McConnell, Jack (1960– )

Scottish Labour politician, first minister of the Scottish Executive and Labour Party leader in Scotland 2001–2007. He was general secretary of the Scottish Labour Party 1992–98 and successfully coordinated Labour's Scottish devolution referendum campaign in 1997. After the first elections to the Scottish Parliament in 1999, he became Scotland's finance minister. His first bid for the party's leadership, when Donald Dewar died unexpectedly in 2000, was unsuccessful, and he became education minister. When he contested again for the party leadership in 2001, he was selected unchallenged. In the May 2007 elections to the Scottish Parliament, the Labour Party was defeated narrowly by the Scottish National Party, and in August McConnell resigned as leader.

Born in Irvine, McConnell was raised on a sheep farm on the Isle of Arran and studied education at Stirling University, before working as a maths teacher 1983–92. Politically active from his time at university, he was a district councillor in Stirling 1984–92.

He was seen as representing a new breed of Scottish politician, who had always lived and worked in Scotland and did not have Westminster connections.