![\"George](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2.77618232.jpg\")
Sir George returned to Holyrood last year for the 25th anniversary of its opening (Jeff J Mitchell\/PA)<\/p>\nHe died in the early hours of Tuesday at Strathcarron Hospice near Denny, just a few miles from where he was born in Clackmannanshire.<\/p>\n
Sir George began his career as a journalist and was first elected as an SNP MP for Clackmannan and Eastern Stirlingshire in 1974, serving in the House of Commons before narrowly losing at the 1979 election.<\/p>\n
He then returned to journalism, becoming the producer who brought the world pictures of the Ethiopian famine in 1984 alongside presenter Michael Buerk, which sparked the Band Aid and Live Aid concerts.<\/p>\n
Sir George later took on a role with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent.<\/p>\n
Sir George returned to Holyrood last year for the 25th anniversary of its opening (Jeff J Mitchell\/PA)<\/p>\n
It was not until the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 that he returned to the political frontline as an MSP for the Mid Scotland and Fife region, and he then won the Ochil seat in 2003.<\/p>\n
He became the second presiding officer following the 2003 poll \u2013 after losing his bid to be the first in 1999 to Sir David Steel.<\/p>\n
Sir George oversaw the final stages of the then controversial new Holyrood building at the foot of the Royal Mile and the move from the Parliament\u2019s initial home on the Mound.<\/p>\n
In late June, Sir George was diagnosed with metastatic kidney cancer \u2013 having previously had successful surgery for bladder cancer more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n
His family said he was working until his final few weeks at Stirling University, where he was a professional teaching fellow and was well enough to drive home through the Clackmannanshire area where he was born and represented in two different legislatures.<\/p>\n
He is survived by Daphne, his wife of 57 years, daughter Morag and her husband, and five grandchildren.<\/p>\n
Flags at the Scottish Parliament he helped to complete have been lowered as a mark of respect, current Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone announced.<\/p>\n
First Minister John Swinney led tributes to Sir George, crediting him as being one of the voices that brought him into politics as a teenager.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am desperately saddened by the loss of the remarkable George Reid,\u201d the First Minister said in a statement on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis passion for Scotland, his principled internationalist world view, and his empathy for the plight of people everywhere made him a voice that could not be ignored across five decades.<\/p>\n
![\"George](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2.72739873.jpg\")
Sir George, pictured in 2023, served as both an MP and MSP (Jane Barlow\/PA)<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an MP, he was a trailblazing member of the SNP\u2019s breakthrough victories of 1974. He became, for me, one of the compelling voices of the campaign for a Scottish Parliament in 1979.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis was one of the voices that brought me into politics and kindled my belief in independence that has driven my adult life. I feel so privileged to have been shaped by his influence and inspiration.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeorge was a founding member of the Scottish Parliament. More than that, after Holyrood\u2019s difficult early years, he put aside party and provided emphatic national leadership as the presiding officer, ending the controversies over the new building and cementing the institution\u2019s place in modern political life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout it all, his articulation of the case for Scotland deciding her own future was as compelling to me when I sat with him in his home just four short weeks ago, as it was when I was a teenager.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Swinney said Scotland, and the world, \u201cis richer for the life of George Reid and poorer for his passing\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cMy thoughts and deepest condolences are with Dee, his family, his many friends and all whose lives were enhanced by knowing George Reid.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"George](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2.2013028.jpg\")
Sir George pictured at his desk in Holyrood in 2004 (PA)<\/p>\n
Ms Johnstone said: \u201cOn behalf of all at the Scottish Parliament, I express our deepest sadness at the death of our second presiding officer, the Rt Hon Sir George Reid.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll be remembered not only for bringing the Holyrood construction project to completion, but for building confidence and ambition in our young Parliament.<\/p>\n
\u201cA proud son of Clackmannanshire and an internationalist by outlook, he was determined to put Holyrood on the map at home and abroad, and very much succeeded.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the time he left office, Holyrood was established at the centre of public life in Scotland and over a million people had visited to see for themselves the new Parliament in action.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe story of devolution and the early years of our Parliament will remember George fondly and with gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
SNP depute leader Keith Brown \u2013 who won Sir George\u2019s seat after his decision to stand down in 2007 \u2013 said the former presiding officer\u2019s contribution to Scotland was \u201cprofound\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWe extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. Scotland has lost a great public servant, and the SNP mourns the passing of one of our own with both sadness and gratitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeorge Reid\u2019s life and legacy will endure in our Parliament, in our politics, and in the continuing journey toward the fairer, more just Scotland he worked tirelessly to build.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He died in the early hours of Tuesday at Strathcarron Hospice near Denny, just a few miles from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,1102,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-340943","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-edinburgh","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115021071282290164","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}