Jack McConnell

He is a UK Ambassador for Action for Children; a Fellow of the 48 Group Club, which promotes relationships between the United Kingdom and China and an Ambassador for Pump Aid. On 8 March 2012, Optical Express announced the appointment of Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale joining the Board as non executive director. He was a non executive director at DCM (Optical Holdings) from 2011 to 2015. As of 30 November 2018 McConnell holds the position of Chancellor at the University of Stirling.

On 28 June 2010, he was created a life peer as Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, of the Isle of Arran in Ayrshire and Arran, and was introduced in the House of Lords the same day. In August 2010 he announced that he would not be seeking re-election to the Scottish Parliament.

McConnell was widely predicted to take the position of British High Commissioner to Malawi when it became vacant in 2009, having taken an interest in the development of the country during his time as First Minister. In August 2007, he was appointed an adviser to the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative in Malawi and Rwanda, and in October 2008, he was appointed by Gordon Brown as the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Conflict Resolution Mechanisms, a position which ceased following the 2010 General election.

The Scottish Parliament elections of 3 May 2007 saw McConnell re elected as the MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw with a majority of 5,938 votes, representing 48% of the vote with a turnout of 50.3%. The Labour Party was defeated by the SNP with the SNP winning 47 seats to Labour's 46, leaving the SNP short of an overall majority in the Parliament.

On 15 August 2007, McConnell announced his intention to resign as Scottish Labour Leader. He continued to sit as the MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw until the 2011 Election. On 28 May 2010, it was announced that McConnell would be made a life peer and enter the House of Lords as a working peer on behalf of the Labour Party.

In February 2002, Scotland joined forces with the Republic of Ireland in a bid to host the 2008 European Football Championship. McConnell was initially unconvinced that it was worth spending around £100 million on the tournament, but he later put his support behind the joint bid with the Irish. Although the bid lost out to Austria/Switzerland, McConnell later supported other attempts to land major supporting events including London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games and Glasgow's bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. In December 2002, McConnell launched his government's campaign against sectarianism.

Henry McLeish resigned as First Minister on 8 November 2001 over the Officegate Scandal, regarding the sub let of his constituency office. In the resulting search for a leader, McConnell was seen by many political analysts as the likely successor.

McConnell quickly emerged as the only candidate, and was elected First Minister by the Parliament on 22 November 2001 and formally appointed into office by Queen Elizabeth II on 26 November 2001. As a result of his becoming First Minister, he was appointed to the Privy Council.

A few days after his appointment, on 27 November 2001, McConnell carried out a reshuffle of the Cabinet, axing four Ministers: Angus MacKay, Sarah Boyack, Tom McCabe and Jackie Baillie, and demoting Susan Deacon (she later resigned rather than accept the new post offered to her).

In November 2001, as he prepared to succeed Henry McLeish, he told a media conference some details regarding an extra marital affair that he had been involved in seven years previously. McConnell is married to Scottish cultural administrator and current Chief Executive Officer of Glasgow City Council quango Glasgow Life, Bridget McConnell.

On 11 October 2000, Donald Dewar died of a brain haemorrhage. After the Labour leadership intervened to stop the Enterprise Minister Henry McLeish being appointed Dewar's successor without a vote, McConnell stood in the leadership contest. The election was held on Saturday 21 October, only 72 hours after Dewar's funeral, and the surprise result saw McConnell defeated with 36 votes to Henry McLeish's 44 votes.

In August 2000, prior to Jack McConnell's appointment as Education Minister, Scotland's national exams system was plunged into chaos when 5,000 students got the wrong exam results. Immediately following his appointment as Education Minister Jack McConnell appointed a new board for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and introduced significant changes to the way the agency worked. The marking of the 2001 exams was a success. He introduced a new pay and conditions package for Scottish teachers and the largest ever investment in schools buildings. He also established the Scottish government's first external relations and European strategy.

After the death of Donald Dewar whilst he was First Minister of Scotland in October 2000, McConnell ran for First Minister, but was narrowly defeated by Henry McLeish who became the second First Minister of Scotland. In the office of First Minister, McLeish then appointed McConnell to the post of Minister of Education, Europe and External Affairs.

McConnell became an MSP in the inaugural elections to the Scottish Parliament in 1999, later holding the positions of Finance Minister, and Education Minister. He was elected First Minister following the resignation of his predecessor Henry McLeish, and led the Scottish Labour Party to its second election victory in the 2003 Election.

McConnell was elected an MSP in the first Scottish Parliament elections in 1999. He was appointed Minister for Finance in the new Scottish Executive by then First Minister Donald Dewar. One of his first moves as Finance Minister was to establish the budgeting procedures for the new Scottish Executive, including publishing a consultation document asking the public and MSPs how the budget should be spent. His department also passed the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 through Parliament, which set out the finance and auditing procedures of the Executive.

His major breakthrough was in his handling of the 1997 General Election success, where Labour attained a large overall majority victory over the Conservatives. Together the Scottish Labour Party, the Scottish Liberal Democrats, and the Scottish National Party eliminated every seat the Conservatives held in Scotland. In 1998, he served as a member of the Scottish Constitutional Convention where he pioneered the Scottish devolution referendum success, establishing the Scottish Parliament.

As General Secretary, he managed the Labour Party's successful YES YES devolution referendum campaign in 1997. Following the successful devolution campaign and the creation of a Scottish Parliament, McConnell was elected as an MSP, for Motherwell and Wishaw, in the first Scottish Parliament in May 1999.

As a strong proponent of Scottish devolution, McConnell helped push for reform. Between 1989 and 1998 he was a member of the Scottish Constitutional Convention, where he was playing an important role in the creation of the Scotland Act, which created a Scottish Parliament for the first time.

McConnell's political career began with his election to Stirling District Council. McConnell served on the council for eight years, while retaining his job at Lornshill. He served as Treasurer from 1988 until 1992, and was the Leader of the council from 1990 to 1992. McConnell became the General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party in 1992.

McConnell was born in Irvine, Ayrshire brought up on a sheep farm near Lamlash on the Isle of Arran, and educated at Arran High School. He went on to study at the University of Stirling, graduating with a BSc Dip Ed. He was also President of the Students' Association. After graduating in 1983 he began work as a mathematics teacher at Lornshill Academy in Alloa, Clackmannanshire (a position he retained throughout his subsequent council service).

Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, PC (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician and a Labour life peer in the House of Lords. He was the First Minister of Scotland from 2001 to 2007. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1999 to 2011.