2011 in Scotland

Incumbents

Monarch — Elizabeth II

First Minister and Keeper of the Great Seal — Alex Salmond

Secretary of State for Scotland — Michael Moore

Law officers

Lord Advocate — Elish Angiolini; then Frank Mulholland

Solicitor General for Scotland — Frank Mulholland; then Lesley Thomson

Advocate General for Scotland — Lord Wallace of Tankerness

Judiciary

Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General — Lord Hamilton

Lord Justice Clerk — Lord Gill

Chairman of the Scottish Land Court — Lord McGhie

January

1 January — The United Nations is to examine claims of ownership of the Scottish island of Rockall, after a request from Denmark, which has sovereignty over the neighbouring Faroes

1 January — A soldier serving with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders is killed in an explosion near to the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province, in Afghanistan

1 January — Approximately 140 people take part in the annual Loony Dook in the Firth of Forth, at South Queensferry

2 January — At the Old Firm game, Rangers and Celtic, represented by John Greig and Billy McNeill respectively, pay their respects to the 66 victims of the Ibrox Disaster in 1971

2 January — The Montenegrin Embassy in London writes to Labour leader Iain Gray, correcting factual inaccuracies and asking him to explain comments he made during First Minister's Questions in December 2010, about the country being involved in “war crimes", "ethnic cleansing” and "a United Nations peace-keeping mission"

2 January — The publishers of the Sunday Herald newspaper announce that it is to be relaunched as a weekly news magazine

3 January — Gary Anderson is the runner-up at the World Darts Championship

5 January — The Rosyth - Zeebrugge ferry service, the country's only direct ro-ro ferry route to mainland Europe, re-opens as a freight-only service

5 January — A rare bittern (Botaurus stellaris), which last bred in the country c. 1830, is sighted at RSPB Scotland's Insh Marshes nature reserve in Strathspey

18 January — The installation of replicas of the 37 Stirling Heads is completed at the King's Inner Hall at Stirling Castle

23 January — An earthquake measuring 3.5 magnitude is recorded at Glenuig, 25 miles (40 km) west of Fort William

25 January — Andy Gray is dismissed from Sky Sports

26 January — Tommy Sheridan is sentenced to 3 years in prison for lying on oath during the Sheridan v News International case in 2006

27 January — The Scotland Bill receives an unopposed second reading in the House of Commons, with the Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore describing the legislation as the largest transfer of fiscal powers from central Government since the creation of the United Kingdom.

27 January — A Tornado GR4 jet from RAF Lossiemouth ditches in Loch Ewe, with the 2 crew ejecting shortly before the crash

29 January — A climber survives after falling 1000 feet from Sgurr Choinnich Mor, part of the Grey Corries range in Lochaber

February

1 February — The University of the Highlands and Islands is granted full university status

March

27 March — United Kingdom Census

April

1 April — prescription charges abolished in Scotland

May

5 May — Elections are held for the Scottish Parliament together with the referendum on whether to adopt the Alternative Vote electoral system for elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

6 May —

The Scottish National Party secures election victory, winning an overall majority in the Scottish parliament elections.

Scottish Labour Party leader Iain Gray announces his resignation after his party loses key seats in constituencies across Scotland.

Voters reject proposals to introduce the alternative voting system in the UK.

7 May —

The Scottish National Party urges British Prime Minister David Cameron to amend the Scotland Bill to give the Scottish Parliament greater legislative powers.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott resigns after a collapse of his party's support at the Scottish Parliament election.

9 May — Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie announces her intention to step down from the role after the Party's poor results at the recent general election.

June

19 June — It is revealed that former Makar, Edwin Morgan, left the SNP almost £1m in his will.

21 June — Riverside Museum in Glasgow opened to the public.

July

1 July — The Labour Party's Iain McKenzie wins the Inverclyde by-election with a majority reduced from 14,416 in 2010 to 5,838.

27 July — Hacktivist Topiary (Jake Davis) is arrested on Yell, Shetland.

August

10 August — Police from Scotland are being sent to England to help combat riots and disorder.

31 August — Critics of the proposed £400M Aberdeen bypass, who have already delayed the project since it won approval in December 2009, decide to press ahead with a fresh legal challenge after a recent appeal at the Court of Session was rejected.

September

7 September — Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond unveils a legislative programme for the coming year which includes plans to create a single police force and a single fire service for Scotland.

21 September — Finance Secretary John Swinney announces his spending plans for the next three years in the context of cuts of more than £3bn in funding from the UK government.

October

12 October — Insurance companies fail in a legal bid to scrap the right of people in Scotland to claim damages for an asbestos-related condition that had been legislated for by the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act 2009.

13 October — BP has been given the go ahead to proceed with a new £4.5bn oil project west of the Shetland Islands.

20 October — A BBC Scotland investigation claims to have uncovered evidence of alleged criminality in the past business dealings of the new owner of Rangers, Craig Whyte.

25 October — Scottish gun crime falls to 32-year low.

26 October — Labour MP Ian Davidson, chairman of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee apologises for 'any offence that might have been caused' after SNP MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford accused him of threatening that she would get "a doing" if discussions from a behind-closed-doors meeting of the committee were leaked to the media.

27 October — Edinburgh City Council vote to proceed with plans for a Gaelic school in the city.

November

4 November — Newly elected MSP Ruth Davidson is announced as the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives.

6 November — A public opinion poll carried out for the BBC Politics Show indicates that devo-max was the most popular option with Scottish voters: 33% backed devo-max, 28% supported Scottish independence and 29% backed 'no further constitutional change'.

10 November — Alex Salmond wins the Herald's Scottish Politician of the Year award.

17 November — Alex Salmond is named The Spectator magazine's 2011 politician of the year.

21 November

Stena Line ro-pax ferry MS Stena Caledonia makes the operator's final entry into the port of Stranraer on passage from Belfast. Her replacement, MS Stena Superfast VIII, makes the first sailing from Loch Ryan Port, Old House Point, Cairnryan.

Euro Lottery win pair donate £1m to SNP independence bid.

30 November — Up to 300,000 public sector workers strike in Scotland over planned UK pension and job changes.

December

4 December — Two giant pandas arrive in Edinburgh from China

8 December — Police tell people not to travel as winds of up to 165 mph (264 km/h) affectd the country

14 December — New laws to tackle religious hatred and bigotry related to football are passed by the Scottish Parliament

17 December — MSP Johann Lamont is elected as the new Scottish Labour leader

22 December — For the first time, the Scottish Parliament votes to reject a Legislative Consent Motion, refusing to allow Westminster to apply parts of the Welfare Reform Bill to Scotland

Deaths

4 January — Gerry Rafferty (born 1947), singer-songwriter

11 January — Kenneth Stevenson (born 1949), Bishop of Portsmouth

22 January — Chandos Blair (born 1919) General Officer Commanding Scotland (1972–76)

24 January — Alec Boden (born 1925), footballer

24 January — Phil Gallie (born 1939), Conservative & Unionist MP and MSP

30 January — Ian R. Porteous (born 1930), mathematician

1 February — Len Fyfe (born 1941), Labour peer

1 February — Tom Jarvie (born 1916), footballer, veterinary surgeon and television personality

1 February — Derek Rawcliffe (born 1921), Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway (1981–1991)

10 February — Lynne Walker (born 1956), music and theatre critic

12 February — James Elliott (born 1928), theatre and television actor

21 February — Anne Mathams (born 1913), educationist and disability rights activist

22 February — Brian Bonsor (born 1926), composer and music teacher

10 March — Danny Paton (born 1936), footballer, who played for Heart Of Midlothian and Oxford United

11 March — David Brown (born 1941), international cricketer

13 March — Roy Flatt (born 1947), Dean of Argyll and the Isles (1999–2005)

31 March — Ishbel MacAskill (born 1941), singer

6 April — Jim Blair (born 1947), footballer

10 April — Jimmy Briggs (born 1937), footballer

11 April — Doug Newlands (born 1931), footballer

12 April — Ronnie Coyle (born 1964), footballer

20 April — Allan Brown (born 1926), football player and manager

28 April — Willie O'Neill (born 1940), footballer

30 April — Eddie Turnbull (born 1923), football player and manager

5 May — Tommy Wright (born 1928), footballer

7 May — Dougie McCracken (born 1964), footballer

9 May — David Cairns (born 1966), Labour MP

12 May — Noreen Murray (born 1935), professor of molecular genetics at the University of Edinburgh

14 May — Ernie Walker (born 1928), Scottish Football Association administrator

21 May — Gordon McLennan (born 1924), General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain (1975–1990)

27 May — Janet Brown (born 1923), actress, comedian and impressionist

8 June — John Mackenzie (born 1928), film director

23 June — Ronnie McCluskey (born 1936), footballer

26 June — Alan Rodger, Baron Rodger of Earlsferry, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

9 August — George Scott Wallace (born 1929), British Columbia physician and politician

23 November — Gerald Laing (born 1936 in England), pop artist and sculptor

5 December — Celia Whitelaw, Viscountess Whitelaw (born 1917), philanthropist

The Arts

c.19 January - Liz Lochhead becomes the second Scots Makar, the official national poet of Scotland

1 September — Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow renamed as the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Kevin MacNeil's novel A Method Actor's Guide to Jekyll and Hyde is published