Born in Annan, in Dumfries and Galloway, Wallace became MP for Orkney and Shetland in 1983, and joined the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as MSP for Orkney.
As deputy first minister, he covered Scotland’s top job on several occasions, including stepping in following the death of Donald Dewar and the resignation of Henry McLeish.
He stepped down as an MSP in 2007 and was appointed to the House of Lords.
He sat on Sir Kenneth Calman’s commission on devolution, which recommended extending Holyrood’s powers.
A popular Lib Dem figure, he campaigned with his successor Alex Cole-Hamilton as recently as 2024.
Wallace was brought up in the Church of Scotland – in which his accountant father was an elder – and religion and politics were inter-related interests and influences throughout his life.
In 2021, he took on the role of the moderator of the Church of Scotland.