Jim Wallace, Lord Wallace of Tankerness, 1954 - 2026

EMBARGO: Immediate Release 

The Liberal Democrats are in mourning this evening following the passing of Jim Wallace, Lord Wallace of Tankerness, the former Deputy First Minister of Scotland and a towering figure of modern Scottish liberalism.

Ed Davey MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, said:

“Jim Wallace devoted his life to public service, his Christian faith and the cause of liberalism. He was a tireless champion for the Northern Isles, Scotland and our United Kingdom.

“Jim was the first Liberal Democrat MP I ever met, gave me my first job in the party and has been a good friend ever since. He was an incredible constituency MP and an inspiration to so many as Deputy First Minister. Our whole Liberal Democrat family will miss him dearly, and we hold his family in our thoughts and prayers tonight.”

Lord Jeremy Purvis, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, said: 

“Our whole group is devastated to have lost Jim as a greatly valued colleague and friend. He was a wise and principled parliamentarian and one of the most significant Scottish politicians of his generation, with an enormous legacy. He was a mentor and an inspiration to so many, including me. Anyone who knew him was blessed and we are very lucky to have had him among us.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors: 

Jim Wallace was born in Dumfriesshire and educated at Annan Academy before attending Cambridge and Edinburgh universities. He was called to the bar in 1979, practising mainly in civil law cases, and became a QC in 1997.

Jim was elected to parliament in 1983 as MP for Orkney & Shetland, succeeding Jo Grimond, and held the seat for 18 years, earning a formidable reputation as a diligent constituency champion and a respected voice at Westminster. After becoming leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in 1992, he led the party through the Scottish devolution referendum in 1997, having also been a member of the Scottish Constitutional Convention which created the blueprint for devolution and a Scottish Parliament.

Upon the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, Jim was elected as MSP for Orkney and became Deputy First Minister of Scotland, serving in government from 1999 to 2005. He became acting First Minister while Donald Dewar underwent heart surgery in April 2000, after Dewar’s death in October 2000 and again following the resignation of Henry McLeish in 2001.

He also held the roles of Minister for Justice and later Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, playing a central role in the early years of devolution and helping to shape Scotland’s modern political settlement. He also established a world-leading freedom of information regime.

He entered the House of Lords in 2007 as Lord Wallace of Tankerness, where he remained an authoritative and thoughtful contributor on constitutional, legal and Scottish affairs, including serving five years as Advocate General for Scotland.

Jim also served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 2021 to 2022.