1999 in Scotland
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See also: | List of years in Scotland Timeline of Scottish history 1999 in: The UK • England • Wales • Elsewhere Scottish football: 1998–99 • 1999–2000 1999 in Scottish television |
Events from the year 1999 in Scotland
Incumbents
- Monarch – Elizabeth II
- First Minister and Keeper of the Great Seal – Donald Dewar (from 17 May 1999)
- Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – Donald Dewar until 17 May; then John Reid
Law officers
- Lord Advocate – Lord Hardie
- Solicitor General for Scotland – Colin Boyd
- Advocate General for Scotland – Lynda Clark
Judiciary
- Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Rodger of Earlsferry
- Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Cullen
- Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord McGhie
Events
- 7 February – Sunday Herald newspaper is launched.
- 12 February – scientists at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen reinforce warnings that genetically modified food may be damaging to the human body.[1]
- 31 March – Buchanan Galleries shopping mall opened to the public in Glasgow city centre.
- 6 May – Scottish Parliament general election, 1999: the first elections to the new Scottish Parliament.
- 7 May – no party wins overall majority in the first general election to the Scottish Parliament. The Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats agree to form a coalition government, with Donald Dewar as the First Minister of Scotland.
- 12 May – the Scottish Parliament meets in Edinburgh for its first session in the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland on the Royal Mile.
- 31 May – the Orkney island of Papa Stronsay is purchased by The Transalpine Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, a traditionalist Catholic religious institute which will establish Golgotha Monastery there.[2]
- June – Scotland's first Gaelic-medium primary school, Glasgow Gaelic School (Bunsgoil Ghàidhlig Ghlaschu), opens.
- 11 June – fire at Garnock Court (flats), Irvine with one fatality.
- 1 July – formal transfer of powers from Westminster to the new Scottish Parliament.
- 4 August – George Robertson, MP for Hamilton South, appointed as Secretary General of NATO.
- 9 August – Charles Kennedy, MP for Ross, Cromarty and Skye, elected leader of the Liberal Democrats (UK).[3]
- 23 September – Hamilton South by-election results in Labour's Bill Tynan holding the UK parliament seat by 556 votes in the face of a 22.6% swing to the SNP.
- 17 November – the Scotland national football team fail to qualify for UEFA Euro 2000 after a 2–1 aggregate defeat by England in the qualifying playoff round.
- 2 December – the 'Heart of Neolithic Orkney' is designated as a World Heritage Site.
- The last Elder of the Glasite Church dies in Edinburgh.
Deaths
- 11 January – Naomi Mitchison, novelist (born 1897)
- 30 January – Mick McGahey, Communist miners' leader (born 1925)
- 9 August – Cliff Hanley, writer (born 1922)
- 11 September – Janet Adam Smith, writer and mountaineer (born 1905)
- 1 October – Lena Zavaroni, entertainer (born 1963)
See also
References
- ^ "1999: Scientists highlight hazards of GM food". BBC News. 12 February 1999.
- ^ "A brief history of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer". Golgotha Monastery Island. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ^ "1999: Kennedy wins Lib Dem leadership". BBC News. 9 August 1999. Retrieved 13 February 2008.