Ernest Macalpine "Mac" Armstrong (born 3 June 1945) is a general practitioner and former

Chief Medical Officer for Scotland In the United Kingdom, a Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is the most senior government advisor on matter relating to health. There are four CMOs in the United Kingdom who are appointed to advise their respective governments: * His Majesty's Governm ...

Early life

Armstrong was born in

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scot ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

to Mary Brownlie McLean ( Macalpine) and Ernest Armstrong. He was educated at the former

Hamilton Academy Hamilton Academy was a school in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The school was described as "one of the finest schools in Scotland" in the Cambridge University Press County Biography of 1910, and was featur ...

. He then studied at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

obtaining a first class honours

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemic ...

in 1968, before then graduating in 1970 with a

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into specia ...

with Honours.

Career

Armstrong was a lecturer in

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

from 1971–74 at the University of Glasgow. In 1974, he began training as a general practitioner (GP), then, in 1975, took up a position as a principal GP in a practice in

Connel Connel ( Gaelic: ''A' Choingheal'') is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is situated on the southern shore of Loch Etive. The Lusragan Burn flows through the village and into the loch. The most noticeable feature in the village is Conne ...

Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. In 1989, he was elected to the post of chairman of the Scottish GP Committee of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

(BMA). He then became chair of the BMA's Scottish Council and then deputy chair of the BMA's General Medical Services Committee (GMSC). In 1993 he was appointed Secretary to the BMA. In this role he made efforts to develop relations between the healthcare professions. In 2001, Armstrong was appointed

succeeding Sir David Carter. During his time as CMO he had to deal with a decline in the uptake of the

MMR vaccine The MMR vaccine is a vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles), abbreviated as ''MMR''. The first dose is generally given to children around 9 months to 15 months of age, with a second dose at 15 months to 6 years of age, w ...

and the subsequent rise in cases of measles. He also considered the impact of lifestyle choices that was affecting Scotland's population. He spoke in favour of a complete ban on smoking in public places and urged the Scottish Executive to take the lead and introduce legislation to this effect. He served as Chief Medical Officer until 2005.Frost’s Scottish Who’s Who – Ernest Armstrong
Retrieved 27 October 2010 He is chair of Alcohol Focus Scotland. In April 2016 Armstrong publicly cancelled his membership of the BMA citing his disapproval of the strike action taken by junior doctors in England in response to a disputed new contract of employment being imposed. Armstrong is a Fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located o ...

; Fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, is an institute of physicians and surgeons in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by Peter Lowe after receiving a royal charter by James VI in 1599, as the Glasgow Faculty, it originally exis ...

; Fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...

; Fellow of the

Royal College of General Practitioners The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is the professional body for general (medical) practitioners (GPs/ Family Physicians/ Primary Care Physicians) in the United Kingdom. The RCGP represents and supports GPs on key issues including ...

and Fellow of the

Faculty of Public Health The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) is a public health association in the United Kingdom established as a registered charity. It is the standard setting body for public health specialists within the United Kingdom, setting standards for training ...

Honours

Armstrong was invested as

Companion of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as ...

in 2005. He was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ( ...

degree by the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Ernest Macalpine (Mac) 1945 births Living people 20th-century Scottish medical doctors 21st-century Scottish medical doctors People educated at Hamilton Academy Alumni of the University of Glasgow Chief Medical Officers for Scotland Companions of the Order of the Bath Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of General Practitioners