Member of the Scottish Parliament for Highlands and Islands (1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
In office 6 May 1999 – 31 March 2003
Member of the European Parliament for Highlands and Islands
In office 10 June 1979 – 13 June 1999
Preceded by
Constituency established
Succeeded by
Constituency abolished
Member of Parliament for Moray and Nairn
In office 28 February 1974 – 7 April 1979
Preceded by
Gordon Campbell
Succeeded by
Alexander Pollock
Member of Parliament for Hamilton
In office 2 November 1967 – 29 May 1970
Preceded by
Tom Fraser
Succeeded by
Alexander Wilson
Personal details
Born
Winifred Margaret Woodburn
(1929-07-10)10 July 1929 Glasgow, Scotland
Died
21 June 2023(2023-06-21) (aged 93) Bridge of Weir, Scotland
Political party
SNP
Spouse
Stewart Martin Ewing
(m. 1956; died 2003)
Children
3, including Fergus and Annabelle
Alma mater
University of Glasgow
Profession
Solicitor
Winifred Margaret EwingFRSA (née Woodburn; 10 July 1929 – 21 June 2023) was a Scottish politician, lawyer and figure within the independence movement who served as President of the Scottish National Party from 1987 to 2005. Ewing was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Highlands and Islands from 1999 to 2003 and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the equivalent seat from 1979 to 1999. She was also a member of the British House of Commons for Hamilton from a 1967 by-election until 1970, and for Moray and Nairn from 1974 to 1979.
Born and raised in Glasgow, Ewing studied law at the University of Glasgow, where she joined the university's Scottish Nationalist Association. After graduating, she worked as a lawyer, serving as Secretary of the Glasgow Bar Association from 1962 to 1967. Ewing was elected to the House of Commons in the 1967 Hamilton by-election and her presence at Westminster led to a rise in membership for the SNP, from her quote; "stop the world, Scotland wants to get on". Although she lost her seat in the 1970 UK election, she was re-elected in February 1974, this time for the Moray and Nairn constituency. Ewing lost her seat in the 1979 election and, after making numerous attempts to seek re-election, she failed to do so.[1]
Ewing was elected to the European Parliament in the 1979 elections, representing the Highlands and Islands. In the parliament, she acquired the nickname Madame Écosse (French for 'Mrs Scotland') because of her advocacy of Scottish interests at Brussels. In 1987, she became the President of the Scottish National Party, succeeding Ian Hudghton. She served as Vice President of the European Radical Alliance and by 1995 had become Britain's longest serving MEP. In the first elections to the Scottish Parliament, she was elected to serve as an MSP for Highlands and Islands. As the oldest qualified member, it was her duty to preside over the opening of the Scottish Parliament.
^"Biography of Winnie Ewing". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
then its successor seat Inverness and Nairn. Ewing is the son of the veteran Scottish nationalist WinnieEwing, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP)...
brother, Fergus Ewing, is also an MSP in the Scottish Parliament, and their mother, WinnieEwing, previously served as an MSP, MP and MEP. Ewing was born on...
has had continuous parliamentary representation in Westminster since WinnieEwing won the 1967 Hamilton by-election. With the establishment of the devolved...
appointed Regan as the Minister for Community Safety, succeeding Annabelle Ewing. In April 2019, Regan was one of 15 SNP politicians who signed a public...
Journal. D. C. Thomson & Co. 31 March 1990. Ewing, Winnie (2004). Stop the world: the autobiography of WinnieEwing. Edinburgh: Birlinn. p. 216. ISBN 1-84158-239-5...
Fergus Ewing in 1983, who is the son of WinnieEwing and who also became a Member of the Scottish Parliament. Her sister-in-law Annabelle Ewing is also...
Fergus Ewing, daughter in law to fellow MP/MSP WinnieEwing and sister in law to Annabelle Ewing. WinnieEwing was the Member of Parliament for Hamilton 1967–70...
Hudghton was elected as President of the SNP, following the retirement of WinnieEwing. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural SNP Annual...
world to hold a commercial pilot's licence. Winifred Ewing (1929–2023), commonly known as WinnieEwing, a prominent Scottish National Party (SNP) politician...
Commons 1945 Robert McIntyre 1967 WinnieEwing 1970 Donald Stewart 1973 Margo MacDonald 1974 Douglas Crawford Margaret Ewing Douglas Henderson Iain MacCormick...
first time on 12 May 1999 and began its first session with SNP member WinnieEwing stating "the Scottish Parliament, adjourned on 25th day of March in the...
and Buchan from 1987 to 2010. In 1990, he successfully defeated Margaret Ewing in the SNP leadership contest. Salmond led the party through the first election...
Changed Everything (2015) Stop the World: The Autobiography of WinnieEwing by WinnieEwing (2004) The Dream Shall Never Die: 100 Days that Changed Scotland...
Conservative Margaret Ewing East Dunbartonshire 1974 Norman Hogg Labour George Thompson Galloway 1974 Ian Lang Conservative WinnieEwing Moray and Nairn SNP...
formation in the 1960s. Prominent former members of GUSNA have included WinnieEwing, Neil MacCormick (son of John MacCormick), Mhairi Black, and former First...
State for Scotland, First Minister Pearse Doherty – Sinn Féin politician WinnieEwing – Scottish National Party MP, MEP and MSP Margaret Ferrier – Scottish...
North) James Hamilton, Marquess of Hamilton (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) WinnieEwing (Hamilton), by-election win Gwynfor Evans (Carmarthen), by-election win...
Parliament. Wife of fellow MSP Fergus Ewing. Daughter-in-law of WinnieEwing. Sister-in-law of Annabelle Ewing. She was made a life peer as Baroness Hayman...
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