Former presiding officer Sir George Reid dies

Sir George Reid, former President of Scottish Parliament, died at the age of 86.

Sir George had already made a long career as a prominent journalist and SNP politician before playing the role of presiding over the debate of Parliament in 2003.

He was first selected for Westminster in 1974, which was the seat as SNP MP for Clackmann and East Sterlingshire until 1979.

After working for the International Red Cross for 12 years, he returned to politics in 1995 and was elected to the Scottish Parliament after four years. He stood in 2007.

First minister John Swine paid tribute to Sir George, credited with him as one of the voices that brought him into politics as a teenager.

The SNP leader said that he was “unhappy with the loss of notable George Reid”.

Sir George was born in 1939 at Tullabody near Allloa in Clockmannshire.

He graduated from St. Andrews University and later studied international affairs, human laws and struggle solutions in the US, Switzerland and Sweden.

He worked as a reporter on the Daily Express in the 1960s and was later a TV manufacturer and presenter for both BBC and STV.

He became SNP MP in 1974 before losing his seat in 1979.

For 12 years between his time in Westminster and Holiroad, he worked worldwide in wars and disasters as the director of International Red Cross and Red Crescent in Geneva.

When the new Scottish Parliament was re -organized in 1999, Sir George was selected as MSP for Mid Scotland and Murali.

He stood as the first presiding officer of the new Parliament, beaten by a speaker in the House of Commons, but was beaten by veteran Leb Dame Sir David Steel.

However, Sir George resigned from his membership of SNP in 2003, so that he could be seen fair.

During his time as the presiding officer, he inspected the completion of the new Scottish Parliament House in Holiroad, which was opened in 2004.

Sir George was emotional about Clackmanshire, he said he could take back his ancestors back to 1650.

But along with dedication to the place of birth, he was always focused on international interests.

He also handled his work with senior editorial positions in both STV and Grenada along with Red Cross in Geneva.

Sir George, who was knight for the services of Scottish politics and public life in 2012, was on a record, saying that it was in his job in the Red Cross that he did “better than any other time in my life”.

He has escaped from his 57 -year -old wife, daughter Morg and her husband and five grandchildren.

Alison Johnstone, the current presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament, said: “He will be remembered not only to complete the Holiroad construction project, but also for the creation of trust and ambition in our youth parliament.

“A proud son of Clackmanshire and an internationalist by Outlook, he was firm to placing Holiroad on the map at home and abroad, and was very successful.

“By the time he left the post, Holiroad was established in the center of public life in Scotland and more than one lakh people visited themselves to see the new Parliament in action.”

In Holiroad, the flag has been launched as a mark of honor and a book of mourning will open soon in Holiroad and online.

The SNP leader said that the first minister John Swine said: “His passion for Scotland, his royal internationalist world attitude and his sympathy for people’s plight everywhere made him a voice, which could not be ignored in five decades.”

“As a journalist, in the 1980s, George Ethiopian was the creator of Michael Burke for the historical coverage of the famine, who inspired the band aid,” said Swine.

“As George’s specialty was, he could not only inspect and report. He always sought to make a difference in the Red Cross and Red Crescent in the 1980s and 1990s.”

He said: “Scotland, and the world, is rich in the life of George Reid and is poor to pass.”