act 2005 Leader of the Opposition (2007–2011) 2007 election
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