Nicol Ross Stephen (born 23 March 1960) is the Deputy First Minister of Scotland, Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, and Member of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeen South. Image File history File links Nicol_stephen1. ... The Deputy First Minister of Scotland is, as the name suggests, the Deputy to the First Minister of Scotland. ... The incumbent, in politics, is the current holder of a political office. ... (Redirected from 23rd June) June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Right Honourable Jim Wallace QC (born August 25, 1954 in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway) is a Scottish politician, first leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, first Deputy First Minister of the Scottish Executive, and and Member of the Scottish Parliament for Orkney. ... For the national legislative body up to 1707, see Parliament of Scotland. ... Aberdeen South is a constituency represented in the Scottish Parliament. ... The incumbent, in politics, is the current holder of a political office. ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (127th in leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (83rd in leap years). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... The Deputy First Minister of Scotland is, as the name suggests, the Deputy to the First Minister of Scotland. ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic)1 Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. ... Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) (Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba (BPA) in Gaelic) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. ... For the national legislative body up to 1707, see Parliament of Scotland. ... Aberdeen South is a constituency represented in the Scottish Parliament. ...

Stephen became an MSP in the first elections to the Scottish Parliament in 1999, later holding Deputy Minister positions for: Enterprise and Lifelong Learning; Education, Europe and External Affairs; and Education and Young, followed by a cabinet position as Minister for Transport in the Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition. He became Deputy First Minister upon the resignation of his predecessor Jim Wallace in 2005, and led his party in the 2007 election, where they won 16 seats (down one on 2003). For the national legislative body up to 1707, see Parliament of Scotland. ... The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on May 6th, 1999. ... The Right Honourable Jim Wallace QC (born August 25, 1954 in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway) is a Scottish politician, first leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, first Deputy First Minister of the Scottish Executive, and and Member of the Scottish Parliament for Orkney. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Scottish Parliament general election, 2007 concerns the third general election to the Scottish Parliament, which will be held on May 3, 2007. ... The polling date for the second Scottish Parliament election was held on May 1, 2003. ...

Background and family life

Born in Aberdeen^[1], he was educated at Robert Gordon's College in Aberdeen and at the University of Aberdeen, where he obtained an LLB in 1980. He then took his Diploma in Legal Practice at Edinburgh University and worked for a number of years as a solicitor before moving into corporate finance as a senior manager with Deloitte & Touche. This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... Robert Gordons College (known by the acronym RGC) is a private co-educational day school in Aberdeen, Scotland. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... The University of Aberdeen was founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland. ... The degree of Bachelor of Laws is the principal academic degree in law in most common law countries. ... The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583 as a renowned centre for teaching in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (branded as Deloitte) is one of the largest professional services firms in the world, and one of the Big Four auditors, along with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and KPMG. In addition to its accounting practice, Deloitte is one of the largest business advisory firms in the world, providing...

He was a former Chair of CREATE (a group campaigning for rail electrification between Aberdeen and Edinburgh); a chairperson of STAR (Save Tor-na-Dee Hospital and Roxburghe House); and the founder and director of Grampian Enterprise.

He is married with 3 children. ^[2]

Early political career

He was elected to Grampian Regional Council in 1982 (as Scotland's youngest councillor) and was Chair of Grampian's Economic and Planning Committee from 1986 to 1991. Grampian (Roinn a Mhonaidh in Gaelic) was a local government region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. ...

He was briefly a Member of Parliament for the Kincardine and Deeside constituency, elected in the November 1991 by-election following the death of Conservative and Unionist Alick Buchanan-Smith. He was a member of the Liberal Democrat treasury team and spokesperson on small business during his time in the House of Commons. The seat returned to the Conservative and Unionists at the 1992 general election, when it was won by George Kynoch. The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Kincardine and Deeside was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1997. ... The Conservative Party is one of the two largest political parties in the United Kingdom and the most successful party in political history based on election victories. ... Rt Hon. ... This is a list of members of Parliament elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in the United Kingdom in the 1992 general election, for the Fifty First Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... George Alexander Bernard Kynoch (born 7 October 1946), is a British Conservative politician. ...

He later stood for the Aberdeen South constituency in the 1997 election for Aberdeen South, but was defeated by the Scottish Labour candidate.^[3] The 1 May 1997 UK general election brought the first change in UK Government for 18 years. ...

Scottish Parliament

Minister and Deputy Minister roles

Stephen was elected as MSP for Aberdeen South in the first elections to the Scottish Parliament. He later helped negotiate the Partnership Agreements for the coalition government with the Labour Party.^[4] Aberdeen South is a constituency represented in the Scottish Parliament. ... The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on May 6th, 1999. ...

He later served in the Scottish Executive as Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning^[5] (1999 to 2000), then as Deputy Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs (2000 to 2001)^[6], and as Deputy Minister for Education and Young People (2001 - 2003). The Executives logo, shown with English and Scottish Gaelic caption The term Scottish Executive is used in two different, but closely-related senses: to denote the executive arm of Scotlands national legislature (i. ...

Following the 2003 election, he was appointed Minister for Transport. During his time in this post, he was responsbile for approving the controversial M74 extension.^[7]. The polling date for the second Scottish Parliament election was held on May 1, 2003. ... The M74 is a major road in Scotland. ...

Deputy First Minister

Following the resignation of Jim Wallace in May 2005 as leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Stephen announced his intention to stand for the leadership.^[8] He defeated rival candidate, Mike Rumbles, who advocated ending the coalition agreement with the Scottish Labour Party, winning 76.6%, becoming the Deputy First Minister on June 23, 2005.^[9] Following his leadership victory, a mini reshuffle of the Scottish cabinet, saw him take on the role of Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning.^[10] The Right Honourable Jim Wallace QC (born August 25, 1954 in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway) is a Scottish politician, first leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, first Deputy First Minister of the Scottish Executive, and and Member of the Scottish Parliament for Orkney. ... Mike Rumbles (born 10 June 1956) is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and Member of the Scottish Parliament for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine. ... The Deputy First Minister of Scotland is, as the name suggests, the Deputy to the First Minister of Scotland. ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

External links

• Nicol Stephen | Scottish Liberal Democrats Nicol Stephen's personal website
• Nicol Stephen MSP official biography at the Scottish Parliament website
• Scottish Executive