Alexander McDonald (5 November 1937 – 17 March 2016) was a Scottish

minister of the Church of Scotland A Church of Scotland congregation is led by its minister and elders. Both of these terms are also used in other Christian denominations: see Minister (Christianity) and Elder (Christianity). This article discusses the specific understanding of ...

who served as the

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...

from 1997 to 1998.

Biography

McDonald was born in

Bishopbriggs Bishopbriggs (; ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the northern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. Shires of Scotland, Historically in Lanarkshire, the area was once part of ...

in 1937, the son of Jessie (known as Jeanette) Helen Low and Alexander M. McDonald. He worked in the timber industry in the 1950s, prior to

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. He studied at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

before training for the ministry at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. Following theological studies in the 1960s, his first position after completing his studies was in the rural Church of Scotland, in

Longriggend Longriggend is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, with a population of approximately 200. Geography It is situated on moorland 8 km north-east of Airdrie, in the parish of New Monkland. It is roughly halfway between Upperto ...

, north

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

, he served as minister at St David's Parish Church,

Bathgate Bathgate ( or , ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Linlithgow, Livingston, and West Calder. A number of villages fall under ...

(19681974), then at St Mark's Parish Church, Ralston (19741988) and then as General Secretary of the Church of Scotland's Board of Ministry until he retired in 2002. He was

from 1997 to 1998. His formal title (following the end of his Moderatorial year) was

The Very Reverend The Very Reverend (abbreviated as The Very Revd or The Very Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. The definite article "t ...

Dr. Alexander McDonald.

Television career

In the early 1980s, he co-presented the

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now legally known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchisee for Central Belt, Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation si ...

religious magazine programme ''That's the Spirit!'' and was also interviewed on ''VIP'', also an STV religious show. His role as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland meant he was one of the public figures who led tributes to

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

upon her death in 1997 in a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

broadcast. In May 2008, he made a non-speaking cameo appearance in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' episode " The Unicorn and the Wasp", playing the part of a footman alongside his son

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

. They also appeared together on an episode of celebrity ''

Ready Steady Cook ''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...

''. He was one of the interviewees for his son's Special Recognition Award at the

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and begun in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted o ...

in 2015, during which Tennant dedicated his award to his father.

Personal life

McDonald was married to Helen (daughter of former footballer

Archie McLeod Archibald McAlo McLeod (15 May 1908 – 14 November 1990) was a Scottish footballer who played in the forward position. Career McLeod signed for Partick Thistle from Parkhead Juniors (where he had been capped for the Scotland Juniors team) in ...

) for over 40 years until her death on 15 July 2007. They had three children: a daughter named Karen, and two sons, Blair and

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

. In a 2015 interview, he disclosed that he was terminally ill with

pulmonary fibrosis Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory ...

, a degenerative lung condition. In the same interview, he spoke in support of "right to die" campaigns. McDonald died on 17 March 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Alexander 1937 births 2016 deaths 20th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Davison–Tennant family Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland People from Bishopbriggs 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Alumni of the University of Glasgow