James Ross Finnie (born 11 February 1947) is a

Scottish Liberal Democrat The Scottish Liberal Democrats () is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, part of UK Liberal Democrats. The party holds 5 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, 6 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons and 86 of 1, ...

politician and a former

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...

(MSP). He is a former Minister for the Environment and Rural Development in the Scottish Executive, and

for the West of Scotland region. He became an MSP in the first elections to the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, and held the same ministerial portfolio until May 2007.

Background

Finnie was educated at Greenock Academy. Previously a self-employed chartered accountant and

financial adviser A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...

, he was a

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

Inverclyde Inverclyde (, , , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire, which ...

from 1977 to 1999. He also previously chaired the Scottish

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, before chairing the

Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats () is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, part of UK Liberal Democrats. The party holds 5 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, 6 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons and 86 of 1 ...

. In the 1979 general election he was the Liberal candidate in Renfrewshire West, and four years later he contested

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

Member of the Scottish Parliament

He stood for election to the

at the first elections in 1999. He came second in the Greenock and Inverclyde constituency, but was elected as an additional member for the West of Scotland region. He was re-elected to the Scottish Parliament in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. Following the 1999 election, the Scottish Liberal Democrats entered into a coalition agreement with the

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It is repres ...

, gaining two seats in the Scottish Cabinet. Finnie was appointed Minister for Rural Development in the first Scottish cabinet by then First Minister,

Donald Dewar Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish statesman and politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland, first minister of Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000 and leader of the Labour Par ...

Finnie retained his position in the Cabinet since 1999 until the Labour-Liberal Democrat government lost power in 2007, making him the longest-serving member of the Scottish cabinet, other than

Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as first minister of Scotland and leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister f ...

who was First Minister. One of the main events in Finnie's time as Minister for Environment and Rural Affairs was the outbreak of

foot and mouth Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious disease, infectious and sometimes fatal virus (biology), viral disease that primarily affects even-toed ungulates, including domestic and wild Bovidae, bovids. The vir ...

in the UK during 2001. Scotland was praised for its response and handling of the crisis. In January 2004, Finnie took a three-month absence from office to undergo heart bypass surgery and returned in April, after deputy minister Allan Wilson had fulfilled Finnie's ministerial duties. Finnie was unsuccessful in his bid to be re-elected in the

2011 Scottish Parliament election The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional M ...

, losing his seat after 12 years.

Leadership contest

On 7 July 2008, Ross Finnie announced his intention to stand in the election for leader of the

, following the resignation of

Nicol Stephen Nicol Ross Stephen, Baron Stephen (born 23 March 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning from 2005 to 2007. A member of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, he ...

MSP. On 26 August 2008, he was defeated by

Tavish Scott Tavish Hamilton Scott (born 6 May 1966) is a former Scottish politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland from 1999 to 2019, and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011. He stepped down as Lea ...

Controversies

In September 2002, Finnie apologised to Digby Jones, the director general of the

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a British business interest group, which says it represents 190,000 businesses. The CBI has been described by the ''Financial Times'' as "Britain's biggest business lobby group". Incorporated by roy ...

, after branding him an "English prat" at a dinner following a controversial speech by Mr Jones. Later that month, Finnie apologised for giving wrong information to the Scottish Parliament during a debate. He had told Parliament that sheep were no longer grazing on the banks of

Loch Katrine Loch Katrine (; or ) is a freshwater loch in the Trossachs area of the Scottish Highlands, east of Loch Lomond within the Stirling (council area), Stirling council area. It mostly lies within the Shires of Scotland, historic and registration c ...

, which provides

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

with its drinking water (a previous outbreak of the

cryptosporidium ''Cryptosporidium'', sometimes called crypto, is an apicomplexan genus of alveolates which are parasitism, parasites that can cause a respiratory and gastrointestinal illness (cryptosporidiosis) that primarily involves watery diarrhea (inte ...

bug in the Loch was believed to have been caused by livestock grazing at the Loch's shores). However, Scottish Water later contacted him to say that the sheep were still there and would not be removed until September 2007. Both the SNP and the

Scottish Conservatives The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Ki ...

made calls for Finnie to be sacked, although the First Minister,

gave him his support. In June 2006, Finnie cancelled a tender for a new fishery protection vessel for the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. The tender has been provisionally awarded to English firm Appledore, but Finnie claimed there was a "fatal flaw" in the tendering process which could have left the Executive liable for damages if the tender had proceeded. However, the '' Scotland on Sunday'' reported that a rival bidder,

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow (, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recent census in 2011 s ...

based Ferguson's was both in Finnie's constituency, and that he was a lifelong friend of the chief executive.

Water Industry Commission for Scotland

In December 2011, it was announced that he would become a non-executive member of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, taking up the position in July 2012.

Food Standards Scotland

In November 2014, his appointment as the chair of Food Standards Scotland was announced.

References

External links

*
Ross Finnie MSP
bio at Water Industry Commission for Scotland website {{DEFAULTSORT:Finnie, Ross 1947 births Living people Scottish Liberal Party councillors Scottish Liberal Democrat councillors Liberal Democrat MSPs Scottish accountants Ministers of the Scottish Government Politicians from Greenock Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011