Name Hamish Watt Role Scottish Politician | ||
 | ||
Died April 12, 2014, Portgordon, United Kingdom | ||
Education University of St Andrews | ||
Hamish Watt (27 December 1925 – 12 April 2014) was a Scottish politician, farmer and writer. He was the SNP MP for Banffshire 1974–1979 and was later Rector of the University of Aberdeen and a Councillor.
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Early life
He was born on 27 December 1925 in Keith, Scotland. The son of William Watt and Caroline Allan, he was educated at Keith Grammar School and at the University of St Andrews. and was involved in dairy and sheep farming and other business interests.
Political career
He contested Caithness and Sutherland as the Conservative candidate in 1966. He then switched to the Scottish National Party (SNP), contesting Banffshire in 1970.
He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Banffshire seat in the Feb 1974 general election, holding it until the 1979 election. He was one of 11 SNP MPs elected in 1974. In October, he was announced as the SNP's spokesperson on agriculture and fisheries. Later in this parliamentary session he spent two years as the party's chief whip. After a boundary change, he was unsuccessful SNP candidate for Moray in 1983.
He was later a Regional and District Councillor with Moray District Council and Grampian Regional Council from 1985–90 (including serving as Chairman of the Grampian Education Committee from 1986–90). He sought reselection as a SNP candidate in the Grampian region, but was turned down by the party.
In 1999, he stood as an independent candidate for Gordon but finished fifth.
Other
He was Rector of the University of Aberdeen from 1985–88. Latterly he was a newspaper columnist, after-dinner speaker and author. He was parodied as "Hamish Banff" in the 7:84 theatre company's play Little Red Hen.
Family
His daughter Maureen Watt became an MSP in 2006, and his grandson Stuart Donaldson (Maureen's son) was elected in 2015 as the MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine.
Awards and honours
He was awarded an honorary LLD by the University of Aberdeen in 1988.
He died aged 88 at his home in Portgordon on 12 April 2014.